Regions around the world are facing drought and water shortage, even where rain was once abundant — and that will only worsen as the planet warms. In many parts of the world, cities and countries are learning to adapt.

Back in 2018, taps in Cape Town, South Africa, almost ran dry, making it the world’s first major city to face the risk of running out of water. That problem hasn’t gone away — this year, communities in Nelson Mandela Bay, about 750 kilometers (460 miles) to the east, could see their reservoirs used up by July.

Cape Town managed to avoid “Day Zero” by introducing strict water restrictions on businesses and residents. The city increased water tariffs and fines for overuse and worked with the agriculture sector to reduce water consumption and retain soil moisture.

Toward the end, residents were limited to just 50 liters (around 13 gallons) a day. To put that in perspective, one load of laundry can use up to around 70 liters, depending on the machine.

Ingrid Coetzee, a Cape Town-based expert on biodiversity, nature and health, lived through that time. “I remember how hard it was having to live with those severe restrictions, in terms of cutting back on our daily water limits,” she told DW by phone. She said an extensive public awareness campaign asked people to cut back or eliminate water-guzzling activities like washing clothes or cars, and advised them to take shorter showers — and reuse that shower water to flush the toilet.

“Many homeowners, especially those who could afford it, would install rainwater harvesting tanks, but the reality is that the majority of people didn’t have those luxuries and they really struggled,” she said.

Looking to nature for solutions to water shortages

Since the drought, Coetzee said the city also found ways to increase water supply by working with public agencies, private companies and local communities to restore surface water catchment areas and aquifers.

“A nature-based solution, in the form of removing invasive alien vegetation in the city’s catchment areas, and restoring these areas, proved to be the most cost-effective and efficient measure with the best yields,” said Coetzee, the director of Biodiversity, Nature and Health at the Africa Secretariat of ICLEI.

This full story can be read here.