AT THE edge of Khayelitsha, a township in Cape Town, Ntombi Mlityalwa is filling a huge old paint tin from a standpipe, with which she intends to do laundry. As water gushes, she says that it is not always so easy. The tap she is using serves an entire street of shacks. Recently, the pressure has fallen, and sometimes the flow runs dry in the morning. “We struggle when there is no water,” says Ms Mlityalwa. Since Christmas, she reckons the pipe has gone dry three days each week, forcing her to travel to another.
Ms Mlityalwa’s struggle is, these days, something that also terrifies wealthier Capetonians. This year the city is in a desperate bind to avoid what it calls “Day Zero”, the point when the water level at dams north of the city falls to 13.5%, forcing the adoption of emergency rationing. On that day, which is currently predicted for June 4th, taps to suburban homes will be cut off, as will those of most businesses. Water will keep flowing to the city centre, to some informal...Continue reading
Source: Middle East and Africa http://ift.tt/2EttnaY
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