Home » Cape Town’s Day Zero Is Looming. Watch What Will Happen When The Taps Are Turned Off

Cape Town’s Day Zero Is Looming. Watch What Will Happen When The Taps Are Turned Off

Residents of Cape Town used less water this week compared with last week, but consumption still remains above 500 million litres a day, according to the City of Cape Town. As a result, dam levels dropped by an expected 1% this week and Day Zero remains at 20 May 2018. High consumption of more than […]

By SAPeople
08-12-17 09:40
in Eish!

Residents of Cape Town used less water this week compared with last week, but consumption still remains above 500 million litres a day, according to the City of Cape Town. As a result, dam levels dropped by an expected 1% this week and Day Zero remains at 20 May 2018. High consumption of more than half of Cape Town’s residents remains a concern.

Watch below to see what will happen in Cape Town on Day Zero when taps are turned off, as well as the action the City is taking to prevent it happening: 

The City’s water dashboard is available here, with highlights as follows:

  • This week’s dam levels stand at 35,1% – down from 36,1% the week before
  • Only 25,1% of the water is useable
  • Collective consumption remains high at 611 million litres per day – 111 million litres above the target of 500 million litres
  • The percentage of households using less than 87 litres per day increased to 40% for the week – up from 36% last week
  • In terms of the City’ progress with its augmentation projects, this figure stands at 50%, up from 48% last week

Together, these factors put Day Zero at 20 May 2017.

“If water savings had increased, we could have pushed Day Zero further back,” said Mayor Patricia de Lille.

Since July, the City has sent warning letters to approximately 50 000 households using excessive amounts of water.

The City says Day Zero can only move further back if ALL Capetonian households adhere to using 87 litres of water per person per day.

Day Zero is the day when dam levels reach 13,5 % and the City will turn off most of the taps. Residents will have to queue for water.

The City is working through the night to avoid Day Zero but cannot do it without the help of residents. While residents save, the City will continue working harder to bring additional supply online as quickly as possible, it says.

Source: www.capetown.gov.za/