When The Taps Run Dry

From a Time magazine article by Aryn Baker.  The prospect is frightening and the possibility is real.  It could easily happen here.  Take heed.

http://time.com/cape-town-south-africa-water-crisis/?xid=homepage&pcd=hp-magmod
_______________________________________

I knew we were in trouble when I found myself Googling dry composting toilets.  That was on Feb. 1, just after the mayor's office here in Cape Town, South Africa announced new water restrictions.  We are now limited to using 13 gallons of water per person per day.  That's enough for a 90-second shower, a sinkful to hand-wash dishes or laundry, one cooked meal, two hand-washings, two teeth brushings and one toilet flush.  I figured I could save an extra couple of gallons by forgoing the daily flush in favor of a dry composting toilet.  Hippie friends living off the grid in the country do it.  How bad could it be?

Theewaterskloof Dam is at just 13% capacity

According to current projections, Cape Town's 4 million residents will run out of water in a matter of months -- the first modern major city in the world to completely run dry.  The crisis stems from a combination of poor planning, three years of drought and spectacularly bad crisis management.  

It was only in September that Capetonians were given a limit of just over 23 gallons of water per person per day.  By then the reservoirs were at a third of their capacity.  But less than half of city residents met that goal.  As a result, with reservoirs down to the last dregs, the 13-gallon limit we are now asked to meet is less than the U.N. daily recommendation for domestic water needs.

An even grimmer scenario looms:  Day Zero, when the government will turn off the taps for most homes and businesses to conserve the very last supplies.  Residents will have to line up at communal water points to collect their daily allotment of just 6.6 gallons under the gaze of armed guards.

This is no bluff.  As of Feb. 5, based on current usage, Day Zero was predicted to fall on May 11.