‘Cape of Storms to Come’ uncovers the origins of Cape Town’s water crisis

You must be so sick of hearing about Cape Town’s water crisis right now. But it’s a huge problem — and a potential catastrophe — that isn’t about to go away at the snap of a finger.

We’ve seen dam levels gradually rise since June, however five months later, some have yet to breach the 50% mark. The largest dam in the system — the massive Theewaterskloof — has yet to breach 30% of its total storage.

Considering that plans to augment the surface storage with ground water extraction, desalination and water reuse are still plans, this summer is set to be a struggle. So much so that by March 2018, Cape Town could be without water.

And this very issue is the subject of a mini-documentary dubbed Cape of Storms To Come.

Cape Town has never before faced summer with less water in its dams, notes the ‘Cape of Storms to Come’

The six-minute documentary is produced by Chronicle Digital, a local production studio that “is driven to convey the human experience through the craft of audio-visual and digital storytelling”, and takes a deep dive into the origins of the water crisis.

While including harrowing B-roll of the Theewaterskloof in its dire state, the piece also adds comments from industry leaders and government officials like Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille, Western Cape premier Helen Zille and former director general of the dept of water affairs Michael Muller.

Since it was published on 24 October, it has accrued over 7500 views on YouTube. And while the clip’s brief, it does a commendable job of filling in the cracks that few similar videos have done before.

Have a look at it in its entirety below.