Water infrastructures alone are insufficient when natural patterns change. In 2018, the world watched in shock as Cape Town, South Africa, came close to becoming the first modern city to literally run out of water. Prolonged drought, heavy reliance on a handful of reservoirs, and delayed management decisions brought the population to the brink of the so-called “Day Zero”: the date when taps would run dry.
The 2015 to 2018 drought in Cape Town underscored the vulnerability of urban systems that rely too heavily on a limited number of sources. The rains did not come, the dams emptied, and authorities were forced to impose strict limits of 50 liters per person per day to keep the city supplied.
In 2022, we wrote about the challenges of urban water security in London and Cape Town, showing how major cities, despite their very different contexts, face similar pressures when they depend on limited sources and management approaches that view water mainly through technocratic lenses. Today, those lessons are particularly relevant for Panama, which is now confronting the broader global challenge of climate change.
The Panama Canal and the Metropolitan Area depend almost entirely on two reservoirs: Gatún and Alhajuela. These bodies of water simultaneously sustain the engine of global trade and provide domestic supply for millions of Panamanians. When rainfall is scarce, these uses compete, and the balance between international commerce and local needs becomes increasingly fragile.
The 2023 to 2024 prolonged drought, intensified by El Niño, is a stark reminder. In October 2023, rainfall was 43 percent below average, making it the driest October since the 1950s. The Canal was forced to reduce the number of daily transits, while under such stress, the water supply to residents across Panama City’s metropolitan area, who depend on these same sources, becomes vulnerable
The parallel with Cape Town is clear: a water system under climate pressure, limited sources, and governance that has too often favored technocratic solutions without fully incorporating the social dimension and public perception of how to contribute to solutions for present and future challenges.
South Africa taught us that water cannot be managed solely through more infrastructure. Cape Town avoided collapse not by building new dams overnight, but by mobilizing the population to use less and conserve more of the existing supply. At the same time, institutions changed their narrative, emphasizing that every drop mattered, and supported numerous innovations – from household grey water use to community leak detection efforts, from water education programs showing people how to live well on 50 litres per person per day, to integrated systems planning and modelling. Importantly, recognizing that they too are part of the broader watershed, the commercial agricultural community donated 30% of their government-mandated total bulk water allocation to the greater metropolitan Cape Town area. This total approach to water security remains in place despite the fact that the rains returned and refilled the dams. New laws and regulations are in place, as are new approaches to stormwater management. Citizens are mobilized through local committees. Citizen science is utilized and supported by public and private sector research institutes. What we are proposing is embracing a vision of water completeness that brings together not only quantity, quality, access, governance, and social trust, but also the interlocking forms of water found in our lakes and rivers, in underground aquifers, in our food and used in household, industrial and manufacturing processes.
It is not only about keeping the Canal competitive, but about ensuring that the Canal and its surrounding cities maintain a relationship of excellence with water. This symbiotic, non-exclusive relationship between these two pillars will be vital for building a sustainable future, as defined in the 1987 Brundtland Report: “sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987).
Panama has not yet faced its own ‘Day Zero,’ but the uncertainty brought by climate change is undeniable. Panamanians must adopt a new way of thinking. This means protecting watersheds, reducing leaks, embracing green infrastructure, diversifying water sources, and above all, building trust between authorities and citizens. The challenge is clear: either water continues to be treated as if it were limitless thereby putting every citizen at risk, or it begins to be managed for what it truly is – a resource that varies dramatically across time and place yet constitutes the foundation of Panama’s survival and prosperity. Cape Town’s experience provides important lessons for Panama: we must be ready and prepared if we are to successfully face our water challenges.
Reference
Morales, I., Swatuk, L. (2022). Challenges for Urban Water Security in London and Cape Town. In: Swatuk, L., Cash, C. (eds) The Political Economy of Urban Water Security under Climate Change . International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08108-8_3
World Commission on Environment and Development. (1987). Our common future. Oxford University Press.
Authors
Ivonne Morales is a Panamanian PhD candidate in Sustainability Management at the University of Waterloo, specializing in urban water security.
Larry Swatuk is Emeritus Professor in the School of Environment Enterprise and Development at the University of Waterloo.
This is a draft of an article that appeared in Spanish on 23.10.2025 in La Prensa, Panama: https://www.prensa.com/opinion/canal-y-ciudad-hacia-un-futuro-integral-del-agua/
