What happens when day zero comes?

Town mayor Patricia de Lille has given residents a glimpse into what is to come when day zero arrives.

“Today I want to bring you into my confidence to tell you what will happen if day zero arrives. Dam levels must at least be at 13‚5%. If they go below that‚ that is the day we will turn off the taps‚'' said De Lille.

"We have to exclude the densely populated areas like the informal settlements. If we turn the taps off there‚ we face significant risks in those areas like disease. The rest of Cape Town will have to collect water from a predefined area from 200 sites around the city.”

But there is good news. Officials had predicted that day zero would likely arrive in March next year‚ however‚ thanks to the water saving endeavours‚ it will arrive on May 13 only.

Water augmentation plans are in full swing‚ she assured. Among other things‚ more than 30 boreholes have been sunk in Cape Town‚ tenders for the Cape Flats aquifer have been issued and a contract has been issued by the Cape Town harbour desalination plant.

Currently dam levels are at 36.8%.