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On the 21st of February 2017 the City of Cape Town issued a plea to residents in the Western Cape to cut down on water consumption as dam levels had dropped to 34,5%, a further 1,7% down from the previous week. On the 8th of March the City of Cape Town released a statement confirming a maximum of 113 days’ worth of water left in the local dams. It may seem that 113 days will bridge the gap between our dry and wet seasons but the real question is, what will we do if we have another dry winter?
In the event that the winter of 2017 is a dry one, the Western Cape will be heading towards extreme drought and water shortages. Water shortages such as these will have massive negative impacts on both the economy and social wellbeing of the province. So what are the options for a country which seems to becoming drier and drier? One of the potential solutions for a situation such as this is desalination.
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