Drought-sticken California looks to Australia for tips on recycling water

Australia battled a 14-year drought with recycled toilet water, rooftop tanks and shared showers - and now California is hoping to do the same

As hopes that a much-hyped "Godzilla" El Nino event will banish California's record drought fade, the state is starting to look for clues from overseas on how to conserve each increasingly precious drop that does fall on its parched land.

The water capture efforts of Australia, itself plagued by a lengthy recent drought, are in the sights of Californian politicians mindful of how the pulses of rain that did arrive in January resulted in much of the water washing out into the sea.