Giving Compass' Take:

• As Cape Town faced an impending water crisis, the government kicked off the Day Zero campaign to raise awareness about the issue and create water savings, averting disaster. 

• How can other regions that face droughts use this example to avert disaster? Will this tactic work more than once? 

• Find out why the Cape Town water crisis should concern the U.S.

Late last year, as the South African government faced the prospect of its largest city running out of water, they took an unprecedented gamble.

The government announced “day zero” – a moment when dam levels would be so low that they would turn off the taps in Cape Town and send people to communal water collection points.

This apocalyptic notion prompted water stockpiling and panic, caused a drop in tourism bookings, and raised the specter of civil unrest.

It also worked. After years of trying to convince residents to conserve, the aggressive campaign jolted people into action. Water use was (and still is) restricted to 50 liters per person per day. Households that exceed the limit face hefty fines, or having a meter installed in their home that shuts off their water once they go over.

Capetonians started showering standing over buckets to catch and re-use that water, recycling washing machine water, and limiting loo flushes to once a day.

Read the full article about Cape Town by Krista Mahr at The Guardian.