Capetonians woke up today to the knowledge that within 99 days their taps could run dry. The date of "day zero" - April 22 - is a moving target and depends on a host of factors including consumption levels and the success of augmentation initiatives such as groundwater extraction and desalination.
Every time Cape Town misses its daily consumption target of 500 million litres - and so far it hasn't even come close to hitting it - day zero edges closer and mayor Patricia de Lille's monotonous assurances that "a well-run city does not run out of water" sound a little hollower.Even De Lille's DA colleagues in the Western Cape provincial government don't seem to believe her. As we report today, they are furiously sinking boreholes to guarantee water supply at their properties across the city. Businesses, too, are voting with their wallets by investing heavily in groundwater extraction. And householders - those who can afford to - are making their own plans. Anecdotal evidence suggests that across the suburbs storage tanks are being filled with municipal water while it's still available.
The rising sense of panic coincides with De Lille's fight to save her job in the face of a full-scale assault by the enemies she has made in the DA. D-day arrives today, when the DA federal executive meets to discuss its response to investigative findings that "the instability in the City of Cape Town poses a clear and present danger to our electoral prospects in 2019".
In her approach to the investigation - De Lille refused to give evidence in person and responded only through lawyers - the mayor made it clear she will not go without a fight. A federal executive decision to fire her seems inescapable, and her response is likely to involve the courts...