Day Zero will be the start of active water rationing when taps will be cut off and people will have to go to collection sites.
With water storages running low, residents of Cape Town get drinking water in the early morning from a mountain spring collection point.
Nic Bothma/EPA
The situation in Perth in particular has some parallels to that of Cape Town, but Australian cities responded to the last big drought by investing in much bigger water supply and storage capacity.
Developing a map of African countries’ water poverty levels offers a transparent analysis for policymakers, governments and organisations that deal with water issues.
The Thomson Dam, Melbourne’s largest water storage, dropped to only 16% of capacity in the last big drought.
Melbourne Water/flickr
Australian cities have turned to some very costly solutions when water is scarce. But as the world’s second-highest users of water per person, more efficient use and recycling are key.
Under the proposal, irrigators would have to submit a statement that tallies with aerial images of their water use.
AAP Image/Cubbie Group
Allegations of water theft have thrown the Murray-Darling Basin Plan into crisis. The solution could involve users declaring their annual water use, subject to random audits - like a tax return.
Colonial notions of public and private space are embedded in sewage systems.
Elaichi Ohyeah/Flickr
Modern sewerage infrastructure, exported from Britain to the globe, is entirely dependent on water. In a world of growing climate extremes, it’s time to look beyond this colonial legacy.
Tropical rainforests are among the biggest contributors to the global greening boom.
AAP Image/Dave Hunt
The globe is greening as plants grow faster in response to rising carbon dioxide. But a new analysis shows they aren’t using more water to do it - a rare piece of good news for our changing planet.
Cape Town is experiencing the worst drought in 100 years.
Shutterstock
There is an increasing demand for water in cities like Cape Town. The current drought exacerbates this. But there are ways to use and save water sustainably.
Lake Powell, photographed April 12, 2017. The white ‘bathtub ring’ at the cliff base indicates how much higher the lake reached at its peak, nearly 100 feet above the current level.
Patti Weeks
The Colorado River supplies water to millions of people and irrigates thousands of miles of farmland. New research warns that climate change is likely to magnify droughts in the Colorado Basin.
Water use for transport is significant.
Edited from Wikimedia commons
A new millennium-long record reveals that Australia has suffered longer droughts and wet periods than those recorded in the past century’s weather observations.
Water footprints provide interesting information, but they should not be used as a tool for decision-making.
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Long-term drought and water shortages in many parts of the U.S. are spurring interest in ways to reuse graywater – the water that drains from sources such as showers, bathtubs and washing machines.
One of Melbourne’s drinking water reservoirs at 30% capacity in 2010. At the time of writing, the dam is 60% full.
Melbourne Water/Flickr