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Cape Town water crisis: Fears grow that taps will run dry

Dam levels in the South African city are dwindling, with schools urging students to bring water from home to preserve resources.

By Sharon Marris, News Reporter

Tuesday 30 January 2018 20:02, UK

People collect drinking water from pipes fed by an underground spring, in St. James, about 25km from the city centre, on January 19, 2018, in Cape Town
Image: Some Cape Town residents have had to use other ways to get their water
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Cape Town's water crisis is worsening, sparking fears that taps in the tourist hotspot could run dry.

Dam levels in South Africa's Western Cape province fell from 25.3% last week to just 24.5% this week.

A year ago, they were at nearly 38%.

It had been expected that 12 April would be the date when taps would be turned off, leaving residents to pick up their water from one of around 200 collection points.

Commercial areas, hospitals and informal settlements would be exempt from the restrictions.

A picture taken on May 10, 2017 shows dry cracked mud staring out at the AG百家乐在线官网 at Theewaterskloof Dam, which has less than 20% of it's water capacity, near Villiersdorp, about 108Km from Cape Town
Image: In May 2017, Theewaterskloof Dam was at less than 20% capacity. It is now 13.1%

Cape Town's city council has announced plans to tighten water restrictions. From February, residents must use less than 50 litres per person, per day in a further effort to avoid a tap turn-off.

Currently, just 55% of residents are using fewer than 87 litres a day, officials have claimed.

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Meanwhile, aquifer drilling is accelerating and authorities hope to reduce water pressure in the municipal system in the coming weeks.

On Saturday, hundreds of the city's Muslims gathered for a special service where they prayed for rain.

The city's leaders have also said they are getting tougher on people who are stockpiling water and unlicensed stores selling potable water.

Members of a drilling team prepare to drill at a site where the Cape Town city council has ordered drilling into the aquifer to tap water, in Mitchells Plain, about 25km from the city centre, on January 11, 2018, in Cape Town
Image: More aquifers are being drilled into in the search for a way to stop the crisis

On Tuesday, local media reported that several schools have turned off their taps and asked students to bring water from home.

Some schools, such as Pinelands High School, are switching to a bucket system to save the water used when flushing a toilet.

Others have asked children to come to school in their sports gear so parents do not need to wash two outfits.

Some nursery workers are being laid off, as water-saving efforts leave gardens dry and undeveloped.

Once the restrictions begin, the city's leaders expect them to last up to three months.

Climate change and massive growth in population have been blamed for the water crisis.

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