Insights from Cape Town – Hydrogeology Journal

James Adamson and fellow researchers Thomas LaVanchy, PhD and Michael Kerwin, PhD recently published an article to draw attention to the confluence of water security factors in Cape Town.  The authors hope to provide insights to other global cities at risk of water insecurity, and consider the important role that groundwater resources can play in adverting crisis.

ABSTRACT

Acute water security vulnerability at regional to local scales is becoming increasingly apparent. In 2017, officials in Cape Town, South Africa, designated the term “Day Zero” to demark an exact time when the city’s taps would be switched off due to critically low reservoir levels. Beyond Day Zero, residents would need to converge at communal water collection points to access a 25-L daily ration of water. The particulars of the crisis and stakeholder responses prove informative to other cities.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10040-019-01979-0