An iceberg to save Cape Town from drought

An iceberg carried from Antarctica to solve water crisis that makes Cape Town suffer. According to Nick Sloane, already famous for his almost crazy plans, this solution could end the water rationing in South Africa stroke by drought. Cape Town needs at least one hundred million liters more to feed its inhabitants. 

«I’m leading this campain. Some icebergs have been located, only 1200 miles from here» claimed Sloane. The team that is organising the operation is called “Souther Ice Team”. With Sloane, there are also the French engineer Georgers Mougin and the Norwegian glaciologist Olav Orheim.

Indeed, the operation has to face many difficults. The icebergs located, the suitable ones for the purpose, that have been already moved by streams towards Gough Island (a reachable place 2700 km south-west of Cape Town) represents only the 7% of all existent icebergs. The real problem is actually to catch and pull them to Cape Columbine. According to Sloane, this travel will melt the 30% of the ice. 

The silver lining of this project is that it’s really cheaper than water’s desalination. Moreover this operation will have no impact on the environment and the iceberg would be used only in case of need. Chris Von Holdt, from the engineering Company “Aurecon”, said: «I believe that there are technicals and economic requirements to take seriously this option». But Kevin Winters, a teacher of Futur Waters Institute, claimed that Cape Town’s city council could not consider the plan because of its complexity, its cost and the risks that it represents.