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[Music]
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[Music]
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you only need to look at tivity school
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of dam to realize how serious Cape
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Town's water crisis is
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after three years of record drought the
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city's biggest reservoir has become a
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desert
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[Music]
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the dams supplying water to four million
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people are at critically low levels this
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year Cape Town's been on the verge of
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becoming the first major city to run out
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of water
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but incredibly it's managed to more than
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half the amount of water it uses
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I wanted to find out how
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to visitors life in this stunning
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coastal city still seems pretty normal
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[Music]
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but for those who call Cape Town home
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things may never be the same
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[Applause]
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severe water restrictions were
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introduced in February and Ruth halls
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family of four now lives on a fraction
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of the water consumed by a single
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Australian we're giving settlements and
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it's actually unhealthy to drink the use
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of it we don't believe it we just carry
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on drinking our water but you know we
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just ration everybody a couple of liters
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per person per day they're not allowed
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to use more than 50 litres a day the
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average Australian consumes over 300
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[Applause]
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David Dunton says the most dramatic
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changes have been felt in the most
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private of spaces we do what most the
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rest of Cape Town I think is doing is
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the Credo when it's yellow let it Mellow
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when it's brown flush it down I've just
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come in and noticed that it is indeed
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brown thanks to my daughter I'm not
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flashing which often doesn't do which is
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meant to sir I will flush
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and you can you can hear that the toilet
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isn't filling up that's because we have
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this elaborate system down here of
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buckets of varying ages of bathwater
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that go into it into the loo so I will
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fill it up this is the one that's next
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of the rank this is another part of our
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water saving strategies we've taken off
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the is they you been done yeah we
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unscrewed it very simple and we just put
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a bucket under there and every time we
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brush your teeth or wash your hands it
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goes into there and it's actually
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surprising how much water you use like
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that and that fills up pretty quickly
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okay are we going to shower now Wow
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we've got another big system of buckets
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and watering cans and all sorts of
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things here I can do a quick visual
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demonstration when I shower I stand in
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here comes down and into there and again
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that's used as water for our toilet we
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try not to use any water once I've been
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drinking water do you know how much
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water you are actually consuming here
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last month we checked and it was 41
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liters per person per day
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so we underneath 250 so does that make
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you feel like you could take some longer
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showers and fill the bath up a bit
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higher no I think we didn't try to make
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it less than 41 next month
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[Music]
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so what's been the hardest thing to get
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used to things at you I find it a bit
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odd to be showering like two or three
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times a week that that is really odd and
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so you feel a bit stinky I know what
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I've found the hardest to get used to is
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a dying God
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many Australians are used to being told
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they can't water their lawn or wash
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their car but we're yet to face the
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prospect of completely dry taps David
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and his wife Ruth are doing all they can
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to avoid that happening everyone's water
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usage is publicly available so if you're
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middle-class and you don't do your bit
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you're not only risk a fine but
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something worse we had a staff meeting
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recently and my bus put up her water
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usage on the board and then everybody
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had to write up their own family's water
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usage I was like quite a sort of a
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shameful moment like oh my goodness I'm
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using more water than you are yeah so so
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people people are actually talking about
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like how much water are you using and
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it's a source of pride you know like I'm
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using less than you are seem to record
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your sister my sister was over 6,000
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liters but that's shameful yeah that's
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right merci I was gonna call her up
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I think that what's happened over the
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last 12 months is that our attitude to
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water has changed irrevocably we've
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actually learned that getting water and
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being able to turn on a tap and the
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water is there that's a privilege no I
