Countdown to Day Zero: Cape Town's Water Crisis
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- Опубліковано 10 лис 2024
- What happens when a major metropolitan area runs out of water? The 4.5 million residents of Cape Town are hoping they won’t have to find out. The South African city has been experiencing a severe water crisis since early 2017, when the municipal government began pleading with residents to conserve water. In October of that year, as the situation worsened, the city enforced water restrictions and mandated household rationing, a program that Mayor Patricia de Lille called the New Normal. “As a permanent drought region,” de Lille announced in a press conference, “we have to change our relationship with water as a scarce resource.” The program was aimed at preventing an outcome that seemed increasingly inevitable: Day Zero, when taps across the city would run dry.
Simon Wood and Francois Verster’s short documentary, "Scenes from a Dry City," depicts Cape Town at the height of its water crisis. Residents scramble to circumvent restrictions in order to maintain their livelihoods. Families endure long lines at water distribution points. Protests spring up across the city, drawing attention to the inequities associated with the privatization of water. The film, created with Field of Vision and premiering on The Atlantic today, is a deeply revealing observational portrait of a city struggling to adapt to scarcity. In many ways, it is a harbinger of things to come. Read more: www.theatlanti...
"Scenes from a Dry City" was directed by Simon Wood and Francois Verster, and produced by Field of Vision (fieldofvision.org/). It is part of The Atlantic Selects, an online showcase of short documentaries from independent creators, curated by The Atlantic.
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Instead of complaining about how late this is, can we all just appreciate how well shot and edited this was?
It has a good contrast of both sides of the water regulation.
2 min b-roll is just boring idc now artsy they’re trying to be lmao had to skip through half the video
No, because this is not about the visuals, but rather the information given.
If I wanted good visuals then I'd see a new sci-fi film.
"Who cares if the information is outdated and ignores current circumstance. They don't *have to* disclose that. What's *IMPORTANT* is the cinematic emotional effect, and the facts of the current situation would absolutely undermine that drama!"
Im just complaining that I have to fucking learn this shit 200 times EVERY damn year. It really takes the piss generally.
So many people complaining about this being a year late. Most of us outside of South Africa had no idea this was even going on, and appreciate a glimpse of what it was like!
You're a year late releasing this. Current water restrictions are at level 3 since Cape Town had good winter rains filling dams to about 70% capacity.
Oh good. I thought I remembered reading about this a while ago so I was very concerned to see that they were back to day zero.
Yeah, I don't get the timing of this.
@@EdwardRossi They aren't. Sometime in mid winter of 2018, day zero was pushed back indefinately
The Atlantic shares films, old and new, they curate them on their channel, they don't create them.
I disagree, this crisis has not been averted in the slightest. The rains brought only temporary respite and a false sense of hallelujah. Scientists say those rains may be the last for many many years. The crisis will come back and soon.
Wow ! The cameraman, editor and everyone involved in making this documentary seems so passionate to their works. When you love your work and so deeply involved, you create such piece of marvelous work. I genuinely respect to all who made this . Loved the way you presented. I am really impressed. Salute!!!!
How old is this. Patricia de Lille isn’t even mayor any more.
Stop bitching and appreciate the vid.
Nicholas Lowick That really doesn’t matter. Shut up and pray.
1:55 why are you running?
bass boosted: *WHY ARE YOU RUNNING!?*
@MxHypertron its funny because its not happening to me lol
@@Yggdrasilkuruno need for that statement.
This video desperately needs a timestamp in the intro to set some context because it does not reflect the present day situation
It's still a very relevant topic.
And it's a documentary on the entire period we went through. It's not a current piece of news.
How is the situation now?
@@owownwowlson8524 that's what I wanna know
This is an excellent crafted short it says so much about society through a water crisis. You could release this video in ten years and it would be still relevant to the struggle of poverty against wealth. Unfortunately, most people didn't watch it or have completely missed the subtext believing its just a news report. I live in Australia so this video hits home we constantly experience drought.
