Update: As of March 7, 2018, Day Zero has been postponed to August 27, 2018. WWD will continue to update accordingly.
Following many agricultural users reaching their allocated water supply, Cape Town’s Day Zero is expected to be pushed back from its current April date to some time in May. Despite this positive development in the realm of agricultural usage, urban consumption rates are maintaining, meaning the looming crisis remains an inevitability, as it stands.
Currently, the agricultural sector accounts for roughly 30% of water consumption in the Cape Town area. This figure is expected to decline to 15% in March and 10% in April. The city continues to hold out until the hopeful arrival of winter rains, and it will take a concerted, conservative effort on the part of citizens to not exhaust the water supply.
Day Zero will likely be changed to May 11, 2018, nearly a month later than the current date of April 16, 2018. This time frame remains in flux, however, as citizens continue to consistently overshoot the targeted levels of water consumption. The most recent figures have total consumption at 547 million liters per day, a far cry from the desired consumption of 450 million liters per day.
The process of preparing for Day Zero and calculating the current state of the water supply on the part of the city involves considering evaporation rates, agricultural releases and urban usage.
