Cape Town Residents Will Soon Be Limited To 50 Liters of Water A Day

When the city runs out of water, wealthy Capetonians will learn to live the way a lot of black people live everyday.

Cape Town Residents Will Soon Be Limited To 50 Liters of Water A Day
Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.

Starting from the beginning of February, Capetonians will be restricted to 50 liters of water per day. This is an attempt to save water in Cape Town, which could be the first major city in the world to run out of water.


According to the city's mayor Patricia De Lille, the Mother City runs a risk of reaching the dreaded #DayZero on 21 April.

"We can no longer ask people to stop wasting water. We must force them," De Lille said at a press conference. A majority of Cape Town residents aren't making enough effort to save water.

"Despite our urging for months, 60% of Capetonians are callously using more than 87 liters per day," the mayor said.

A lot of wealthy Capetonians (especially from the affluent suburbs of the city) are complaining about these restrictions. There will be communal water collection areas when #DayZero finally arrives.

A majority of black South Africans, who live in townships and rural areas, have lived under those conditions their whole lives–using communal taps, dry toilets and bathing in basins.

This is a serious crisis, but and is affecting everyone, but rich people, tuck it in, your privilege is showing!