How long until drought-stricken towns run out of water?

Gardens are dead, people skip showers and water quality has worsened — the big dry dominates conversation in coffee shops, pubs and homes.

Tenterfield pre-school children learn to soap their
 hands with the tap off to conserve water.

This is what day zero is like in Australia, as an unprecedented drought leaves 55 towns at risk of running out of water, if they haven't already.

It's forced states and councils to fork out hundreds of millions of dollars on emergency water infrastructure.

An ABC analysis of data provided by state and local governments paints a dire picture across New South Wales, Queensland and parts of Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

It is a situation changing weekly as recent and forecast rainfall tops up thirsty weirs, rivers and dams.

Read the ABC News story - “How long until drought-stricken towns run out of water?”