Water is not big problem here.. We slowly reaching 'day zero' in economy, education, culture, politic, safety... SA is out of control!
Water most definitely is a problem in our country, we can't ignore it
Water is still a problem, you are getting water from rural western cape, don't think we are out of the woods because the farmers and the country people gave up their water for you.
In a time when the US is becoming out of control. Your statement isn’t accurate.
water is not the problem in South Africa because the government has everything it needs to deliver water to the residents: …………………………………………………………………………………………………...atmospheric water generators are available every where : they could provide temporary water while desalination plants are built :what are they waiting for?
I feel like I’m watching the prequel of Interstellar
ya because of music in the begining.
Very well made short. The drought there has apparently passed, but still this is a gripping glance at a not so distant future for many. Powerful stuff, imo warrants a feature length of this artistic quality!
And from what I heard, scientists say the latest rains that ended the drought will likely be the last for years to come, with the situation going to be worse the 2nd time
@@cpufreak101 Maybe they should privatise their water then.
@@izdatsumcp if you want to see the disaster that becomes, look at Chile, they have exactly that, and it's regarded as one of the major issues in the country due to price jacking. I have multiple friends that live there should you want more information.
@@cpufreak101 Do you know what price is? It is the nexus of supply and demand. If the supply goes down or the demand goes up, the price follows. Therefore, there is no such thing as price jacking: it is simply a reflection of the new realities of supply and demand.
How you solve the problem of low supply of something is that you allow prices to go up and so give entrepreneurs an incentive to invest in that thing, thereby increasing the supply. All government involvement can do is divide already existing resources and, since they have all this power, it leads to corruption.
Also, prices going up allows people to economise at the margin. For some people buying water at a higher price, won't be an issue. For others, it will be. This allows for a better use of water as individuals know better their preferences than the state does. Again, this means less corruption.
@@izdatsumcp A: first off, incorrect. In arid regions, Supply is already scarce to begin with, privatization just further increases prices of a commodity needed for basic human survival.
B: also these aquifers are turning to unusable saltwater in such places as well btw due to the already existing demand.
So unless your solution is "let those that can't afford it die", which right there should make many people question your empathy, Privatization of water just makes an already bad situation worse.
Imagine running from the cops for 'illegaly' washing your car 😥
I know this is late and all, but I think we can take Cape Town as an example for what the future of the entire planet will look like in 50 even 30 years
AsianDad202 if we keep polluting the clean, then maybe a shorter time period
And California, New York, Australia, Chile, I could go on. I don't say this to be a smart arse but it really is shocking how many places around the world there is severe drought.
water is not the problem in South Africa because the government has everything it needs to deliver water to the residents: …………………………………………………………………………………………………...atmospheric water generators are available every where : they could provide temporary water while desalination plants are built :what are they waiting for?
That old lady gets caught and now she snitches on her neighbors?! 🤣😅
nice cinematography, excellent editing and sound! very good
100,000 years in and humans still think they can stand a on top of a hill and beg the sky ghosts for rain.
That scene gave me end of the world vibes.
All mighty sky gods!
People are so insanely weird
It worked though... Capetonian here
water is not the problem in South Africa because the government has everything it needs to deliver water to the residents: …………………………………………………………………………………………………...atmospheric water generators are available every where : they could provide temporary water while desalination plants are built :what are they waiting for?
We now have a second El-Nino (a weak one so far this year), back to back with the last one. And a very short La-Nina in between.
This problem is not going to go away. Too many people, too much waste, and not enough concerted will to fix this. And given that it is more important to stage "Invade Cape Town" with the ANC Army Show. That's the future for us.
