Cape Town – In a speech before the full council on Wednesday, Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille described the scenario of the city running out of water as a “crisis of catastrophic proportions,” warning that water scarcity was now the “New Normal”. One week ago, Mayor Zille declared the Western Cape province a disaster area because of the relentless drought, asking residents to manage their water supplies more efficiently as the South African region tries to cope with dwindling water supplies. But the urgency and foreboding in her message on Wednesday point to the seriousness of the water problem in the region. Cape Town now has less than 10 percent usable water left for its approximately 4.0 million residents. The city has now implemented Level Four water restrictions. In her speech to the full council today, Executive Mayor Zille pointed out that the city has had water restrictions ion place since 2005, and in 2015, they were made even tighter. Reliance on the rainy season a way of life With the city relying on winter rains every year to replenish the reservoir system that supplies the city’s water, it is more like putting all of your eggs in one basket, though. And the mayor said that although everyone has been really conscientious about using water more efficiently, it appears this is not enough. Zille said: “Two days ago we…