Drought put Cape Town on a countdown to Day Zero. Australia must look at what happened next

Julia Snaddon was already several months pregnant when Cape Town announced that "Day Zero" was imminent.

Mrs Snaddon says she is worried about what
 sort of world Frank is likely to grow up in.

This was the day the city would be forced to turn off the taps: Cape Town was dry, tempers were frayed, and Mrs Snaddon found herself imagining what her son Frank's future might look like.

"Frank didn't sign up for closing night," she says. "I made that decision for him.”

South Africa's Western Cape region had been plagued by drought for almost three years. In January, with dam levels ebbing dangerously, the city announced some of the most radical water restrictions ever seen.

Capetonians were presented with a stark choice: curb their water use or the city would ration water to 25 litres per person per day, with residents forced to queue at collection points around the city.

Read the ABC News story by Matthew Clayfield -  “Drought put Cape Town on a countdown to Day Zero. Australia must look at what happened next.”