Above: Irrigation water runs along the dried-up ditch between the rice farms to provide water for the rice fields in Richvale, Calif., May 1, 2014. A U.S. Drought Monitor report released Thursday shows all of San Diego County is now in a moderate drought. The Category 1 declaration comes a year after water officials declared the region’s drought was over. According to the Drought Monitor, a “moderate drought” means ongoing dry conditions could cause damage to crops, and a possibility of water shortages could develop. Warm and dry conditions have dominated the region for the past six months, with the exception of one storm…

According economist Mike Schussler, the water crisis is several times worse than load shedding. This is because the lack of access to water is relatively permanent compared to rolling blackouts. This result in many businesses and industries semigrating in order to continue business operations in the country, he said. Schussler believes that major industries such as IT, transport, agriculture as well as exports will be impacted as water scarcity limits businesses and causes Capetonians to look for greener pastures. “We saw with the electricity crisis that South Africa missed out on a lot of growth. A water crisis to me is a few times worse. There’s no rolling blackouts with water. It’s permanent,” Schussler said….