Drought-stricken Cape Town pushes back 'Day Zero' to May 11

Pools of muddy water are seen at Theewaterskloof dam near Cape Town, South Africa, January 20, 2018. The dam, which supplies most of Cape Town's potable water, is currently dangerously low as the city faces "Day Zero", the point at which taps will be shut down accross the city. Picture taken January 20, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa's drought-stricken city of Cape Town has pushed back its estimate for "Day Zero," when residents will have to start queuing for water, to May 11 from April 16, authorities said on Monday, citing a decline in agricultural water usage.

"Capetonians must continue reducing consumption if we are to avoid Day Zero," Cape Town's executive deputy major, Alderman Ian Neilson, was quoted as saying.

Neilson added: "All Capetonians must therefore continue to use no more than 50 liters per person per day to help stretch our dwindling supplies."

A family negotiates their way through caked mud around a dried up section of the Theewaterskloof dam near Cape Town, South Africa, January 20, 2018. The dam, which supplies most of Cape Town's potable water, is currently dangerously low as the city faces "Day Zero", the point at which taps will be shut down accross the city. Picture taken January 20, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by James Macharia)

Residents fill up a containers with water from a polluted river as the city's water crisis mounts near Cape Town, South Africa, February 2, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings