Business Insider Cape Town, South Africa, is experiencing a massive drought, preparing for "Day Zero," when the city’s water supply is depleted.
I visited Cape Town for two weeks in May 2017 in the midst of a drastic water shortage, and saw how the city of nearly 4 million is on the cusp of becoming the first modern metropolis to run out of the natural resource.
Here’s what Cape Town’s water crisis looks like on the ground: View As: One Page Slides Start Slideshow » 1/ Cape Town, South Africa, is poised to become the first major city to run out of water.
The coastal city had originally scheduled "Day Zero" — the day in which all water supply would be depleted — for April, but a decrease in usage and a successful increase of the supply has pushed the event back to 2019. Business Insider Source: City of Cape Town 2/ Residents are limited to 50 liters (about 13 gallons) a day, and the city even offers a guideline on how to manage the allotment.
Business Insider Source: The World Bank 4/ Cape Town relies on six reservoirs for the majority of its water, but depleted levels tell a story of the drought.
Business Insider Source: Business Insider 9/ Most years, groups to Cape Town drink tap water, but we were instructed to purchase three-gallon water bottles.
Business Insider Source: WHO 11/ In 2015, 69% of South Africans had access to safely managed drinking water sources, just above the global average and the highest percentage in sub-Saharan Africa.
Business Insider Source: Yale Environment 360 15/ This garden was on the campus of a rural school that produces its own vegetables to save on food costs.
Yet rural farmers have had their water supply from the city’s six dams cut by as much as 87%.
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