---
title: "One Way to Sate South Africa’s Thirst: Bring in an Iceberg"
description: "## PARCHED"
date: "2018-09-21"
modified: "2018-09-22"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/iceberg-south-africa"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "cape town"
  - "day zero"
  - "icebergs"
  - "the digest"
  - "water"
---

# One Way to Sate South Africa’s Thirst: Bring in an Iceberg

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/iceberg-insulation-south-africa-drinking-water.png>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iceberg,\_Lemaire.jpg" target="\_blank"\>LBM1948\</a\>\</em\>*

## PARCHED

Earlier this year, experts feared that a drought would force the South African metropolis of Cape Town to [shut off residential tap water](<https://futurism.com/cape-town-drought-day-zero>). Cape Town would have been the first major world city to face "Day Zero."

The city narrowly avoided the crisis when rain finally arrived, but the threat is [likely to return](<http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180918-the-outrageous-plan-to-haul-icebergs-to-africa>) in 2019. As the region grows desperate, an international team of scientists and adventurers have proposed a new scheme: tow an entire iceberg just off the coast, then melt it down for drinking water, the [*BBC* reports](<http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180918-the-outrageous-plan-to-haul-icebergs-to-africa>).

## LET US ICEBERG

Scientists have floated concepts for importing icebergs for drinking water since the 19th century. They've suggested trying the plan in India and Saudi Arabia, but no plans have made serious progress.

Now, a team of scientists and adventurers say they have a plan to capture an iceberg near Gough Island, in the South Atlantic, and tow it more than 2,700 kilometers (1,700 miles) to Cape Town over the course of about three months.

## TUG RUG

There are lots of reasons this isn't a good idea. You'd need an oil tanker and three tug boats to pull the iceberg, which would burn an enormous amount of shipping fuel, the *BBC* reports. The iceberg would have to be stored in cold waters off the coast of Cape Town so the team could slowly harvest it as it thaws. Oh, and Cape Town authorities have said they're not interested.

But Cape Town isn't the only place where drinking water [may become scarce](<http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170412-is-the-world-running-out-of-fresh-water>) in the coming decades. Maybe it's worth investigating some moonshot ideas, after all, before the situation gets too dire.

*Correction (9/22/18, 10:30 AM EDT): This piece previously misstated the number of miles the iceberg would need to travel (the distance in kilometers was correct). We regret the error.*

**READ MORE:** [The outrageous plan to haul icebergs to Africa](<http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180918-the-outrageous-plan-to-haul-icebergs-to-africa>) \[*BBC*\]

***More on radiation: [Cape Town Has More Time to Solve Its Water Crisis. How Will It Use It?](<https://futurism.com/cape-town-water-crisis-pushed-back>)***

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)