Displaying items by tag: Cape Town

South Africa has the worst drought in 23 years. Climate change and massive population growth are blamed for the crisis. They are extracting water from underground springs and developing wastewater treatment and better water conservation, but the crisis worsens. By November 2017 schools were urging students to bring water from home, and asking them to attend school in sports gear so that parents do not need to wash two outfits. It is expected that on 12 April taps will be turned off in the Cape Town area, leaving residents to use 200 water collection points. Commercial areas, hospitals and settlements will be exempt. The city is getting tougher on people who stockpile water and unlicensed stores selling drinkable water. A plant to turn seawater into 15 million litres of usable water every day is planned, but it is not built yet. See