An open letter from one Capetonian – to all South Africans busy planning their summer holidays – is going viral for all the right reasons.
The water crisis in Cape Town is real, and real scary. The City of Cape Town and Capetonians are collectively doing everything to avoid the taps being completely turned off but Day Zero is currently set to happen on the 20 May 2018, and doesn’t seem to be moving.
An open letter written by an anonymous source is fast becoming viral while being shared rapidly on social media feeds.
It highlights the water crisis and what that will mean when tourists flood the mother city over December Summer holidays.
Read the full open letter below:
Dear family and friends from Jozi and Durbs and further afield and abroad.
Soon you are heading to Cape Town and surrounds and usually we are sooooo bloody happy about that, our verges get mowed when usually the only other time is the Cape Argus or Two Oceans. We cannot wait to show you our new restaurants, brag about the endless beautiful beaches and basically just kuier sommer baaie lekker!
But not this year.
This year we are very very nervous and if I have to be honest a bit resentful and very scared to share our water.
Wine you can have by the case load, but ffs do not flush the toilets!
Sure you have read about the “watercrisis” but much like us Saffers watching the Trumpster hurl insults at that Korean dude it doesn’t really fall into your day to day realm of life.
We, however, have become quite used to wearing the same clothes for days on end, our kids are now forced to do swimming at school ( those whose schools still have open pools as 27 out of 34 municipal pools have been closed already) because it means they don’t need to bath at home and walking into an unflushed yellow loo at a restaurant or a mall gets the exiter a nod of “thank you for doing your bit and not flushing”.
But you dear visitor, you have come from lands of plenty, most of you still bath, shower endlessly, flush your toilets with CLEAN PURE DRINKING WATER and your swimming pools and gardens can actually be used for those purposes unlike most of our brown scrubby arid gardens.
How do we get across to you the severity of no water from the 20 May 2018 when you will all be long gone back home?
Its insane and I really don’t blame you for not believing it, I mean Cape Town is a jewel of the world, first world brilliance how can this be possible?Every single person in the western Cape who is hosting visitors, guest houses, hotels I don’t really care HOW much your guest is paying you the resource has to be protected, paying fines? accepting that you will “just get a high bill” is NOT going to give us back our water.
So our dear visitors… please please please, don’t have long showers when you get off the beach, don’t flush toilets with fresh water – most of us by now have incredibly sophisticated bucket systems going and will happily show you how to flush.
You don’t want to be sitting back home reading posts from your loved ones how they have to go stand in a Q patrolled by the army for 5lts of water simply because you wanted to bath each night.
But apart from that have a SUPER time….
by 
Typically Cape Townian. Thinks the rest of the country does not know about the problem and cannot thoink for themselves. Two years ago Gauteng was in the same position but we did not discourage vistors from coming here. Hope the drought will bring the Cape Townians down to earth for a change
That’s a rather scathing statement – I seem to remember us Capies sending thousands of litres of water up country 2years ago! Not to be funny but you don’t need to discourage visitors as much – we absolutely do get thousands visiting over the summer season – and making sure they all know about this is not to discourage them as much as inform them. Careful what you wish for….
“If it is Yellow – Let it mellow”
“If it is Brown – Let it down!”
Put rocks in a plastic bag and bung it in your toilet cistern!
We often have no water in Summerveld KZn, Have learned to use pool water – 5l bucket s***t, shave, shampoo – all in 1!
Pity the rainfall on the coastal areas(where there are no dams) are not captured and recycled – like the Romans invented!
Just saying!