According to a report by Down To Earth magazine, which is published by the Centre for Science and Environment, close to 200 cities around the world are facing a water crisis.
Cape Town, one of the richest cities in Africa, is facing a water crisis that might soon lead to ‘Day Zero’ — a day when all the taps in the city will start running dry.
The report also stated that there will be a global water crisis by 2050. This could also be due to the demand for water shooting up 80 percent worldwide.
Although being a commodity so essential to life, close to 400 million people lack adequate access to water. The report says that the number will rise to a staggering 1 billion people.
The United Nations’ 2018 World Water Development Report said that 3.6 billion people already live in places that could experience a lack of water and that the number could expand to 5.7 billion people by 2050.
Major cities across the world like Beijing (China), Mexico City (Mexico), Sanaa (Yemen), Nairobi (Kenya), Istanbul (Turkey), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Karachi (Pakistan), Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Kabul (Afghanistan) might also face the Day Zero crisis.
The concept of ‘Day Zero’ in Cape Town was to hammer in the reality of having no water in the city anytime soon. This caused a major change in water consumption patterns in the city. Residents cut down their water consumption by 60 percent.
This was so substantial that the initially estimated date fro Day Zero, June 4, was pushed to July 9. According to a Times of India report, Cape Town officials said that Day Zero could be pushed to August 27, even if it doesn't rain in the city. If the rains do arrive, Day Zero can be avoided altogether.
Currently, residents of Cape Town are mandated to use less than 50 litres or 13.2 gallons per person daily. This is less than one-sixth of the average citizen’s consumption pattern.
The report furthers talks of Bengaluru, a city that was prided for its abundance of water resources. The city was formed in the vicinity of numerous water bodies.
Bengaluru harnessed these water bodies to create reservoirs. Today, a lot of them have disappeared, giving way to concrete jungles. The report states that the demand from the influx of IT professionals accelerated this trend. Others are want for a clean-up.
Experts say that groundwater reserves in the city have not been replenished adequately precisely due to this unplanned urbanization. A resident of the city said that water could be found even after digging nearly half a kilometer underground.
"Recharge of groundwater is minimal due to unplanned urbanisation. The city only uses half of its treatment capacity to treat the waste and as a result a substantial amount of waste is dumped into the water bodies," the Down To Earth report stated.
An ecologist said this problem could be solved with the effective retention of rain water. He said Bengaluru gets an ample amount of rainwater that could effectively be harvested for its 10 million residents.
Earlier, water was also supplied from the river Kaveri, which also flows through the state of Tamil Nadu. The water from the river was subject to a bitter dispute that was recently resolved by the Supreme Court in Karnataka’s favour.
Pune too faces an acute water crisis, as the city’s river water supplies have either dried out or are in the process of drying out. Experts suggest more initiatives towards rainwater harvesting, and other active methods of replenishing ground water.