Now at the height of summer, South Afrikaaners don’t wash cars; they dream of showers. In the teeth of a drought that’s persisted for years, that’s the worst in 100 years, on February 1st — the day after tomorrow — they’ll be rationed, 50 liters/person/day. They are about to run dry; they call it “Day Zero.”
There’s been breathless US news coverage of pretty much every USA “presidential” tweet. There’s barely a mention of a major, international city running out of water.
What will happen to them — and the rest of us?
Many who can drive visit a natural spring twice a month to fill up jugs. Will they be forced to give up their pets? — Because one dog water bowl holds one liter. Nurseries have let their workers go, as gardens lie crisped, unwatered, undeveloped. All containers capable of holding liquid have been bought up, including vases — will there ever again be flowers to salve the soul? Tourism will plummet. Will the elderly who have no-one lie unwashed?
Some schools there have asked students to bring water from home; others are flushing on a bucket system. Far worse than dusty vehicles, property values will plummet, for the biggest home is nothing without clean water. East London is collecting pallets of bottled water to send to 4 million Cape Towners and others, which will present the attendant problem of how to recycle the plastic bottle — especially given China has recently announced it no longer wants trash from the rest of the developed world. Petrochemical detritus is yet another problem we should have tackled a long time ago, and we must now more than ever throw all our brains and money and talent at making containers that will, sooner rather than later, biodegrade.
Many of those who were able to leave Cape Town have already gone. Will those who remain protect the neighbor’ property and will citizens band together — or are social mores the next casualty in the heat of panic?