Regarding Countdown to Day Zero... That was beautifully presented last year in 2018 when the situation WAS that critical. Good rains followed and while we are still under some water restrictions, things are normal now. One of the worst effects of the concern that there would be NO water was the international panicky press which caused lots of holiday and commercial cancellations. The film industry had lots of international projects cancelled our postponed. Bad for employment in many industries. But now all is well and we have learned how to be a waterside city. ❗
Saying that heavy rains solved the problem is like an a man who just lost his leg, says the turniquet solved his problem. Wake up.
I came to learn about the crisis. Had to wait 5 mins before each two sentences of info.... Couldn't finish went to find a video with more information
How the hell is that golf course so luscious and green with a drought? And why aren't people way more conservative knowing there's a crisis and it could cost them their life if they don't do the right thing? Whole thing is confusing.
It could also be fake turf.
The parallel video and audio sync was just awesome.
For the record, hotels were not allowing people to have baths
A complex mosaic of art and documentary, excellent video A++++
oh my god the editing is amazing
Just was in Cape. The reservoirs were at healthy levels.
Stop complaining about the time of the release !
Presently the situation has become better with the rainfall but it does not mean that this scenario will not occur again.
Atleast this shows us the condition that takes place once you run out of water, being caught by police to wash your car. That is pure bizarre.
So let this be a lesson to us all towards the conservation and proper use of water.
Day zero is arriving, slowly but eventually.
This is nothing to do with rainfall, it has to do with state ownership of water and them giving it away for free.
As a Cape Tonian I did not find this video a true reflection of the actual sitaution we're facing. It appears to be a emphasis of the "causes" being blamed and suffering most, not the actual true causes of the drought and the state of "day zero"
There weren't any statements made. There's no narrator in this video. What exactly are you objecting to?
Let them use all the water, then when they die because they didn't listen, well then sucks to suck. Dont be stupid. They are limiting water for a reason
The rich people will never die...only the poor will die so don't fight water crisis, fight poverty 🤑🤑
Apart from being more than a year late, I find the subtext amidst the racial discourse perpetuated through the editing of this video revolting and inflammatory. The golf course scene, and the edit at 6:30 was either done on purpose, or by someone completely oblivious to what they were doing and what was really going on. Every Capetonian knows the golf courses weren't allowed to use municipal water. And the shot of the waterfront houses, to my eye, looks like it's on a salt-water lagoon - not fresh water. Plus, it doesn't show any of the good and hard work done by people of all walks of life. This is cherry-picking scenes for dramatic effect at its worst. And it was done without any conscience of how the rest of the world may perceive it. Beautifully shot footage wasted on a very narrow, blinkers-on narrative.
whites need to get out of Africa.
Really? Because I read that editing as, "Look at this, here's a gold course. The water hazards are dry. How much valid is being said at that rally?"
bigAssGooseberrydich okay someone did not take history in school and general knowledge isn’t your forte. When white people came to South Africa there were already indigenous people of colour, namely the Khoi and the San (and that’s just in the Cape alone). Human beings, like all species migrate and that’s what we’ve done throughout history, except black people had no say in their ‘migration’ to Europe unlike white people. Those days are long gone and shouldn’t be the focus of society as a whole instead we should be looking at integration and seeing past race, ethnicity, religion and such.
Thank you for attending my Ted Talk
bigAssGooseberrydich yeah you’re right Joburg for the most part was empty, but do you know what wasn’t? A lot of Southern Africa as it was called at the time. Places like the Limpopo province, KZN, Eastern Cape, Western Cape were infact occupied. So yes people integrated and migrated before, during and after the settlers came but a lot of those people had already been living on this land for centuries
bigAssGooseberrydich okay there is so much wrong with that statement and a few points right. Anyone who cheers on violent acts or discrimination against a certain group of people simply because of the colour of their skin or some other stupid thing like that is in the wrong, no questions asked. What Zimbabwe did with how they expelled the white people out of the country was wrong, what Nelson Mandela did with FW de Klerk was nothing short of revolutionary. Choosing to unite South Africa under all its races and not doing Zimbabwe did by retaliating was the right and humane call. Another point, Zulus are not a minority in South Africa. Zulu is literally the most spoken African language in the country and indigenous is applicable to all black people in Africa that were here when the settlers arrived because they literally could not have come from anywhere else other than Africa hence the term indigenous/native. Black people are native to Africa - how you even begin to try and deny that is beyond logic and reason. And I will reiterate this, people that call for the blood of white people are in of themselves racist, small minded and one of the things wrong with humanity, however, these people aren’t as many as you’re led/ would like to believe. And that last statement should be the other way around - Africa is the one that was colonized and westernized not the other way around
Would have been relevant if you published this a year ago!
