The South African city of Cape Town is considering a novel approach to save water after its worst drought in a century: cutting down trees.

A global conservation organisation, The Nature Conservancy, has suggested that the city's water supply could be significantly boosted if non-native tree species like pine, acacia and thirsty eucalyptus from Australia were cleared from the land.

It says getting rid of those species would also be around 10 times cheaper than other proposals to prevent water shortages, like building desalination plants, recycling waste water or tapping the groundwater supply.

Just months after severe rationing helped ensure the taps in Cape Town didn't run dry, the dams supplying water to the city are now three-quarters full.

But experts warn that more severe droughts are likely in the years ahead.

There have been other unusual suggestions to solve the city's water crisis, including the use of icebergs.