Stockholm Water Front no 2-3 2017

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CAPE TOWN
TREATS DROUGHT AS NEW NORMAL
Text | Görrel Espelund Photo | Andreas Karlsson
RAPID URBANIZATION AGGRAVATES THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN MANY AFRICAN
CITIES. AT THE SOUTHERN-MOST TIP OF THE CONTINENT, CAPE TOWN IS STRUGGLING TO
MANAGE THE WORST DROUGHT IN RECENT HISTORY.
At the end of a cul-de-sac in the affluent
suburb of Newlands, water flows freely
out of a white plastic pipe and into a
stream below. The water originates from
the Table Mountain aquifers and for as
long as anyone can remember, citizens
of Cape Town have come to collect water
from this fresh water spring. Previously,
it was a question of taste. Today, it’s about
saving municipal water and cutting down
water bills.
On any given day, there is a steady
stream of collectors: old and young,
Christian and Muslims; the lycra-clad
house wives and the civil servants in
their uniforms. No one jumps the queue.
While some carry a couple of fivelitre
containers, Rameez Solomons and
his friends are filling drums of several
hundred litres.
“We collect water for people in our
neighbourhood who don’t have transport.
In the last few months, I’ve seen an
increase of people collecting water here,”
Solomons says. At his house, several
water-saving practices are already in
place, such as reusing the rinse water
from the washing machine and flushing
the toilet with grey water.
On May 22, with dam levels standing
at about 20 per cent, the Western Cape
Province was declared a disaster area in
response to the current drought crisis. A
few days later, the Mayor of Cape Town,
Patricia de Lille, announced even more
severe water restrictions prohibiting the
use of potable water outside the house
Phumeza Gosani runs a daycare centre for about 50 children. “When there is no water at home we have to collect it from a communal tap”, she says.
WATERFRONT # 2–3 | JULY 2017
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