I'm not sure why you're releasing this video today? We no longer face Day Zero as we received good rains in the winter. As a contributor to public discourse, I encourage you to do as much research into the *current* situation in an area that you are producing a video about. Especially when the piece could potentially alter people's perceptions of the situation in Cape Town and dissuade them from doing business or visiting here. Rather irresponsible, quite frankly...
One good rain doesn’t mean droughts won’t happen in the near future. What happens when it’s 5 or 6 years of drought?
Irrelevant, the current situation is not as depicted in the video. Obviously there are massive challenges climate wise but that doesn't mean it's okay to post outdated pieces of information in a very public forum.
It's an interesting study of what people start to do when a basic resource is under threat. But they should update the description so we know what's happening now.
this video edited was superb. somehow like watching a movie
This video made me thirsty and appreciate my drinking water even more
There have been droughts before. Why no words about the mismanagement?
Mad Max was just around the corner
my sister were on table mountain and it was snowing! yup! snowed for the first time in 10 years! this was in October of last year!
I LOVE THIS OMG
did you just call me the n word!??!?!?!?!?!?
At 5:43 always attacking people that have worked hard for what they have, I get it, the water is low, but why are you not saying it’s the ANC’s fault? It’s their fault but yet always have to blame people that work and have nothing to do with it. So over this country and it’s people.
I completely get your point, I do however think that issue here is that most of the people who are rich (white South Africans in particular) were able to acquire their wealth through structures of the apartheid regime that gave them an advantage over people of colour which allowed them to benefit even to this day. Of course it doesn’t help to keep playing the blame game but these structures still have an effect on the socio-economic status of the country and unfortunately it is the poor that always get the short end of the stick and that is something that the government should be addressing. So I definitely agree with your point, I just think that there’s more to it. But overall the government is the body that should be receiving the blame
The droughts over, the dam levels are fine. Why post a year old news item?
It's still a very relevant topic.
And it's a documentary on the entire period we went through. It's not a current piece of news.
@@jasonlee5953 Then make it clear that it's not current news, instead of "The 4.5 million residents of Cape Town are hoping they won’t have to find out". The year of the drought lost Cape Town millions in lost tourism, but as long as old docs are posted as if they're current, tourists will continue to stay away when the drought is long gone, and local businesses will suffer for no reason.
Is this footage just a, "news item?" Even if this happened 100 years, is history irrelevant to you?
Many large cities across the world are facing the same crisis !
Running out of footage to upload? Cape Town is quite okay now. in fact its raining currently. Lots of topics around the country to upload.
How about giving some context instead of showing random footage and expecting us to interpret them?
South Africa has so much diversity, why can they not ...idk.. diversify themselves into prosperity?
Because a certain imperial government stifled integration, business, community and cross-racial activity for centuries? Are they supposed to turn themselves around in barely over two decades?
What are you on about? We’re no longer in a drought. You’re like a year late 0.o
On another note: that crowd of religious (seemingly borderline fanatical) people is scary.
This reminds me of the movie rangel i feel like some one is blocking the water source from entering
Hopi dry farming, African Zai? Really that guy.. confiscating water and then dumping it on the side of the road. Really??!!
The cops arrest the guys for wasting water washing cars with it, confiscate it and throw it out in the street. Theres no hope for this situation
Fluorescent Black That water is already filled with soap and undrinkable. That’s why they are in this crisis even though they are located at the ocean....
