over the past months, the south african city of cape town has been coming to terms with an impending crisis, which could see its fresh water supply expire. although a recent downpour tentatively postponed ‘day zero’ until june 4th, 2018 — the day the city is expected to run dry — the situation is believed by many to be the most severe a modern city has ever faced. however, recently uncovered research suggests that a solution to the water shortage may be hiding in plain sight.

cape town drought
image by lindria oosthuizen | main image by discott

 

 

according to a report by the verge, a vast sea of fresh water can be found off the coast of south africa that, if tapped, could serve as a backup water supply for cape town. according the publication, this water supply lies at the southern tip of the continent in an 18,000-square-mile basin, which was documented in a 2013 paper in ‘nature’ by scientists from flinders university and the national centre for groundwater research and training. geophysicist brandon dugan explained to the verge that in order to harvest the fresh water, geoscientists must first comprehend how the reserves were generated — a complicated analysis lies ahead. 

cape town drought
image courtesy of the royal portfolio

 

 

meanwhile, cape town’s ‘silo hotel’ — a new venue that forms one-half of a former grain silo renovated by heatherwick studio — is urging guests to still visit the city, stating that ‘despite the drought, visitors should be assured that cape town is and will continue to be both a viable and an incredible tourist destination.’ hotelier the royal portfolio, owner of the silo, argues that ‘much of the hype around the drought has been to ensure citizens are aware of the situation and that everyone is doing what they can to reduce consumption. a side effect of this awareness campaign has been a number of sensationalist headlines in the international press and ‘fake news’ about civil unrest.’