Cape Town Drought: 'Day Zero' Projection Pushed Back to 11 May.

People are queuing to collect water from a natural 

spring outlet in the South African 

Breweries in Cape Town, 

while tourists are being asked to 

flush the toilet as little as possible / AP

The “catastrophic” day when taps in Cape Town are switched off because of a shortage of water has been moved 25 days later, to 11 May. It was previously set at 21, 12 and 16 April.

 

The decision is based on projections of a sharp drop in agricultural use in March and April.

Day Zero is the day when the aggregate level on reservoirs (known locally as “dams”) drops to 13.5 per cent. At present it stands at 25.5 per cent, a drop of 0.8 per cent in the past week. Hot weather forecast for the coming week is expected to accelerate the decline. 

But the city said that many agricultural users in the Western Cape Supply System have used up the water allocated to them, and therefore consumption is likely to fall sharply.

By Simon Calder.

Full story at Independent.