Cape Town’s water crisis got so bad last year that the city was just 90 days away from turning off the taps.

A year on, the South African city’s dams are now over 80% full, water use restrictions have been relaxed and Day Zero – the point at which Cape Town’s municipal water supply would be shut off – was averted..

Having been threatened by one of the worst-ever drought-induced municipal water crises, residents became water-wise.

The City of Cape Town worked to get residents and businesses on board with a host of water-saving initiatives. People were instructed to shower for no longer than two minutes. A campaign with the slogan “If it’s yellow, let it mellow” promoted flushing the toilet only when necessary.

 And the use of recycled water – so-called greywater – was also pushed. At the most extreme, residents were restricted to a maximum of 50 litres a day.

The City of Cape Town introduced increasingly strict restrictions, which as well as limiting the volumes allowed, also restricted what the water was used for.

 Filling swimming pools, washing cars and fountains were all banned. Households using high volumes of water faced big fines. The city also significantly hiked tariffs as well as rolling out management devices, which set a daily limit on the water supply to properties.

Another method of curbing use saw the city reduce the water pressure, which both cut overall consumption as well as decreased the loss through leaks.

By changing a city’s habits, along with the return of some rain, Cape Town managed to avert the worst of the water scarcity crisis.

However, the risk of future shortages remains.