Capetonians would queue to collect water from the Newlands Spring during the height of the water crisis.
Image: David Ritchie / Independent Newspapers Archives
Before Capetonians had to deal with the impact and lessons of the global Covid-19 pandemic, they had the major “Day Zero” water crisis, when taps were supposed to run dry.
The term “Day Zero” was added to the lexicon of many Cape Town residents and tourists due to the consequences of a three-year drought the province faced which led to the 2017 and 2018 water crises.
While there were political disagreements over the use of the phrase, “Day Zero” referred to the day when most of the taps in Cape Town would be shut off, and residents would be forced to queue at some 200 water collection points for their allocated 25 litres of water per day.
While the date for that day first referred to the month of May, and then late April, then deputy mayor Ian Neilson made headlines when on January 23, 2018, he announced that the day Cape Town would run out of water would be April 12, 2018.
“To those of you who are not yet part of the massive water-saving efforts that are under way in Cape Town, we urge you to join friends, neighbours, colleagues, and Team Cape Town as a whole in beating back Day Zero,” Neilson had said.
“Unfortunately, due to a drop in the dam levels of 1.4%, Day Zero has, as of today, moved forward to 12 April 2018. However, it is still possible to push back Day Zero if we all stand together now and change our current path. Now is the time to do so. We will not be getting second chances.”
At the time, the City of Cape Town said that dam levels were at 27.2%, with around 41% of Cape Town's residents actively saving water. Total collective usage was at 586 million litres per day, which was 86 million litres above the target.
Thankfully that day never came to pass, but the water crisis forever changed the city's relationship to water consumption as many learned about grey water and had to contend with various water restrictions.
Now, seven years on from the supposed day that Cape Town's taps ran dry, the city shared what lessons it learned, and how they are stepping up to ensure that it isn't placed in the same position again.
The city’s Mayco Member for Water and Sanitation, Zahid Badroodien, said the residents deserve credit for saving Cape Town during the drought.
“The combined impact of the 2017-18 measures was a 40% reduction in water usage on pre-crisis levels, equivalent to 32 billion litres. That is a remarkable achievement.
“At the start, many residents were resistant, but by late 2017, almost every Capetonian was playing their part. This, together with the return of some rain, enabled Cape Town to avoid Day Zero,” Badroodien said.
Executive manager at the Water Research Commission, Jay Bhagwan, said the City of Cape Town realised that it is vulnerable to climate change-related risks, and to counter this, they have to establish a future where it diversifies its water sources, and not only depends on surface resources.
“Surviving the drought was only possible by dramatically reducing demand and the keen support of the customers. It was important to focus on water saving while being cautious and only raise restrictions when the situation improves,” Bhagwan said.
“This was a joint effort between the municipality and every customer, without this partnership nothing was possible. You cannot build new interventions and infrastructure in a short space of time to get your way out of a drought.
“The importance of data and information is the heartbeat in beating the drought.
“Understanding the magnitude of the drought, management of water resources, and the communication thereof was one of the jewels in the array of interventions. Never underestimate this aspect,” Bhagwan said.
Badroodien explained that due to climate change and population growth, Cape Town has learned that it cannot solely rely on dams for water security in the future, so the city is investing in its New Water Programme (NWP).
“The NWP is a strategic response to Cape Town’s increasing water needs and climate variability. By introducing multiple water sources, the programme aims to add 300 million litres per day to the city’s supply.”
According to Badroodien, key initiatives include:
Engineers moved large pipes into place with the help of excavators and tugboats at the Strandfontein Pavilion desalination site back in 2017.
Image: Henk Kruger / Independent Newspapers
The City of Cape Town’s spokesperson, Luthando Tyalibongo, added: “It is important to focus on water saving while you still have water and cautiously raise restrictions when the situation improves. This was a joint effort between the municipality and every customer.
“It is important to plan and build ahead of time, diversify sources, and improve regional bulk supply. One cannot start planning, designing, and constructing schemes during a drought. The planning and design, wherever possible, have to happen upfront. This is why proactive planning is essential.
“The shock of the recent drought has also resulted in Cape Town - the City and its residents - reassessing its relationship with water. We also learned to use the crisis to improve inclusion, sewerage, customer orientation, and financial sustainability.”
Bhagwan added that in the last few years, the country has been experiencing more wet weather, which is having serious consequences on water and other related infrastructure.
“The last two months have seen severe flooding in many parts of the country, except the Western Cape. The state of water services at present is not ideal. At a recent Water Indaba held in March 2025, President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted that we have an emergency when it comes to water provision.
“This is a result of years of under-investment in water infrastructure, poor operations and maintenance, poor governance, and accountability which is resulting in water and sanitation in many towns and cities being vulnerable to failure. This is only exacerbated by the consequences of extreme climate-driven events,” Bhagwan said.
When asked about water conservation efforts that must be considered, Bhagwan added that the country needs to look at decentralised water management with a minimum footprint on water and full recycle and reuse, consider new generation sanitation solutions which will not require flushing and wastewater conveyance, and look at nature-based solutions.
Badroodien added that while the city’s dam levels currently stand at 63.6%, “we cannot allow this to give us a false sense of water security for the future”.
He said that residents need to be water-wise at all times, regardless of the season or dam levels.
“In the long-term, the city’s Water and Sanitation Directorate is focusing on its NWP plans to bring an extra daily 300 million litres of water online by 2030.
“Our water resilience is important for our residents and economic growth in Cape Town. For this reason, we need more than just dams to ensure our water supply is resilient for years to come to help navigate future climate shocks.”
Those interested in the city's Water Strategy find it here: http://www.capetown.gov.za/general/cape-town-water-strategy
An example of how the water points would look if the city reached Day Zero, and residents would have to queue for the allocation of water for the day.
Image: File
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