NewsTracker Answers for week of Jan. 22, 2018

Q: The South African city of Cape Town has less than 90 days worth of water in its reservoirs, putting it on track to be the first major city in the world to run out of water.  Where is South Africa?

Circle the area on this map


Q: Cape Town expects to shut off its municipal water system to all but essential services like hospitals on April 21. Cape Town gets its name from which cape?

A. Fear

B. Good Hope

C. Horn

D. Verde


B. The Cape of Good Hope is about 90 miles west-northwest of the southern tip of Africa. Cape Town was established by the Dutch as a supply point for ships sailing to East Africa, India and the Far East. After the water is turned off, residents will be able to get 6.6 gallons each per day at one of 200 public water stations.


Q: With nearly 4 million people in its metropolitan area, Cape Town is the second largest city in South Africa. Which is the largest city in South Africa?

A. Bloemfontein 

B. Durban

C. Johannesburg

D. Pretoria


C. Johannesburg has nearly 8 million people in its urban area, while Durban has about 3.5 million in its metro area. Cape Town is the legislative capital of South Africa while Pretoria is the executive capital and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital.


Q: A “once in a  millennium” three-year drought has been blamed in part for Cape Town’s water shortage. Last year, record flooding shut down municipal water supplies in Peru’s capital of . . .

A. Lima

B. Montevideo

C. Quito

D. Santiago


A. Landslides of  mud and stone fell into the Rimac river and other tributaries that supplied the capital. The solid residue overwhelmed Lima’s treatment plant's ability to process it into drinking water.


Q: Public officials and political infighting also have been blamed for the water crisis in Cape Town. Public officials were blamed for severe water problems in which U.S. city?

A. Ann Arbor

B. Bay City

C. Detroit

D. Flint


D. More than 100,000 Flint residents were exposed to high levels of lead in their drinking water because of insufficient water treatment after officials switched water supplies to save money. The problem was covered up for months before residents were instructed to only use bottled or filtered water.