JOHANNESBURG -- South Africa's drought-hit city of Cape Town plans to introduce new water restrictions on Thursday in an attempt to avoid what it calls "Day Zero," the day in mid-April when it might have to turn off most taps.

Residents will be asked to use no more than 50 litres of water daily, down from the current limit of 87 litres. The use of city drinking water to wash vehicles, hose down paved areas, fill up private swimming pools and water gardens is illegal. Residents using too much water will be fined or have devices that limit water supply installed on their properties, according to the rules.

Some 70 per cent of water used in Cape Town is consumed in homes, authorities say. The city of four million people, known internationally as a top tourist destination, has been struggling for several years with water shortages caused by climate change and huge population growth. Political factions are also bickering about alleged failures to respond to warnings years ago about a looming water crisis.

"Day Zero," set for April 16, would occur if the average level of reservoirs serving the city falls below 13.5 per cent. The average level has dropped to 26 per cent.

Authorities said they will take over management on Thursday of a source of natural spring water where residents have converged, sometimes chaotically, to collect water. One person was detained at the Newlands neighbourhood site after a fight broke out this week, and noise and traffic congestion around the clock have disturbed neighbours and an adjacent home for the elderly, the city said.

Private security guards already monitor people with plastic containers at another natural spring location at a South African Breweries facility in Newlands.

The possibility that most city taps might have to be shut off has raised concerns about security, and police and the military are expected to help secure water collection sites if "Day Zero" occurs.

A South African parliamentary committee said it will ask the government to "rein in unscrupulous traders" who have raised the price of bottled water to take advantage of the crisis. Poor people will suffer the most from price gouging, the trade and industry committee said.

Water shortages also have hit Cape Town's hospitality industry, whose leaders are urging hotels to consider switching to salt water instead of fresh water in swimming pools and want restaurants to skip linen napkins that would have to be laundered and rethink menus and food preparation. They recommend fewer pasta dishes because they require a lot of water to make, and suggest steaming vegetables instead of boiling them.

While tourism officials have reported some visitor cancellations, several events are going ahead as planned.

Thousands of delegates are expected at a mining industry conference next week. Organizers of the Cape Town Cycle Tour, which raises money for charity and attracts thousands of participants, say their March ride won't use any municipal water and will rely on its own supply. An international jazz festival is scheduled for March.

While other international cities have faced water shortages, Cape Town's situation is more extreme and an effective handling of the situation could serve as a global model, said Sisa Ntshona, CEO of the South African Tourism agency.

"We are actually, literally, the guinea pigs to the world as to how to overcome this," he said.

NASA animated image shows Cape Town's falling water reserves

Cape Town’s Water is Running Out

Cape Town’s Water is Running Out Cape Town—a cosmopolitan city of 3.7 million people on South Africa’s western coast—is on the verge of running out of water. According to the city’s mayor, if current consumption patterns continue then drinking water taps will be turned off in April and people will have to start procuring water from one of 200 collection points throughout the city. With key reservoirs standing at precariously low levels, the city forecasts that this so-called Day Zero will happen on April 12, 2018, though the exact date will depend on the weather and on consumption patterns in the coming months. The rainy season normally runs from May to September. Cape Town’s six major reservoirs can collectively store 898,000 megaliters (230 billion gallons) of water, but they held just 26 percent of that amount as of January 29, 2018. Theewaterskloof Dam—the largest reservoir and the source of roughly half of the city’s water—is in the worst condition, with the water level at just 13 percent of capacity. In practical terms, the amount of available water is even less than this number suggests because the last 10 percent of water in a reservoir is difficult to use. According to Cape Town’s disaster plan, Day Zero will happen when the system’s stored water drops to 13.5 percent of capacity. At that point, the water that remains will go to hospitals and certain settlements that rely on communal taps. Most people in the city will be left without tap water for drinking, bathing, or other uses. This animated image shows how dramatically Theewaterskloof has been depleted between January 2014 and January 2018. The extent of the reservoir is shown with blue; non-water areas have been masked with gray in order to make it easier to distinguish how the reservoir has changed. Theewaterskloof was near full capacity in 2014. During the preceding year, the weather station at Cape Town airport tallied 682 millimeters (27 inches) of rain (515 mm is normal), making it one of the wettest years in decades. However, rains faltered in 2015, with just 325 mm falling. The next year, with 221 mm, was even worse. In 2017, the station recorded just 157 mm of rain. Read the rest of the story at https://go.nasa.gov/2GrKZ4p

Posted by NASA Earth on Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Shoppers stock up on bottled water in Cape Town (click to play)