Between 2015 and 2017, the Western Cape region experienced an unprecedented three consecutive years of below average rainfall, leading to acute water shortages, most prominently in the city of Cape Town . Anthropogenic climate change made the drought five to six times more likely . The severity of the drought presented new challenges to the existing management and governance capacity to ensure equitable and sustainable water service delivery. The city's water supply infrastructure and demand management practice were unprepared for the 'rare and severe' event of three consecutive years of below average rainfall . Despite a potential total storage volume of about 900,000 MI of water , Cape Town's reservoirs fell from 97% full in 2014 to less than 20% in May 2018 . The drought saw residents queue for water as restrictions were imposed together with threats of closure of water provision to households . Poor communication in the early stages of the drought  and a lack of trust in the administration contributed to a near-panic situation at the threat of 'Day Zero' as dams almost ran dry in the first half of 2018 . 'Day Zero' was avoided largely through public response, water demand management and the 2018 winter rains . At a household level, responses to the drought showed everyday residents can display unprecedented degrees of resilience , including behavioural and attitudinal shifts and technological innovation across the full socioeconomic spectrum . But the private nature of some of these responses extended existing inequality in water access through privileged forms of 'gated adaptation' by elites which conventional water governance arrangements were unprepared for .
IPCC
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
IPCC Report