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Will Cape Town run out of water?

15th January 2018

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The central economic problem writ large: scarcity and choice. In this case, it's the iconic city of Cape Town, a remarkable place, which is facing an extreme water shortage.

Low rainfall and a rising population have combined such that some people think that it could have run out of water by March. As a result, it has had to invest in desalination plants, and try to encourage consumers to ration their water use, such that "the visiting Indian cricket team were told to limit their post-match showers to two minutes."

The solution? Free marketeers would suggest that better use of price is the solution.

Cape Town water crisis continues into 2018. With dam levels at 29%, drilling equipment arriving to extract water from Cape Flats, Table Mountain and off-short Atlantic Ocean aquifers. City gov has lost US$100m in water sale revenues this past year. pic.twitter.com/uG2qyDXaoB
— James Hall (@hallaboutafrica) January 10, 2018

Will Cape Town be the first city to run out of water? Crisis could hit in March caused by three years of very low rainfall and rising levels of consumption https://t.co/fGAbGnHFWe
— Trewin Restorick (@TrewinR) January 12, 2018

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Graham Watson

Graham Watson has taught Economics for over twenty years. He contributes to Tutor2U, reads voraciously and is interested in all aspects of Teaching and Learning.

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Will Cape Town run out of water?

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