Three years ago and nothing's changed

Another week without rain. The high pressure over the Atlantic has stayed late this year and El Nino is building up wherever it is that it happens. Horticulturists advise us that this bodes ill for rainfall here in the Western Cape. We have had about 5 or 6 years of good rains and have become spoiled by the abundance of water for our gardens, but now even the groundwater levels have dropped and only a trickle comes out of the hosepipe when I turn on the pump. So back to municipal water at iniquitous cost. I continue to plant waterwise and it's just the pots and lawns that need regular watering. I am seriously considering digging up the lawns - depends on what transpires over the next winter and summer with the rain.
Large exotic trees play a part in parching the ground, sucking up vast amounts to feed their rampant growth, when the natural flora of the Cape has a propensity towards low-growing shrubs - very sensible when you consider the frequently gale-force winds that blow back and forth across the Peninsula. There are numerous examples of exotics such as Norfolk pines, gum trees and fast-growing smaller species that have given up the battle to grow skywards and have bent with the wind to grow almost parallel to the ground. They make great pointers as to where not to buy a property if you want to escape the wind and are probably an estate agent's curse.
Speaking of which, I remember many years ago, the house next door was on show (again) and I popped over out of curiosity to see the inside. I inadvertently got chatting with some prospective and really keen buyers, idly mentioning the baboons that regularly raided our houses. They scurried out of there without putting pen to paper - I was definitely an estate agent's curse that day!