day zero

The city of Cape Town has introduced the idea of “Day Zero” to focus everyone’s attention on managing water consumption and warn water consumers to reduce usage to the most minimal levels possible. Day Zero is when most of the city’s taps will be switched off, literally.

What is Day Zero?

“Day Zero” is the day when there won’t be running water in Cape Town. It’s also about the new policies that the government is applying to prepare for this day. Witnessing such horrifying facts, we need to spread awareness about our own over consumption of running water here in Egypt hoping that we will delay reaching Day Zero in Cairo.

What’s Happening in Cape Town?

The vlogger, Hezaha w Safer team, showed snapshots of life in Cape Town in the video. Hotels are timing guests’ showers, pools are filled with salt water, people are queuing up in the streets to fill buckets of water, and showering water is being re-used to flush toilets.
After three years of drought, Cape Town’s water system is now failing. Experts predict water levels, in the six dams that feed the city, will fall below 13.5 percent of their capacity; effectively leaving the city dry. The country has been taking extreme measures to save every drop of water.

What Will Happen?

The consequences of reaching this point will be far reaching. For one, it will mean residents will have to stand in line to collect 25 litres of water per person per day. The water will be sourced from the remaining supplies that are left in the dams.

How to Prevent it?

To avoid the fate of cities like Cape Town, Egyptian youth, throughout the video, urged all of us to firstly, turn off our taps while brushing our teeth and while doing the dishes. Secondly, to spread the initiative, in order to to avoid the fate of cities like Cape Town.

List of Cities Facing Day Zero

Cairo is fourth on the Day Zero list of cities most likely to run out of water supply. Though the aim of the video is noble, calling on Egyptians to preserve water, water and environment experts affirmed that this list is far from accurate and that Cairo is not among the list of cities that may be subjected to “water shortage” at any time.

What Does Cairo Have to Say?

Former Deputy of the National Water Research Center, Diaa el-Kosy, stated that the condition in Cairo is completely different from other cities such as Cape Town, London, or any other city that is predicted to be subjected to “absolute water scarcity” as these cities depend mainly on the volume of rainfall as their main source of water. Historically, The Nile has been Egypt’s main source of fresh water for thousands of years.

For anyone accustomed to plenty, the future doesn’t look good. Taking a two-minute shower, flushing a toilet once, washing a load of dishes, as well as ordinary drinking, cooking, cleaning and tooth-brushing is enough to reach the limit.