Thanks ANC
This is a good example of what happens when fear devastates a population.
Even in sweden we can Experince water Scaresitey in some summers if they are extra warm and if there where less snow during winter time so the Ground did not have the time to soak upp all the water and turn it into clean Ground water
All these videos about Cape Town water over the last year have something in common!
Title: water crisis *IN* Cape Town.
**proceeds to show video with mostly dry rural landscape outside Cape Town**
@@sabrinusglaucomys The water also doesn't originate from the rural landscapes depicted in these videos. What's your point?
This is outdated. Why is it being released now?
This video is full of visuals....but it lacks information. I am watching more of a lifestyle video of CT than data, facts, history and projections.I found this video very weak.
Patricia is not mayor anymore and neither are we hitting day 0
We may not have much water but at least it doesn't make our frogs gay
Damian Venter 🤦🏽♀️
What???
Please don't breed, the world has enough idiots.
@@dudeforcaster8630 - Ah, excellent! :)
That crowd was trippin harder than a Beatles concert
Some narration of what was going on would have been nice. This was like watching a silent film. All I got was no water, mad people, and let’s all pray for rain. Why was the guy saying water should be free? Unless you have a well, it’s not free. Municipal water is a service. And it has to be treated before it’s consumable. I live in Michigan. We are surrounded by fresh water. But we still pay for it. Incoming and outgoing. Regardless, this video does not say much about a deeper issue at hand. It just leaves one guessing.
Scott they want everything free.
As a South African, I tend to like The Atlantic's articles online, so this video's choice to only give visuals and audio with no context is pretty bizarre, especially considering how labyrinthine South African politics can be. I understand that the video wanted to give a sense of this city to intrigue the viewer, but then it should have left the politics are the door, or rather give context. As many have pointed out this video is almost a year old as Cape Town got much rain in June, July and August. Though the drought is not broken, the tough water restrictions have been alleviated.
As for the guy wanting it free, he's from the EFF and they don't understand economics, most likely deliberately. They're a populist left-wing pseudo-Marxist fascists (I know Marxism and Fascism aren't the same thing, but the EFF is shaping itself to be the leftist equivalent of the brownshirts in pre-Nazi Germany and are threatening journalists with violence and uses Twitter bots to deliver these threats) who want to abolish private property and seize all mineral rights.
John Aucamp Thank you for taking the time to give more in depth details of what was going on. It makes much more sense now. Good to hear that you guys got the much needed rain. As for the EFF, looking at the majority of who is involved, I’m not surprised. It’s like we want what they have, but don’t want to make the effort to earn it like they did. They just want it handed to them. But that’s only my interpretation of it. I could be wrong.
A bit late. Restriction levels have decreased. However water remains a real challenge, but pure sensationalist and biased videos like this one is never helpful. Are the causes covered here? No. Are a few emotive effects of the water crisis over simplified and taken out of context in this video? Yes. Take this video for what it is, a visually appealing piece of work aimed at maximising viewer count and not actual investigative and balanced journalism.
I was living in South Africa last week but I now live in denmark, so grateful I managed to get out of that shithole😂😂
how do they have the energy to protest when they got no water?
Jack is not in the box ...
FYI; Patricia de Lill is not the mayor anymore either...
Interested in licencing some of your footage, how can I contact you about this?
this is just the start of it earth will face this everywhere really fast
What is the violin song being played in this video?
Who is here after 3 years ✅
Meanwhile in my country, one person consumed 10,000 litres of water each month
Thats 2700 gallons per month !!
Jamie C. YW thats average in the developed world
we use so much water
water is not the problem in South Africa because the government has everything it needs to deliver water to the residents: …………………………………………………………………………………………………...atmospheric water generators are available every where : they could provide temporary water while desalination plants are built :what are they waiting for?
robinsss because all the water sources in Cape Town are fucked. It’s expensive to fix dead rivers
its sad especially when you know the officials are washing their cars and sprinkling their gardens while this man gets arrested trying to feed his family. instead of sittong back because the water levels are high this year have a plan and actually put some work in to find a solution to your water problem
Couldn't watch the whole thing as the officers threw away that water..
