Cape Town are 80 days from running out of water

Rhys Essien

A city of four million people.The reservoir is almost dry and water rationing is now in full force.Things could be about to get nasty.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-42787773

Wanderer78

is fresh water the basis for the next world war?

wexie

Be interesting to see what will happen there indeed. Read a few articles on this now and have seen very little information on what they are planning to do.

Pac1Man

More water.

Rhys Essien

I would think so.’Water Wars’ are predicated.This could be an opportunity for Trump to offer them a few desalination plants and gain a small bit of credibility.

Jimbob1977

Desalination plants could become more popular in decades to come.

The sea has a plentiful supply of water. Melting glaciers etc

El Tarangu

Isn't Cape Town next to the sea? - desalination plant

Wanderer78

Pac1Man wrote: »

More water.

Rumpy Pumpy

El Tarangu wrote: »

Isn't Cape Town next to the sea? - desalination plant

They’ll hardly get one built in 80 days.

Rhys Essien

Apparently they have one Desalination plant but it only caters for a small percentage.They are now also frantically drilling for ground water.

kneemos

Rhys Essien wrote: »

I would think so.’Water Wars’ are predicated.This could be an opportunity for Trump to offer them a few desalination plants and gain a small bit of credibility.

Can’t see the point in going to war over water. You can't transport it.

CruelCoin

An SA friend of mine living in Ireland mentioned this the other day.

People are relocating to Johannesburg in droves apparently.

igCorcaigh

El Tarangu wrote: »

Isn't Cape Town next to the sea? - desalination plant

Expensive. I can foresee the Sahara desert covered in solar panels some day (soon?). Would be a huge source of revenue for African countries, if the contracts were sorted out fairly.

wexie

kneemos wrote: »

Can’t see the point in going to war over water. You can't transport it.

You can't?

Seems to me there's plenty of wars been fought over oil which is as transportable as water?

And even if that was the case (it's not) then wars could be fought over access to it...

igCorcaigh

The article in the OP doesn't mention the cause of the crisis, but a previous one does:

"The crisis has been caused by three years of very low rainfall, coupled with increasing consumption by a growing population."

A sign of things to come.

Alun

The desalination process, whether using distillation or reverse osmosis, is energy hungry and therefore potentially very expensive. If solar power is readily available and abundant in the location then that goes some way to making it more attractive but otherwise it's not the cheap and easy alternative many might think.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Rhys Essien wrote: »

I would think so.’Water Wars’ are predicated.This could be an opportunity for Trump to offer them a few desalination plants and gain a small bit of credibility.

It's not the USA's responsibility to offer them anything.

An independent country sorts their own problems.

Wanderer78

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote:

It's not the USA's responsibility to offer them anything.

Maybe some western financial institutions, including American institutions should cancel some of their debts, maybe that would help them get started?

ted1

El Tarangu wrote: »

Isn't Cape Town next to the sea? - desalination plant

Afaik they already have some and more are due to come online

biko

Let them drink beer

wexie

biko wrote: »

Let them drink beer

made with....

And how would you transport it? :rolleyes:

fancy pigeon

They should have paid their water bill

VinLieger

Any chance the rampant longterm corruption and political incompetance might have anything to do with it

wexie

VinLieger wrote: »

Any chance the rampant longterm corruption and political incompetance might have anything to do with it

'it' being the long term drought?

it's unlikely I'd say

Jacovs

Here is what Level 6b water restrictions mean for Capetonians

Vita nova

Maybe it's time to try towing icebergs (fresh water) from Antarctica. I know it's been proposed and rejected in the past but with modern technology and greater need, it could be viable.

igCorcaigh

VinLieger wrote: »

Any chance the rampant longterm corruption and political incompetance might have anything to do with it

Not everywhere is like Ireland.

Chrongen

El Tarangu wrote: »

Isn't Cape Town next to the sea? - desalination plant

Well people could certainly go to the beach a few times a week just for a wash in the sea. OK so you'll be a bit salty but nice and clean..for free and if you're a woman you're hair will be that lovely, shaggy, Shakira texture.

Chrongen

kneemos wrote: »

Can’t see the point in going to war over water. You can't transport it.

You can transport oil and natural gas. Plenty of wars of those. Water pipelines could be the new norm.

wexie

Chrongen wrote: »

Well people could certainly go to the beach a few times a week just for a wash in the sea. OK so you'll be a bit salty but nice and clean..for free and if you're a woman you're hair will be that lovely, shaggy, Shakira texture.

be a half decent chance that the great whites* round there would sort out some of the population increase as well

*sharks people before you suggest anything else

Chrongen

Jacovs wrote: »

Here is what Level 6b water restrictions mean for Capetonians

Pfft...the 15l from the 90 second shower can be put straight into the dishwasher and washing machine and then redirected to the cistern. That's another four flushes.

Jacovs

Chrongen wrote: »

Pfft...the 15l from the 90 second shower can be put straight into the dishwasher and washing machine and then redirected to the cistern. That's another four flushes.

Yes, my parents, who live in Cape Town, use their shower water to fill the toilet.
Had their pool filled in with dirt about a year ago too when they had some building work done.

Chancer3001

What's all the weird talk about it not being transportable ?

How do you think they transport bottled water!?

Or get it to come out of your taps?

Government needs to buy water off somewhere else nearby to refill the reservoir. Sort out their desalination then

YFlyer

Could they not employ a few thousand Vedic Pandit to sing hymns for rain?

Oldtree

Desalination is one option.

They have a mountain and a sea, anybody down there notice the fog that even the cacti can live ofa in Namib...

They need great big fog catchers or some other method of extracting potable water from the moisture laden air. Dawwwwwww.

