South Africa is the 30th driest country in the world. Over 400 towns, especially in the western and central parts of the country, rely on water from aquifers that they pump out of the ground (groundwater).
In 2018 an intense drought occurred in the Northern Cape province. Both dams and groundwater sources were depleted. Some towns, like Sutherland, passed “Day Zero” (the day water runs out) in 2021. To manage the crisis, the local authorities began water-shedding (shutting the water off except for a few scheduled hours daily).
But this is not a lasting solution as climate observations show that rain is falling later than expected every year, and is not replenishing groundwater enough.
