Cape Town’s ‘Day Zero’: What can we learn for water management in southern California?

Keywords: Day Zero, water supply, drought, water management, southern California
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Saturday
Session Start / End Time: 2/26/2022 05:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/26/2022 06:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 56

Abstract

Water resources, impacted by climate change and increasing water demand, have become limited in semi-arid regions around the world. Cape Town, South Africa, recently experienced a drought crisis peaking with the alarming notice of ‘Day Zero’, when the city would run out of water. The lessons learned from evaluating what led to the crisis and the strategies and adaptations the city undertook in response, are crucial for the future of the Western Cape and for other drought prone regions. This study discusses possible causes for the drought and examines policy decisions and restrictions implemented in response to this event. Next, we evaluated which of these policies and actions taken (efficiency improvements vs. restrictions) remain in place today. Despite the complexities of changes to water supply and human responses to resource management, we can assess the lessons from Cape Town in the context of water management and resources conservation in southern California. Finally, we compare the climate preparedness actions related to the region's continued drought and water supply variability, which has yet to experience the threat of a 'Day Zero'. to the climate outlook for southern California to ask: Are we ready?