Cape Town Could Become First Major City to Run Out of Water in 90 Days Lydia Smith - The Independent
Cape Town may become the first large city in the world to run out of water, as officials warn there are fewer than 90 days left before the supply runs dry.
The city’s mayor Patricia De Lille said residents had until 22 April until “day zero”, when authorities have estimated the water supply will be finished if residents do not scale back their usage.
As a result, officials have introduced strict measures to limit the consumption of available water, including capping usage at 87 litres per person per day.
In Water-Scarce Regions Desalination Plants Are Risky Investments Brett Walton - Circle of Blue
2016: New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Analysis of Global Desalination Market, finds that the market earned revenues of $11.66 billion in 2015 and estimates this to reach $19.08 billion in 2019.
This month the International Energy Agency projected that due to the increasing global demand for fresh water the amount of energy used in the water sector will more than double by 2025. Most of the increased demand, said the agency, comes from desalination. By 2040, the IEA added, desalination projects will account for 20 percent of water-related electricity demand globally.
The International Energy Agency’s findings reflect the immense size and reach of the desalination industry. In the year that ended on June 30, desalination capacity increased 16 percent or 3.7 million cubic meters per day (1 billion gallons), according to the 29th Worldwide Desalting Inventory, published by GWI DesalData in association with the International Desalination Association. Seawater desalination accounted for 1.6 million cubic meters per day of the new capacity, an increase of 14 percent from the previous year. Sorek, the newest plant and the world’s largest reverse osmosis facility, opened in October 2013. Thanks to state-of-the-art design, it produces some of the least expensive desalinated water in the world, at $US 0.58 per cubic meter (264 gallons).