There is evidence that Cape Town, South Africa's efforts to conserve water are failing as the government says "Day Zero " - the day the reservoirs are completely out of water - is now projected to come nine days earlier than expected.

Officials now say Day Zero will arrive on 12 April instead of 21 April.  If there is no significant rain before then, Cape Town will be the first world city to run out of water - and this is the dry season in South Africa.  That means no water will flow through the municipal system, nonefor consuming, none for bathing, and none for flushing the toilet.  Firefighters will not be able to use hydrants.  The three-year drought has already left the Theewaterskloof Dam, once Cape Town's biggest provider of water, looking more like a desert. 

Dry

From 1 February, is lowering the daily allowance for residents from 87 litres down to 50 litres.  After the taps go dry, people will have to queue up at wells to collect smaller 25 litre rations of water.  Security forces have moved in to protect those sites from trouble.

Residents are being advised to have emergency water supplies on hand.  "Make sure you've got an emergency store of drinking water at home. Have at least 10 litres of bottled drinking water per person in your household," said Christine Colvin, senior manager at the World Wildlife Fund's Fresh Water Program in South Africa.