Wednesday Water File

The document defines 'Day Zero' as a worst-case scenario where Cape Town's taps run dry, predicted for 21 April based on dam levels being 28% full as of 15 January. On this day, the city enters Emergency Stage 3, cutting off water to most households and businesses, leaving only vital services and 200 points of distribution providing 25 litres per person. Recovery is expected to take three to six months, depending on winter rainfall. While new sources like groundwater, desalination, and reclaimed water are planned (totaling 292 million litres per day by year-end), they will not meet the current demand of 600 million litres per day. The briefing advises residents to monitor water use, prepare emergency drinking water, and consider dry sanitation systems.

• Day Zero is predicted for 21 April, based on dam levels being 28% full as of 15 January and the assumption that the final 13.5% of water in the dams cannot be used.
• Upon reaching Day Zero, the city will implement Emergency Stage 3, cutting off mains water to households and businesses. Water will only be available at 200 points of distribution (PoDs) with a limit of 25 litres per person, and for vital services such as clinics and hospitals.
• The recovery of water services is expected to take between three and six months after Day Zero, as dam levels may not increase until August depending on winter rainfall.
• Planned new water sources—including groundwater (150 ML/day), desalinated water (120 ML/day), and reclaimed water (22 ML/day)—are expected to be online by the end of the year, but their combined capacity is insufficient to meet Cape Town's current demand of approximately 600 ML/day.
• The document suggests that residents may need to adopt 'dry' sanitation systems and temporary pit latrines because there will be insufficient water to flush toilets.

APA

WWF South Africa (n.d.). Wednesday Water File. https://www.wwf.org.za:443/bucket_list/?23981/wednesday-water-file-01

Chicago

WWF South Africa. Wednesday Water File. n.d. https://www.wwf.org.za:443/bucket_list/?23981/wednesday-water-file-01.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF South Africa |title=Wednesday Water File |url=https://www.wwf.org.za:443/bucket_list/?23981/wednesday-water-file-01 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfsouthafricandwednesday, author = {{WWF South Africa}}, title = {{Wednesday Water File}}, institution = {WWF South Africa}, url = {https://www.wwf.org.za:443/bucket_list/?23981/wednesday-water-file-01}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }