Water Shortages Are Nothing New To Some Folks In Cape Town
A 3-year drought has brought on water restrictions — and talk of 'Day Zero,' when Cape Town will run out of water. But for many people in the townships, a short supply is nothing new.
by Daniella Cheslow
Mar 13, 2018
4 minutes
In the front yard of a modest house in Cape Town's Khayelitsha township, Samantha Tibisono washes her clothes with water from a communal tap.
She lives in Site C, a neighborhood where nearly two-thirds of residents live in shacks with no running water. The city provides communal taps and toilets for sanitation. But lately the taps have run dry.
Inside their home, Tibisono's daughter Asavela, 17, points to buckets of water on shelves and under a table.
"Sometimes [we go] two days without water," she says.
Parched by a historic three-year drought, Cape Town officials have warned for months of a "Day Zero"—a moment when people will have to line up for daily water rations
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