ABSTRACT: The sustainable management of water in Australia’s cities is an important and urgent goal that is, in most cases, not being achieved. Climate change, inefficiency, drought, ageing infrastructure, rapid development and population growth are all contributing factors. Overcoming the challenges posed by these factors is essential for the future well being of this country’s citizens and ecosystem health.

This research is concerned with the response of institutions to the water dilemmas faced by Australia’s cities. Here institutions include government agencies, the water and urban development industries and associations, “green city” advocates and researchers. Much of this institutional response has focused on:

• Technological solutions (water recycling, desalination, rainwater tanks);

• Demand management (education, pricing, consumptive restrictions and appliance rebates);

• Best Management Practices in development (Water Sensitive Urban Design); and

• Decentralised or Localised management (on site treatment and provision).

These strategies of sustainable urban water management are all vital, but implementation is slow. Much of the literature in this area argues the most significant barrier is “institutional inertia”, or the inability of institutions to take the actions necessary to put sustainable urban water management principles into practice. Institutional inertia is reinforced by an aversion to risk in the development industry and the sheer enormity of challenging the existing system.

I argue that the drivers of “institutional inertia” may not simply be a lack of resources or integration of government departments, as is often suggested. Rather, it could be a symptom of broader political, social and economic shifts occurring in urban infrastructure in Australia, and in industrialised countries worldwide. Accounting for these factors would enhance the understanding of the larger context in which this institutional inertia resides, and aid the implementation of sustainable urban water management. An encompassing framework grounded in both empirical and theoretical bases, applied in an Australian context would reveal an increased understanding of the full range of factors influencing sustainable urban water management.