Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane will brief the media on what is "really happening" regarding the water crisis in Cape Town during a visit to Athlone on Wednesday.

"We are committed to avoiding #DayZero," the DA tweeted as the city council where Maimane's party is in the majority faces mounting criticism over its handling of the drought.

According to a poster advertising the media briefing at the Joseph Stone Auditorium in Athlone, Maimane will give details on "What's really happening and what we're doing about it.

"DA leader Mmusi Maimane tells all," the poster promises.

Maimane's visit comes as the party's leadership deals with the aftermath of damning allegations against Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille.

Until recently, De Lille had been the face of the city's drought management project, communicating measures to manage the city's dwindling water supplies.

Stricter restrictions

However, that responsibility was handed over to Deputy Mayor Ian Neilson as De Lille faces accusations that she covered up irregularities in the city's transport department.

On Monday, Neilson warned that the day when taps will dry - dubbed "Day Zero" - had been moved forward to April 12 due to declining dam levels.

On February 1, even stricter Level 6B water restrictions come into force, limiting maximum use per person to 50l a day, instead of the current 87l.

Measures to access alternative water sources already publicised by De Lille include the daily extraction of 80 million litres of water from the Cape Flats Aquifer, 40 million litres from the Table Mountain Group Aquifer and 40 million litres from the Atlantis Aquifer.

In his statement, Neilson said the water extracted from these sources would not come online in time to help push back the current deadline of April 12 and urged Capetonians to use as little water as possible.

"Our main focus at this point must be on what we can do now to prevent our taps running dry by April."