They can run a car but they can't find water from sea..it's pathetic..
DELAYED MUCH !!! NOT TRUE!!! WE’VE HAD RAIN MULTIPLE TIMES SINCE SO CHILL GUYS . Take it from a Capetonian.
Good video, it's just uploaded at the wrong time
People are going to think the city finally received water after the sermon.
They have water for the tourists and rich people but no water for the locals. This world is becoming more of money and profit than looking after our own kitchen. Sad
So after we had the burat of clouds and pouring water the car wash opens again... How ironic
Now , think what could be , the problems of fuel , or energy
The scene with people praying remainds me of my grandmother. She didn't really believe in god but when shiy hit the fan she started praying and saying "Oh my God." Its true madness desperation and religion combined. Hope people get theyr shiy together with or without Gods help.
Why can't desalinization plants be built
@@ShidaiTaino the revenue from building an economy would in itself pay for plant over time
Actually some were built, but construction takes at least 1-2 years and they're expensive and not competitive compared to groundwater or rainwater.
Even in places where money and energy aren't a big problem, desal plants still have one problem: What do you do with all the brine?
@@thethegreenmachine
Put it back into the sea.
@@artuselias
It concentrates where you dump it, resulting in a dead zone.
Didn't they find another source of water for their residents where now its not in that dire of a situation? I heard they fixed that problem now.
Worrying about water. We're running out of gravesites.
Everything is fine here. Dams are 50% full and not far away from winter rainfall. You are a year late
Still this is something that the world needs to see as a lesson
This was a year ago. 50 liter a day pp. But when we had the water restrictions lifted, Eskom started again with their problems. Literally the day after.
please save more water while our life here is comfort watching youtube, don't take it as granted, beccause I feel bad see the other side is sufffering, please spread , don't make comfort blind your action to waste water
Very excellent the way they edit it 👌👌👌😂
Moral of the video: don't wash your car
Maybe a blurb at the beginning talking about the current water levels but this isn't necessarily about just Cape Town. This is possibly about a global crisis and they happen to focus on the city of Cape Town. I have spent my whole life in areas that have to worry about droughts. Sometimes they are doing well, other times a crisis. I don't live in Cape Town so can't speak for the town but maybe the medium or long-term outlook is dire. Drought is a serious global issue and a long-term threat. Focusing on how the city is right now is probably largely besides the point.
Damn this video was an art piece.
PS: 7:47 woman is the worst type of neighbor you can have.
🤣🤣🤣
Was this a documentary or an art-house film?
Big corporation are trying to profit from anything they do. It is quite difficult to stop day zero from happening. It will happen and just a matter of when.
This isnt even the biggest problem in SA think about fram killings and bad economy
It was a good film. I save environmental films I've watched, there's been a few. It's pretty disheartening how low the view hits are.
And this is how the war on water starts
If you will waste water disrespect water no god no Jesus will help you out to get out of this situation
Well done Mandela
Guy tries to feed his family by washing cars with 1 bucket of water. Gets chased down by 12 cops 4 vehicles. Arrested fined. Cops dump bucket of water in the street?
Lake: *now that’s a lot of damage*
I was enjoying this until the political element 4:30. Water is currently being mismanaged because of its low value, households already receive 6000 l per month as per NWA. If an area is underwater restrictions there is very little one can do, especially if you are trying to maintain the micro economy at the same time.
why are a lot of people justifying the golf course
They shouldn't waste their time punishing poor aboriginals, but they should impound the cars they catch being illegally washed (what terrible people put their cars before the health of the people)????
More information and less artsy shots would have been nice.
easy fix, 2x2 infinite water source