Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille announced in January  that the city would be forced to shut off most of the municipal water supply if conditions do not change. Day Zero, as it is called, would be declared when the water level of the 6 major city dams reaches 13.5%. Once this occurs, water supplies would be largely switched off, and residents would rely on 149 water collection points stationed around the city to collect a daily ration of 25 litres of water per person. However,  constant water supply will be carried out around the city's CBD, in informal settlements (where water is already collected from central locations) and essential services such as hospitals. 

The day of when Day Zero would commerce has been changed multiple times, mainly due to a number of reasons, such as reduced agricultural and residential usage, as well as the 7 to 10 cubic meters of water that will be transferred from the Groenland Water User's Association (an association for farmers with private reservoirs) to the city' s dams.Initially, Day Zero was on day 22 April 2018, it was then moved back to the 16th of April, then to 11 May, 4 June and now it has been moved all the way up to 9 July 2018. 

The Day Zero date is projected based on the fortnightly change in dam storage levels, and it is assumed  that this rate will continue unchanged, with no further rainfall or change in water demand. Research done by the University of Cape Town has shown that the period from 2015-2017 has been the driest 3-year period since 1933, and 2017 was the driest year since 1933, and possibly earlier. 

This was based on a on long-term weather data. It also found that a drought of this severity will statistically occur only once every 311 years.

One initiative by the Western Cape government was calling for people to conserve water due to the water shortage in 2017 by putting up impact posters. This led to the agricultural sector reducing consumption by 50 percent. This act brought about a loss of 37,000 jobs in the sector nationally. Also, an estimated 50,000 will be pushed below the poverty line due to job losses and inflation due to increases in the price of food. In February 2018 the agricultural sector had incurred R14 billion (US$1.17 billion) in losses due to the water shortage. 

But it is not all doom and gloom for the city, as possible solutions have been found from the likes of desalination mechinaries to aquifer exploration as the go to prospects. Much needed awareness should still be at the forefront of the issues to maintain a sustainable resource.

Source:

ABC News

http://abcnews.go.com/International/drought-stricken-cape-town-south-africa-run-water/story?id=52402170

Time

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

News 24

https://m.news24.com/Analysis/jp-smith-answers-day-zero-questions-its-going-to-be-really-unpleasant-20180126