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don't think that we can always rely on
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the idea that government is going to
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give us water Cape Town is facing a
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major water crisis with predictions that
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taps will run dry in May 2018 we start
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anticipating the very real possibility
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of a day 0 scenario that's the date taps
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are due to run dry how did Cape Town get
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into this water crisis in the first
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place and could this have all been
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averted last year
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Cape Town experienced to the lowest
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rainfall since records began in 1933 the
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city's also thirstier than it used to be
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the population is increased by a
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whopping 45% in a little over 20 years
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ironically it won an award for water
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saving measures designed to keep pace
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with its growing population
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but government failed to significantly
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increase the water supply and despite
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climate change ringing alarm bells
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everywhere it was caught out when the
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drought struck
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[Music]
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to top up their daily water allowance
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some caped onehans come to natural
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springs like this if day zero ever
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happens the water supply to households
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will be shut off and lining up at water
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stations will be the only way to get
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water the daily ration will be reduced
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to a meager 25 litres there's no other
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world theory and they will find out that
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there's a place that we can come to
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fetch water so you didn't even have
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water out of your taps yesterday other
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day the whole day we didn't have
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relatives was that the first time that
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had happened no it's not a first time
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it's been happening for many times crass
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tickly reduced mains water pressure has
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already left many households without
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water
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it sounds like day zero has already
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happened at your house Desiree's
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whatever happening we are not waking 14
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seasons already - like we went a lot of
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places to look for water we even went to
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the beach to fetch some water for the
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toilet some salt water from the beige
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totally from the beach just to use for
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the toilet so that was not nice we're
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looking for water everywhere
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every year because we try not to use too
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much of the waters at our thefts we
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obviously want to keep they they zero
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away we really would like to be part of
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be part of that happening it's extremely
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scary when you have things that's freely
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available to you on a daily basis you
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don't think you know you just stole you
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do the amount of laundry you do you open
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the taps without thinking that this is
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something you know reality that's going
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to eat you tomorrow
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I'm bein Nilsen the deputy mayor we're
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here to talk about the water situation
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in Cape Town we believe there's still a
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way to go in in terms of us getting our
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consumption down further
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despite careful planning the city's
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leaders also feared a zero especially
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the looming specter of panic and even
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violence well I think we very obviously
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be a very very severe situation we
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understand the risks of social unrest in
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those circumstances of disputes over
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access to water over people finding the
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time to be able to collect that water we
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have to keep at it
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we cannot relax at this point inevitably
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there's been a political stash over the
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crisis with national and city
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governments blaming one another for
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failing to build more infrastructures we
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have to diversify this water supply
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system there has to be ground water
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there has to be water reuse there has to
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be desalination there's been an
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expensive last-minute scramble to create
00:11:53
more water sources including the
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construction of desalination plants do
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you have any regrets about the way
00:12:01
things have been handled
00:12:02
I think we could have started sooner but
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that's easy in retrospect very easy a
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crisis can bring out the best and worst
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in people on the whole the city has
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rallied behind the campaign to save
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water in all kinds of inspiring ways
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[Music]
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local musicians have even recorded a
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two-minute song to play in the shower
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taps off when the music stops
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but there are always those who flout the
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restrictions this man is committing
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daylight robbery a river like this in
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the middle of the city wouldn't exist if
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people were allowed to take the water
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[Applause]
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that's why it's been necessary for the
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city to get tough the water enforcement
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issue the Strickland is a very emotional
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issue for many of the public so just be
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sensitive the now you deal with people
