Yahoo News Mad Max for real - Cape Town could run out of water in 90 days
Cape Town has little more than 90 days left before it runs out of water.
The crisis has got so bad, people are comparing the doomsday scenario for the South African city to the movie Mad Max.
If it happens, Cape Town could become the the first major city in the world to run out of water.
Officials in Cape Town have given details of what they are calling ‘Day Zero’, where the city’s water supplies would be limited to essential consumers only, such as hospitals.
Already it has tried to limit water use per household – with a limit of 23 gallons per person per day. But only around half of all households in Cape Town are sticking to the limit.
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It has also asked residents to limit their showers to a couple minutes, stop watering their lawns, no washing of cars, and flush toilets only when necessary.
The shortage had come about in part because of a prolonged three-year drought.
If reductions cannot be made, the water will run out on April 22.
Officials have said in that case, they put armed guards on the streets to prevent any water theft from reservoirs, which are drying up.
The wealthiest in the city could turn to supplies from elsewhere and pay people to truck in their own water.
The lack of water was firstly attributed the 2015 El Niño, and the drought has continued.
But experts have claimed that global warming means South Africa will continue to receive less rainfall.
Cape Town is investing in desalination plants but will not be operational in the short-term.
The Mad Max Fury Road film in 2015 is set in a post-apocalyptic world where vital resources including water are scarce.
