Cape Town Is 90 Days Away From Running Out of Water

[DFSNOLE]

This is just nuts.

After three years of unprecedented drought, the South African city of Cape Town has less than 90 days worth of water in its reservoirs, putting it on track to be the first major city in the world to run out of water. Unless residents drastically cut down on daily use, warns Cape Town Mayor Patricia De Lille, taps in the seaside metropolis of four million will soon run dry. On April 22, to be exact. Here’s what to know:


The date is just a scare tactic, surely?

Nope. Day Zero, as it is called, is real, and is calculated every week based on current reservoir capacity and daily consumption. On Jan. 8 Mayor De Lille revised the date down from April 29, based on a citywide uptick in daily usage. The city won’t literally run dry; in most cases, reservoirs can’t be drained to the last drop, as silt and debris make the last 10% of a dam’s water unusable. City authorities have decided that once the dams reach 13.5% capacity, municipal water supply will be turned off for all but essential services, like hospitals.

http://time.com/5103259/cape-town-water-crisis/

 

[seminole97]

So you’re saying it’s a dry hole?

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

So you’re saying it’s a dry hole?

House.
A dry house.

 

[Semiologist]

And.....someone in Cape Town is still gonna be angry about the lawn dying when they cut off the water.

 

[Gonolz]

I've got a great business idea.

 

[BelemNole]

Didn't the pentagon predict that the next major war would be over water?

 

[Nolomite]

Let the hoarding begin!

 

[Urban Cryer]

Didn't the pentagon predict that the next major war would be over water?

It could be! China definitely has water concerns as well as massive countries like India. If you look at what's going on in Egypt right now, they are trying to work out a growing conflict about damming the Nile, of it escalates that could be a war.

The problem is the worlds population is getting out of control as well as the third world. Bottled water is not an enduring solution. It still blows my mind that hardly anybody is looking at desalination plants as an option. Especially a country like South Africa that has thousands of miles of coastline.

 

[billanole]

The US bleeds the Colorado dry. China builds the Three Gorges. The ISIS threat with the dam above Mosul. Atlanta captures more than their share for urban lifestyles. There are plenty of other examples of water wars... History has plenty of resource stuggle battles.
Cape Town doesn’t appear to be a struggle against another country next door, but rather a victim of runaway consumption by countries far away. Shifts in global weather patterns are underway.

 

[BelemNole]

Desal is great if you're a rich nation with easy access to energy. Otherwise.....

 

[seminoleed]

The US bleeds the Colorado dry. China builds the Three Gorges. The ISIS threat with the dam above Mosul. Atlanta captures more than their share for urban lifestyles. There are plenty of other examples of water wars... History has plenty of resource stuggle battles.
Cape Town doesn’t appear to be a struggle against another country next door, but rather a victim of runaway consumption by countries far away. Shifts in global weather patterns are underway.

Atlanta takes more than their share? Because the river goes through their city? They built the infrastructure to extract the water, and should let it go to Alabama instead?

 

[billanole]

There is a long standing three state compact regarding water extraction. The massive increase in Atlanta area population, coupled with high usage per capita and lower rainfall rates in recent decades, has caused the loss of water flow to the other two states in the compact.
If you are any version of a seafood fan, your heart must break with the collapse of the Apalachicola Bay seafood system due to dramatic decreases in water flow. For what, swimming pools?
This is another example of water wars. Stay tuned for more coming to your world soon enough.

 

[LLOYD72]

The US bleeds the Colorado dry. China builds the Three Gorges. The ISIS threat with the dam above Mosul. Atlanta captures more than their share for urban lifestyles. There are plenty of other examples of water wars... History has plenty of resource stuggle battles.
Cape Town doesn’t appear to be a struggle against another country next door, but rather a victim of runaway consumption by countries far away. Shifts in global weather patterns are underway.

Saw the Three Gorges dam in China two years ago. It’s a pretty amazing dam.
Capetown will be importing a lot of bottled water

 

[Oclawaha]

Yep. That and cutting a channel through St. George has led to a slow but sure demise of one of the finest oyster fields around.
I know they’re seeding and farming the bay and east of there but they just ain’t the same.
And they’re $9-10 bucks a dozen on a good day.
That’s progress.

 

[squiffynole]

There is a long standing three state compact regarding water extraction. The massive increase in Atlanta area population, coupled with high usage per capita and lower rainfall rates in recent decades, has caused the loss of water flow to the other two states in the compact.
If you are any version of a seafood fan, your heart must break with the collapse of the Apalachicola Bay seafood system due to dramatic decreases in water flow. For what, swimming pools?
This is another example of water wars. Stay tuned for more coming to your world soon enough.

The Florida-Georgia dispute is before the US Supreme Court oral arguments were presented last week.

https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2017/142-orig_h3cj.pdf

 

[ericram]

Didn't the pentagon predict that the next major war would be over water?

Didn't this already happen in Water World?

