Tony Largier grows apples, plums and nectarines at Little Oaks Farm, near Villiersdorp, in South Africa’s Western Cape province.
It’s one of the newer varieties," says Largier.
He and other farmers in the area pull water from the nearby Elandskloof Dam — part of a network of dams that farmers, villages and the City of Cape Town share.
"If you get your 100 percent quota, that would be what they reckon you need to grow a hectare of fruit."
This year, Largier only got a 17 percent allocation, because the Elandskloof Dam is only one-third full.
But here on the dam, there’s no water to be seen.
Analysts estimate between 30,000 and 70,000 seasonal workers could lose their jobs this year.
But Kevin Winter, of the Future Water Institute at the University of Cape Town, says curtailing farmers won’t prevent Day Zero.
But anything that allows us to push Day Zero out a little bit further is one management tool," Winter says.
Back at Little Oaks Farm, Largier says he can use water from the dam until next month.