This introduction covers Day Zero: The Day the Taps Were Turned Off within Water Resource Management for GCSE Geography. Revise Water Resource Management in The Challenge of Resource Management for GCSE Geography with 15 exam-style questions and 26 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 1 of 14 in this topic. Use this introduction to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
💧 Day Zero: The Day the Taps Were Turned Off
Day Zero had originally been set for April 2018. Then the city realised the reservoirs were draining faster than expected. Officials moved it forward. Then forward again. Cape Town was on track to become the first major city in the modern world to run out of water.
It didn't happen — but only just. Three years of drought, a growing population, ageing infrastructure, and complacency had pushed a wealthy, modern African city to the edge of catastrophe. Residents cut their use from 200 litres per person per day to 50. They placed buckets in showers. They flushed toilets only when absolutely necessary. Day Zero was postponed, then cancelled — but the message was unmistakeable. Water security is not a problem of the developing world. It is a problem of the whole world.
And the numbers make it starker still: right now, 2 billion people are already living in water-stressed countries. By 2050, that figure could rise to 4 billion — half the world's population. Water is not running out, exactly. But the gap between where water exists and where people need it is widening, year by year.
Practice questions for Water Resource Management
What is the difference between physical and economic water scarcity?
Explain three reasons why global demand for water is increasing.