In late 2017, Cape Town was the first major city in the world to announce it was approaching “Day Zero” – a reference for the day its water supply would largely run dry.


Authorities say they will shut down the municipal water system when the city’s water reservoirs drop to 13.5 percent capacity.


The Helihack project offers one more way to help avoid or at least delay Day Zero by eradicating prolific non-native vegetation in the watersheds surrounding the reservoirs.


The Western Cape mountain ranges cover one of the Strategic Water Source Areas (SWSAs) for surface water in South Africa. SWSAs cover 8% of South Africa yet supply 50% of the mean annual runoff.


72 Jan/Feb 2022


Among the biggest threats to SWSAs are invasive alien vegetation and drought exacerbated by climate change.


The government also implemented various other water-saving measures including temporary desalination plants, water restrictions on residents and businesses, drilling boreholes, and researching natural aquifer water sources.


In 2018 the drought was declared a disaster in three provinces and therefore a national disaster.


All these measures have pushed back Day Zero, but it still looms as drought conditions remain in some Western Cape regions and climate change continues.


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