Can be solar powered too as someone previously suggested. Don't they've lots of gold and diamonds down there to pay for it?

Chrongen

wexie wrote: »

be a half decent chance that the great whites* round there would sort out some of the population increase as well

*sharks people before you suggest anything else

Plus more sharks in the water attacking bathers equals an opportunity for fishermen to catch sharks and sell the fins to the Japanese for soup. It's all good.

YFlyer

Oldtree wrote: »

Desalination is one option.

They have a mountain and a sea, anybody down there notice the fog that even the cacti can live ofa in Namib...

They need great big fog catchers or some other method of extracting potable water from the moisture laden air. Dawwwwwww.

Can be solar powered too as someone previously suggested. Don't they've lots of gold and diamonds down there to pay for it?

They should use all methods.

Colonel Claptrap

From the rivers, to sea, South African water will be free.

Doesn't have the same ring to it.

CarlosHarpic

Another result of government more obsessed with statemanship/profile than the day to day management of their nation by doing things like actually providing infrastructure. Ireland is excatly the same. Perhaps even worse.

You can always tell if a country provides infrastructure for the society. It's when you do not know who their politicans are.

In Ireland, we call our politicans by their first names and Dublin does not have a metro. In countries like Norway, Switzerland and Holland they build infrastruture and do not turn the death of a pop singer into a week of national mourning. Ireland is probably worse than South Africa.

Oh, if it were not for our rainfall being what it is, we would have a serious water shortage in Dublin already. That's why they need to tap the Shannon. But never mind about vital infrastructure...the abortion debate is raging!

Chrongen

Vita nova wrote: »

Maybe it's time to try towing icebergs (fresh water) from Antarctica. I know it's been proposed and rejected in the past but with modern technology and greater need, it could be viable.

Hmm......tow an iceberg 4000 miles from Antarctica to Cape Town in summer.

Journey should take about 8 days.

Try this. Get a glass and half fill it with salt water. Then get a few icecubes from the freezer and plonk them into the glass. Now take that glass and walk with it for a mile on the hottest day of the year and see how much of your cubes are left floating in the glass when you get there.

Harry Palmr

South Africa's average rainfall is half the world average (under 500mm per annum) so a few years of relative drought is all that's needed with no alternatives.

Chrongen

Jacovs wrote: »

Yes, my parents, who live in Cape Town, use their shower water to fill the toilet.
Had their pool filled in with dirt about a year ago too when they had some building work done.

Good call.

Del2005

igCorcaigh wrote: »

Not everywhere is like Ireland.

Yes because the corruption in South Africa makes our lot look like amateurs. I haven't seen our politicians building palaces for themselves since Charlie told everyone to tighten their belts

kneemos

Chrongen wrote: »

You can transport oil and natural gas. Plenty of wars of those. Water pipelines could be the new norm.

Not in any appreciable amounts,even if you had a fleet of tankers.
If you were a neighbouring country you could eventually build a pipeline to one or two cities to supplement your supplies but alternatives would be cheaper and more secure.

Oldtree

Colonel Claptrap wrote: »

From the rivers, to sea, South African water will be free.

Doesn't have the same ring to it.

Sounds great in Afrikaans

"Van die riviere tot see, sal Suid-Afrikaanse water vry wees."

not so sure about Xhosa

'Ukususela kwimilambo, ukuya kolwandle, amanzi aseMzantsi Afrika aya kukhululeka.'

or Zulu

'Kusukela emifuleni, elwandle, amanzi aseNingizimu Afrika azoba mahhala.'

but i'm sure they'll come up with somthing

sbsquarepants

Chrongen wrote: »

Hmm......tow an iceberg 4000 miles from Antarctica to Cape Town in summer.

Journey should take about 8 days.

Try this. Get a glass and half fill it with salt water. Then get a few icecubes from the freezer and plonk them into the glass. Now take that glass and walk with it for a mile on the hottest day of the year and see how much of your cubes are left floating in the glass when you get there.

Well, duh.

Obviously, you wrap the iceberg in tin foil first!

El Tarangu

Alun wrote: »

The desalination process, whether using distillation or reverse osmosis, is energy hungry and therefore potentially very expensive. If solar power is readily available and abundant in the location then that goes some way to making it more attractive but otherwise it's not the cheap and easy alternative many might think.

I understand that, but I don't see how they have many other options.

Chrongen

kneemos wrote: »

Not in any appreciable amounts,even if you had a fleet of tankers.
If you were a neighbouring country you could eventually build a pipeline to one or two cities to supplement your supplies but alternatives would be cheaper and more secure.

There are oil and gas pipeline crisscrossing Eurasia transporting these commodities everywhere and there are terminals at the end of these pipelines.

Besides, transportation costs only come into play based on the value of the load.

If a gallon of fresh water is worth 3 times a gallon of diesel then you can bet your ass it's profitable to transport the stuff anywhere.....even if the tanker is half full.

YFlyer

Jacovs wrote: »

Y
Had their pool filled in with dirt about a year ago too when they had some building work done.

That was likely a lack of space issue.

El Tarangu

Chrongen wrote: »

Hmm......tow an iceberg 4000 miles from Antarctica to Cape Town in summer.

Journey should take about 8 days.

Try this. Get a glass and half fill it with salt water. Then get a few icecubes from the freezer and plonk them into the glass. Now take that glass and walk with it for a mile on the hottest day of the year and see how much of your cubes are left floating in the glass when you get there.

The bigger the icecube, the less surface area will be in contact with the water, the longer it will take to melt.

The idea is not as mad as you think.

jester77

Rhys Essien wrote: »

I would think so.’Water Wars’ are predicated.This could be an opportunity for Trump to offer them a few desalination plants and gain a small bit of credibility.

Maybe they should sort out their own water issues first