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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nEmily was cleaning bicycle when her father arrived. \u201cPlease turn off the tap Emily you don’t need this amount of water for cleaning\u201d,<\/em> he requested.<\/p>\n \u201cDad we have plenty of water in the pipe\u201d,<\/em> Esther replied sweetly.<\/p>\n \u201cNot always my dear, some cities in the world don’t have enough water for drinking or cleaning bicycle like this\u201d<\/em>, he explained. “Really? Where in the world is there less water?”<\/em> she asked.<\/p>\n “Let me tell you a story<\/em>“- her father said.<\/p>\n \u201cI always like your stories dad please start\u201d,<\/em> girl said impatiently.\u00a0 \u201cPlease turn off the tap\u201d, he said and started..<\/em><\/p>\n Terry Burner the owner of several Real Estate business and Car Washing facilities in Southern California was enjoying his Easter Holidays in Barcelona. He was a man who had inherited his grandfather\u2019s small garage and had doubled the profit over the past decade. Known for his excellent money-making schemes, Terry was walking around the beach in his polo hotel t-shirt, when he saw a man in his mid-thirties coming towards him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou seem like a rich man\u201d<\/em>, the man prompted.<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly I am\u201d,<\/em> Terry affirmed.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you don\u2019t mind, can I get some water\u201d,<\/em> he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, why not, please have it\u201d<\/em>, Terry offered his half filled metal bottle.<\/p>\n While the young man was fulfilling his metabolic needs Terry was staring at him in surprise.<\/p>\n The man finished and said, \u201cDo you know Cape Town is getting dry?\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n Terry exclaimed, \u201cWhat? I didn\u2019t know. I am not following Africa lately\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou must know the story, rich guy\u201d,<\/em> the man replied.<\/p>\n The young man – who looked like a control freak – began: \u201cThe population of Cape Town in South Africa has roughly doubled in the last two decades whereas its water resources have increased very slowly. The city experienced indeed dry days in the past. But now, scientists believe climate change has intensified the recently experienced drought events, thus resulting in water shortage\u201d.<\/em> With this the young man stopped and asked: \u201cWhat do you think Sir?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI think Climate Change may be a reason for the drought events, \u00a0but the ignorance of the Cape Town City administration cannot be overruled. They could have prepared better infrastructure in fighting drought\u201d, <\/em>Terry responded.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are reasonably correct sir. Six dams were completely filled in 2014 and city administration assumed \u00a0future rainfall pattern would resemble past. However, three straight years of drought changed everything<\/b>. No one in the government anticipated this\u201d<\/em>, said the man.<\/p>\n \u201cBut my dear friend\u201d<\/em> – inquired Terry – \u201cCape Town authorities could learn from California where $7.5 billion dollar water bond was approved with 67 percent vote. Century old laws were replaced and water usage was monitored\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI hope they learn from experience in California\u201d<\/em> – replied the man – \u201cbut do you think we are underestimating the impacts of climate change with a situation like this? Researchers from University of Cape Town acknowledged they had never expected such a rapid impact of climate change. What is your take on this?\u201d<\/em> the man asked Terry.<\/p>\n \u201cLet me be very blunt here\u201d<\/em>, Terry said looking at him. “Climate Change is affecting all of us but we can\u2019t simply blame all problems on it”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n “For instance<\/em> – said Terry – when I inherited my family business, it was running in debt. So I decided to change the system by creating a new customer base and by diversifying our spending from garage to car washing and real estate. I promoted also the use of technology and adopted efficient trade practices\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you mean by technology and efficient trade practices?\u201d<\/em> asked the man.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, about 60% of my car washing facilities and other offices use treated wastewater, all our toilets are flushed with gray water and we reward employees for their water saving efforts. These are some initiatives, I assume people in other parts of the world – and Cape Town officials – are also doing this\u201d,<\/em> Terry pointed.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, Cape Towners have successfully pushed Day Zero by reducing water consumption by 60%: people showered in 90 seconds avoided wastage of water, reused gray water. Moreover, Cape Town officials cut irrigation supply, constructed water collection points and rigorously worked for a water saving campaign<\/b>\u201d<\/em>, explained the man.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is Day Zero? And I am sorry, are you a Cape Towner ?\u201d<\/em> Terry asked. \u201cYou seem to be very concerned about the city!\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n The young man replied: \u201cDay Zero is when the city reservoir reaches 13.5 % of its total capacity, which means authorities have to cut off water supply to three quarters of population.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Before the man could elaborate further, Terry\u2019s phone beeped. Terry with open eyes said \u201cI am afraid I have a skype call now. I have to go, but it was nice meeting you Mr\u2026?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cMr. Rigo Flech\u201d,<\/em> the young man answered.<\/p>\n They shook hands. Rigo added \u201cAnd the answer to your last question is Yes, I am a Cape Towner and once I owned a car washing facility and a small motel in Cape Town\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n After having said this, the young man walked away. In some minutes Terry was back in hotel thinking about Rigo.<\/p>\n Next morning near an old Heritage garden of Barcelona, Terry saw a beautiful fountain but what stuck him was a small bird showering in water. Remembering the young Rigo he smiled and mumbled: \u201cYou have have left me numb Cape Town bird Rigo\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhat did he do after?\u201d,<\/em> Emily interrupted.<\/p>\n \u201cHe googled \u201cCape Town drought\u201d<\/em>, dad smiled and said.<\/p>\n \u201cCan we avert a crisis like this or people keep migrating from there?\u201d<\/em>, Emily inquired.<\/p>\n \u201cHope Terry has a solution\u201d<\/em>, he grinned.<\/p>\n \u201cI got my answer Dad, not wasting water anymore\u201d,<\/em> she admitted.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery year thousands of bird migrate in search of food and nesting. While we may know the science but there is a always a story. Rigo was one of those birds who left Cape Town for a better life\u201d.<\/em> You can be next..<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n (Terry Burner, Rigo Fletch, and Emily are fictional characters and all the facts provided in the story are borrowed from articles listed.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fictional characters Terry, Rigo and Emily may know something about a recent event in Cape Town you haven’t heard about yet – check this story out!<\/p>\n\n
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