The Point: Spring 2018

CAPE TOWN CURRENTLY
By Sarah Pineda
An everyday morning routine for the
average American might involve using
the restroom, flushing the toilet, turning on
the faucet, then starting the shower where
they might then spend around 15 minutes
or so singing that song stuck in their
head. Afterwards, they might make some
breakfast with a morning coffee or tea and
fill up their Hydro Flask before they go to
school. It has not even hit noon yet, and the
average person has probably already used
about 30 gallons of water out of the daily
100 gallon intake. According to the United
States Geological Survey, residents of Cape
Town, South Africa are currently restricted
to 13 gallons a day—less than one-sixth
of what the average American uses.
An article by The Guardian titled, “Four
billion people face severe water scarcity,
new research finds,” presents a study
conducted by the scientific journal, Science
Advances, which states that “two-thirds of
the global population (4.0 billion people)
live under conditions of severe water
scarcity at least 1 month of the year.”
residents. The Climate System Analysis
Group at the University of Cape Town
published rainfall data on its website,
which shows that the city’s average
rainfall has been decreasing by less
than 15 inches annually since 2015. As
the water in Cape Town’s six reservoirs
disappears more and more, it is on track
to becoming one of the world’s first major
cities to run dry—a shocking contrast to
the city in its wettest year in 2013, when
the dams were overflowing. According
to GroundUp, a nonprofit news agency
based in Cape Town, Capetonians believe
several factors may have worsened this
record drought, such as population
growth, mismanagement of its water
supply system and climate change.
Based on data collected in October
2017, Piotr Wolski, a water scientist at
the University of Cape Town, wrote
an analysis published by GroundUp.
Wolski reported that 2017 was Cape
Town’s lowest rainfall year since 1933.
One of the biggest causes of this
water scarcity is droughts.
The World Resources Institute reported
that in the past decade, major countries
and cities have experienced a poor
rainfall season. Even in local southern
California, many have endured some
of the struggles brought by a drought,
with a water shortage that has lasted
for years. Cape Town is the most recent
city to experience an absence of water.
Cape Town is located on the peninsula
of South Africa and is home to 4 million
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