In early 2018, Cape Town almost ran out of water.
Just when I landed, the government had just announced a countdown to “Day Zero” — when water supply across the city would be shut off and 4 million people would have queue up at taps to collect water, supervised by armed guards
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A lot has been written about Bangalore's water crisis, so here's a story.
In January 2018, I found myself in Cape Town, and while waiting for my bags at the conveyor belt, this sign stared back at me.
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After a 15-hour journey from Bengaluru, I’m exhausted, and cranky. No internet, so nothing to distract myself with.
I give up and head to the restroom.
There's no running water, but I see signs everywhere.
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I get my bags and get to my Airbnb.
This is the sign in my room.
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This crisis didn’t happen overnight. Cape Town’s water crisis had escalated over several months, and the city implemented civic water restrictions slowly, over months, and assigned levels to it depending on the severity.
Think of it like DEFCON levels for nuclear war.
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In 2016, they set it to Level 2— restricting garden watering to thrice a week for an hour a day.
In June 2017, they raised it to Level 4 — which limited water usage to 100 L per person daily.
By September, this had gone up to Level 5—which banned outdoor use of water.
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When I landed in Cape Town in January, the city had just escalated it to Level 6.
It was also the final level.
Level 7 was Day Zero.
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I’ve travelled to all kinds of places under various circumstances, but nothing comes close to the couple of weeks of dystopia I experienced that summer at Cape Town
I still did all the touristy things, like the Table Mountain, food and making friends with penguins.
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But wherever I went, whatever I did, I was constantly reminded that water, something I took for granted, was just out of reach.
At bars, you could have all the beer, but nobody would serve you water. At grocery stores, purchases of bottled water were controlled.
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Most importantly, I learned how to take 90 second showers — the maximum permitted by the law.
During my shower, I had to place a bucket in front of me, and the little water I collected was to be used for watering plants.
There were helpful infographics everywhere.
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In March 2018, Down to Earth did a study to estimate cities that were most vulnerable to water scarcity.
They identified 200 cities. They narrowed down 10 that were fast moving towards Day Zero.
Nairobi. Kabul. Buenos Aires.
Only one Indian city made the top 10.
Bangalore.
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For years, everyone has been predicting Bangalore would witness acute, persistent, water shortages.
The causes are also well-known and blame given. Perhaps it’s the government, or climate change, or migrants.
I disagree.
Bangalore's solutions are Bangalore's problems.
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This becomes more apparent if you look at what Bangalore is doing in 2024, and contrast it with what Cape Town did in 2018.
Cape Town co-opted the city. It took demand-side and supply-side measures. It rewarded good behaviour.
It made the city care.
And the city responded.
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Bangalore's solutions are what we are already familiar with.
The government believes that fines are better than rewards.
The people who live here believe that withdrawal, either by leaving it or by closing themselves off in gated communities, is better than the alternative.
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But nothing is more stark than how Cape Town used technology to solve the problem, and how Bangalore's leaders, executives, startups and community view tech.
That's the heart of what I wrote about today.
You can read it here. It's a free read.
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