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I'm officer Maksim I'm employed by the
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city of Cape Town as a loyal faithful
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officer with water police enforcing the
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city's water bylaw
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unfortunately it's part of human nature
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where people will just use the water as
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they please
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that is why they is enforcement
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we go into a car wash at the BP garage
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car washes are permitted so long as they
00:14:03
don't use tap water how's it good good
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good good good good good
00:14:08
on the zoo Briella system to check the
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obvious as I Alaska they could be that
00:14:13
doesn't even a circle so plan
00:14:15
I'm checking ways getting this water
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supply from as you can see this is the
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connections over here this pipe is the
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municipal supply pipe but as you can see
00:14:26
it's it's it's it's tight closed off so
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they are not they not operating here but
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we have to investigate we are they
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getting the water source from there is
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it I've become this way you can see his
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tanks so they're using this water by
00:14:41
using the storage tanks to store the
00:14:43
water and from the water story is a pipe
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coming into the high priest of the scene
00:14:48
and then they will wash the vehicles for
00:14:50
that they're doing they're doing at the
00:14:52
moment they are doing the right thing so
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they are very compliant this carwash is
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using bog water now but the first time
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officer max him visited he slapped them
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with a three hundred dollar fine
00:15:06
when you first started coming around and
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finding people were they resistance they
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were very resistant they are swearing at
00:15:15
you they are give you they are
00:15:17
bad-mouthing you they are calling you
00:15:19
all these names and etc they didn't
00:15:22
understand the seriousness of the drug
00:15:24
because they they they will say things
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like I'm paying for my water who are you
00:15:30
to come give me a fine fool for the
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water I'd pay for
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[Music]
00:15:43
I've been hoping to see officer Maxine
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catching people out but it's probably a
00:15:49
good thing for Cape Town that these days
00:15:51
his job is a lot less confrontational
00:15:55
okay so you have completely disconnected
00:15:57
it okay as you can see the tip is
00:15:59
completely disconnected
00:16:02
so I can see this day is broken people
00:16:05
are doing the right people are doing the
00:16:07
right thing this differently producing
00:16:09
job is basically trying to save the city
00:16:12
man yes exactly so we sue Peters what is
00:16:18
14:02 superiors yeah that's right and
00:16:22
makes it feel good yeah yes very good
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[Music]
00:16:32
I'm Sharlene Mellon I'm the owner and
00:16:35
director of Charlie's Angels
00:16:38
[Music]
00:16:40
my nickname is actually Charlie and so
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hence the name Charlie's Angels hello
00:16:46
miss Kier thanks for bringing your water
00:16:52
perhaps the real water heroes are the
00:16:55
people who aren't just following the
00:16:56
rules they're going above and beyond in
00:16:59
their efforts to save water Sharlene
00:17:07
asks her clients to bring their own
00:17:09
water and towels the salon relies mostly
00:17:20
on donated water on Thursdays and
00:17:23
Fridays which had become jug and bucket
00:17:26
days unless clients have come for a
00:17:30
special treatment
00:17:31
Sharlene also asks them to wash their
00:17:34
hair beforehand salon is completely
00:17:36
reliant on water we did have to kind of
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sit down and look at ways that we can
00:17:43
start saving water and how we were going
00:17:45
to put that into place
00:17:51
she says at first clients weren't sure
00:17:54
about the changes but they got on board
00:17:55
once they realized it was otherwise
00:17:57
business as usual if anything business
00:18:01
is increased as a result of Charlene's
00:18:03
innovations so that's actually just
00:18:12
something that I've caught knots on
00:18:13
Facebook it's not actually use in the
00:18:16
garden for fertilizer than insecticide
00:18:18
that she's garden master power sprayer
00:18:21
and you can get this at any garden
00:18:24
sections at any supermarkets and in fact
00:18:28
it's been almost silent at every
00:18:30
supermarket that you guys because people
00:18:32
are showering with us
00:18:36
I heard that the premier cake problems
00:18:42
here at the badges I have not but I'm
00:18:48
rolling my eyes because I'd like to have
00:18:50
the premier comments on me that I'll
00:18:54
explain to why it's not a good thing
00:18:57
I'm saying government hello wake up
00:19:01
because it's the people on the ground
00:19:03
that is actually having to find
00:19:06
immediate innovative ideas to save water
00:19:10
[Music]
00:19:19
it looks like a lot of extra work oh no
00:19:25
one's forcing Charlene to make these
00:19:27
changes the water restrictions don't
00:19:30
actually apply to businesses like this
00:19:32
but there's more at stake for her in
00:19:35
this crisis and for most people if day
00:19:38
zero hits our business workers there's
00:19:42
just no way that we would be able to
00:19:44
operate at all I don't even want to
00:19:48
think about it because we won't be able
00:19:50
to feed our families educate our
00:19:53
families we will not be able to pay the
00:19:55
balls and so the negative impact on that
00:19:58
will just it just ripples into something
00:20:01
else that I don't even really want to
00:20:03
think about but it's a huge possibility
00:20:05
[Music]
00:20:16
South Africa is one of the world's most
00:20:18
unequal countries
00:20:23
around a quarter of Cape Town's
00:20:26
population live in informal settlements
00:20:29
that they only use five percent of the
00:20:31
city's water
00:20:33
[Music]
00:20:34
every day is day zero here
00:20:39
[Music]
00:20:41
water and sanitation have always been
00:20:44
huge issues in places like Khayelitsha
00:20:46
which is said to be the fastest-growing
00:20:49
township in South Africa
00:20:57
middle-class families might complain
00:20:59
about short showers and dying gardens
00:21:03
that people here have to cube for taps
00:21:06
and toilets but don't always work about
00:21:10
50 houses will rely on the steps even
00:21:13
more because all the all the section
00:21:16
here
00:21:16
doesn't have told it doesn't have depth
00:21:18
inside what do you think when you hear
00:21:23
people in the city talking about j0 j0
00:21:27
is not new to people living in informal
00:21:29
settlements people have been carrying
00:21:31
packet on top of their heads walk long
00:21:34
distance to access water I think it's
00:21:38
big to people who were living
00:21:40
comfortably people who had water in
00:21:43
their houses tasks the people who
00:21:45
experience Daisy because if we are used
00:21:48
to fetch water things the one mechanic
00:21:50
difference
00:21:51
passante zero will fetch water from from
00:21:54
the same tape if it's not cut off it is
00:21:59
not cut off you know
00:22:00
[Music]
00:22:03
I think the day zero is coming and I
00:22:19
think that as middle-class people we are
00:22:22
gonna have to think about life in a way
00:22:24
that where people have been living for a
00:22:28
long time which is you have to go with
00:22:31
your bucket and you need to go to the
00:22:33
communal tap and you need to get your
00:22:35
water and so on and this is how we're
00:22:38
going to live I think that that's how
00:22:40
we're going to one possibility is that
00:22:47
we live kept on when possibility is that
00:22:51
we take her and take our kids and put
00:22:54
them into a school elsewhere in the
00:22:56
country and just stay there for six
00:22:58
months because we can't actually sit
00:23:02
around spending half the day looking for
00:23:05
water we can't do that
00:23:08
[Music]
00:23:15
I think Cape Town is like the wake-up
00:23:18
call for the world the rest of the world
00:23:20
should should wake up and say okay this
00:23:23
is how it's gonna be which is not just
00:23:27
there's not enough water but rainfall is
00:23:30
going to be erratic it's going to come
00:23:31
at the wrong time it's not going to you
00:23:35
know it's not gonna water you're right
00:23:37
crops and so on
00:23:39
so we're in trouble everyone's in
00:23:42
trouble and I think captain is a is a
00:23:44
wake-up call for the whole world we're
00:23:46
gonna be Mad Max 1 and you guys are
00:23:48
gonna be the sequels
00:24:03
you
