The Social Determinants of Water Consumption in Australian Cities

Abstract

Most cities in Australia periodically face acute shortages of potable water. In most of them the supply of potable water comes from sequestering supplies from eco-systems away from but close to that in which the urban development occurs. The response usually is to try to husband the water sequestered and stored in dams by managing the demand to 'get' through the dry periods. A combination of factors, including the consequences of climate change and the increase in population of most cities together with increasing per capita consumption is now pressing state governments that have the constitutional responsibility to manage water resources to find ways of responding to demand.