Less water uptake leading to revenue challenges in Cape Town

Businesses in the South African city of Cape Town have had to cut their water to almost half of what they were using three years ago because of a persistent drought.

Hotels and restaurants are trying to  come up with innovative ideas to cut costs‚ That means less revenue for a city that relies on water charges for 10% of its operating costs. 

Dam levels are still dropping and no one knows if the winter rains will be enough to sustain the city through next summer. Cape Town will be relying on water augmentation projects including desalination plants like this one to avoid Day Zero, when the taps in the city run dry and people start queuing for water.

To get the money the city needs, officials plan to hike the price of water by almost a third and introduce heavy penalties for those who go over the limit.

TRT World's Melanie Rice reports from South Africa.