Water water everywhere, Nor any drop to drink!!!

 I live in Hyderabad where it is a common thing to purchase bottled water for drinking. My family also follows the same practice and we usually purchase one 20 litre bottle every two days. My wife takes care of ordering the next bottle before previous one is finished. Few days back, she was out of town for a couple of weeks and this herculean responsibility fell on my shoulders.

Avoid running taps to save water

And as it ought to happen, I forgot to order the water bottle and the kitchen ran out of drinking water. With just 1 litre of bottle left, I told myself that I can manage the night with this one small bottle of water. But I learnt an economics lesson that day. A decline in production or supply may also trigger a rise in demand. That’s exactly what happened. Knowing that I have just a little water left, I felt more thirsty through-out the night, waking up multiple times and consciously gulping small sips so that I don’t completely run out of water. Thankfully, I managed with that little water and ordered more water in the morning.

But why I am telling you all this? Well, I told this story to re-iterate the life fact that all of us know, “Water is one of the life essentials”. I found it hard to spend a night with the thought that I have a limited amount left with me. Scale this to a whole big city’s population who are not only looking at their depleting water resources but also have a projected date when they will run out of water. Yes, that is exactly what is happening in Cape town, one of the major cities of South Africa. They have projected a ‘Day Zero” not in next few decades or years, but in next few months.

Cape town, the capital of Western Cape province, is a coastal city and is second most populated south African city with an estimated population of 3.7 million as per 2011 census of South Africa. The city is facing a drought since 2015 and has now almost run out of its water resources. The city majorly relies on its dams for fulfilling its water requirements and these dams are now operating at less than 10 percent of their total capacity.

Cape Town water crisis 

Because of this, the city has imposed major restrictions on the water consumption. The city mayor also announced the plans of have controlled water supply to citizens once the dreaded ‘Day Zero’ condition occurs which means citizens will have to go to water distribution points and collect their allotted daily quota of water, which can be as less as 25 litre per person per day.

While the situation is alarming, there is some positive news. The ‘Day Zero’ which was earlier predicted to be in April has now been pushed back to 9^th July due to reduced water consumption for residential and agriculture use. However, this does not change the fact that Capetonians are staring at a situation which is no less than a catastrophe.

Who is to be blamed? The climate, the global changes, or the people? In my opinion it is us, the people. In the name of development, we forget and twist basic laws of nature and they have started to come back to haunt us. Many of us, who treated the underground water as an infinite source few years back and used(read wasted) it with free hands have now started to see the impact through decline in underground water levels.

While researchers continue their attempts to find ways which can make sea water usable, the immediate action lies with us to use the water responsibly. Small measures like a bucket bath instead of shower, brushing your teeth or shaving with tap not running, rain water harvesting, recycling of water for non-domestic purposes etc. go a long way in avoiding wastage and replenishing our resources.

Taps ran out of water: Cape Town Water Crisis

No nerd notes this time, because it does not take a nerd to understand how serious the situation is. Witty scribble requests its readers to stand up as responsible world citizens and choose a lifestyle that leaves the planet livable for all. Share the awareness and act before it is too late. Remember, dates in calendar are closer than they appear.

And as always, thanks for reading.

Ayush!!!