 

[FSUTribe76]

Desal is great if you're a rich nation with easy access to energy. Otherwise.....

Eh, I just read that desal is about to get substantially cheaper due to new manufactured materials that are basically filters small enough to let water molecules through but not salt and other larger molecules.

 

[billanole]

Eh, I just read that desal is about to get substantially cheaper due to new manufactured materials that are basically filters small enough to let water molecules through but not salt and other larger molecules.

And pumping water long distances is also getting substantially cheaper...
Desal next to the ocean is one thing, sending that water to Phoenix is another matter.

 

[billanole]

Yep. That and cutting a channel through St. George has led to a slow but sure demise of one of the finest oyster fields around.
I know they’re seeding and farming the bay and east of there but they just ain’t the same.
And they’re $9-10 bucks a dozen on a good day.
That’s progress.

We used to buy bushel bags for 5 bucks right off the docks at East Point.

 

[BelemNole]

Eh, I just read that desal is about to get substantially cheaper due to new manufactured materials that are basically filters small enough to let water molecules through but not salt and other larger molecules.

Yeah they've been saying that for a decade or more. My brother was part of a startup out of UCLA a while back that thought they'd print money because they had a new filter material. Problem is that no one has a good way to clean these great new filter products so they quickly lose their awesomeness.

 

[Urban Cryer]

Desal is great if you're a rich nation with easy access to energy. Otherwise.....

South Africa has money, and the US sure as hell does too. To me it's a "must have". Also, the more you build the more efficient the process is most likely making it cheaper.

To me it's worth our while to invest in these in a lot of these poorer countries, we just can't handle the potential influx of immigrants to the US, even as rich as we are it's just not feasible. There is a good video floating around where a guy talks about the world refugee crisis and shows how it's more in our interest to help them in their countries versus moving them here. I think desal plants are the right place to start.

 

[BelemNole]

Difference of opinion, I think the jelly beans video is lousy.
Anyway, desalination looks great until you look at the numbers. It's probably not that different than the cost of floating iceburgs or some of the other crazy ideas.
The real answer is reclaimed water and conservation.

 

[Urban Cryer]

And pumping water long distances is also getting substantially cheaper...
Desal next to the ocean is one thing, sending that water to Phoenix is another matter.

True, but at least in The People's Republic of Kalifornia you can have drinking water and big agriculture. We all make fun of them out there, but the country needs their agriculture, hopefully it all doesn't turn to weed here in the next few years.

 

[timenole]

Seems like a solar/wind farm next to a desal plant could help some major coastal communities and leave more water for farming.

 

[DanC78]

I remembering reading that Florida had enough water to take care of the entire world, not just drinking water, but all uses...including irrigation.

The problem is getting it there.

Not sure the accuracy on this.

 

[DFSNOLE]

I remembering reading that Florida had enough water to take care of the entire world, not just drinking water, but all uses...including irrigation.

The problem is getting it there.

Not sure the accuracy on this.

South Florida is often under water restrictions due to the fluctuation of the level of Lake Okeechobee. They don't have enough water for themselves.

 

[Oclawaha]

Floridan Aquifer. Largest underground fresh water river in the world. They were tagging bass in Lake Jackson and one of them showed up in Okechobee.

 

[KitingHigh]

Floridan Aquifer. Largest underground fresh water river in the world. They were tagging bass in Lake Jackson and one of them showed up in Okechobee.

And when you take enough water out, it opens up and swallows houses cars and people.

 

[ChimpNole]

South Africa has money, and the US sure as hell does too. To me it's a "must have". Also, the more you build the more efficient the process is most likely making it cheaper.

To me it's worth our while to invest in these in a lot of these poorer countries, we just can't handle the potential influx of immigrants to the US, even as rich as we are it's just not feasible. There is a good video floating around where a guy talks about the world refugee crisis and shows how it's more in our interest to help them in their countries versus moving them here. I think desal plants are the right place to start.

I've seen that video and it makes sense.

 

[Urban Cryer]

And when you take enough water out, it opens up and swallows houses cars and people.

Not to mention the brackish water that's moving in.

 

[seminoleed]

There is a long standing three state compact regarding water extraction. The massive increase in Atlanta area population, coupled with high usage per capita and lower rainfall rates in recent decades, has caused the loss of water flow to the other two states in the compact.
If you are any version of a seafood fan, your heart must break with the collapse of the Apalachicola Bay seafood system due to dramatic decreases in water flow. For what, swimming pools?
This is another example of water wars. Stay tuned for more coming to your world soon enough.

Bill, I think you missed my point. If the population has increased, aren't they deserving of water as well? How are they getting more than their "fair share"? Who determines what's "fair"? Have you "made enough money" in your life? Do new residents to the ATL need to move to the Panhandle so things are "fair"?

 

[kc78]

Bill, I think you missed my point. If the population has increased, aren't they deserving of water as well? How are they getting more than their "fair share"? Who determines what's "fair"? Have you "made enough money" in your life? Do new residents to the ATL need to move to the Panhandle so things are "fair"?

