Where's the Water in Cape Town?
In recent years, the city of Cape Town has become known for one thing: the water crisis. In 2018, Cape Town’s reservoirs were depleting drastically in the midst of drought, and the city placed strict restrictions on the amount of water that citizens were allowed to consume. Aryn Baker writes in the midst of the crisis, “we are now limited to using 13 gallons of water per person per day. That is enough for a 90-second shower, a half-gallon of drinking water, a sinkful to hand-wash dishes or laundry, one cooed meal, two hand washings, two teeth brushings and one toilet flush” (Baker). This is what the average Cape Townian had to live on as the water crisis took hold. Not only was water consumption limited, but it was nearly impossible to find bottled water anywhere. The government “[urged] families to stock up with an emergency supply of drinking water… except… bottled water… [was] impossible to find” (Baker). This crisis came in the third year of severe drought, “which slashed the supp...