Sure, except that by taking their "Fair Share" they're destroying eco-systems and harming those down stream. They don't own the river, and their usage of it needs to be handled in a manner that is equatable and doesn't cause undo harm to others down stream. By your argument, since the river goes through their city first they should be able to just damn it up and take all the water. Who cares if other states have planned their cities and eco-systems around that supply as well. They get it first right?

 

[DanC78]

Not to mention the brackish water that's moving in.

This was years ago I remembering seeing this.

Want to say the aquifer could withstand a small %, like 5% loss everyday without it effecting the ecosystem, that 5% could change the worlds water supply.

And again, I’d have to go back and find all this crap. My wife was reading out loud in the car as drove back home from Tampa after spending the weekend in Cypress Springs. I just remember we were in awe of how much water the Florida aquifer produces.

 

[RTM58]

Sure, except that by taking their "Fair Share" they're destroying eco-systems and harming those down stream. They get it first right?

Possession is nine-tenths of the law, probably ten-tenths in Africa.

They mismanaged the water. It will rain soon enough and then we can move on to our next end of the world scenario, for a little while.

 

[Oclawaha]

Possession is nine-tenths of the law, probably ten-tenths in Africa.

They mismanaged the water. It will rain soon enough and then we can move on to our next end of the world scenario, for a little while.

Who is “they” and how did they mismanage the water?

 

[FSUTribe76]

There is a long standing three state compact regarding water extraction. The massive increase in Atlanta area population, coupled with high usage per capita and lower rainfall rates in recent decades, has caused the loss of water flow to the other two states in the compact.
If you are any version of a seafood fan, your heart must break with the collapse of the Apalachicola Bay seafood system due to dramatic decreases in water flow. For what, swimming pools?
This is another example of water wars. Stay tuned for more coming to your world soon enough.

Yep, I’m incredibly ticked at what happened to Appalachicola. First of all, of all of the oysters I’ve tasted they are my personal favorite (and just like BBQ and wine, I make sure to include them as part of a vacation if there’s anything in the area, so I’ve had Antarctic oysters in the South Island of New Zealand, Belon oysters in Paris, tons of Pacific varieties in Seattle, Vancouver and Santa Barbara, and Atlantic local variations from Texas and the entire Gulf and around up to Maine). And that’s not true of most seafood. Florida spiny and slipper Lobsters are meh compared to Maine, New Zealand Rock, and Balmain “bugs”. The Florida pink, rock and royal red shrimp are excellent but nowhere near as good as Pacific spot prawns and Alaskan sugar shrimp. Most Pacific fish species are naturally better tasting than most Atlantic fish species (I’ll take fresh halibut, NZ blue cod, orange roughy and more anyday over fresh black, red and scamp grouper for example). And there’s lots of great Pacific seafoods we don’t even really have equivalents to such as geoducks and abalone. But in oysters, the Apalachicola is king in my book. A great salty, buttery flavor that most of the rest are missing. The Pacific varieties are too sweet without the buttery umami depth of the Apalachicola, the Antarctic varieties are too bland and creamy, the flat oysters have a hard mineraliness that make it tough to eat more than a dozen, and the other Atlantic areas tend to take on more of a “fishy” (really algae flavor) flavor.

Second of all, Apalachicola was one of the few areas that didn’t need to resort to farming to meet demand. Or they DIDNT until the ahats in Atlanta killed most of the wild crops. It was one of the last areas that was sustainably managed and wholly wild, until now.

 

[funksouljon]

Desal is great if you're a rich nation with easy access to energy. Otherwise.....

Well, the other end of the equation just needs to go up and it will make more sense. Once the price of water increases to the value it should actually have, the remaining issue to resolve is the energy required to desal. For evaporation plants, the energy needed and lost heat energy is substantial. And the easiest method is using fire, lots of dino-juice.

Floridan Aquifer. Largest underground fresh water river in the world. They were tagging bass in Lake Jackson and one of them showed up in Okechobee.

Oh thats me. I fish constantly and then take them to south Florida when I catch them. You should see the biologists scratch their heads when I take the bass north into Georgia.

 

[Oclawaha]

The people in the S%^houses. Too much was soaked up by melanin enhanced people rather than going to the golf courses of the minority.

(Takes of my Maga hat and stares at it proudly)

Guy that was in the peace Corp in Africa told me his first night there they had like a meet and greet party with the locals.
Kid at the table asked him if it was really true that Americans had so much water that they crap in it.

 

[RTM58]

Who is “they” and how did they mismanage the water?

The water supply is regulated/managed by a combination of the local government and by the national government. Local's, I believe, saw this coming and managed accordingly, but the national component did not.

#GoogleIt'sReal

 

[RTM58]

The people in the S%^houses. Too much was soaked up by melanin enhanced people rather than going to the golf courses of the minority.

(Takes of my Maga hat and stares at it proudly)

The Dark Net?