This paper, presented at the 2nd IWA Leading Edge Conference on Sustainability in Water Limited Environments in Sydney in November 2004, argues that there are three demand management responses to imbalances in water demand and supply: conserve water, substitute potable water with a different source, and augment existing supplies. Of these, water conservation is both...

The use of demand management programs to achieve permanent and reliable decreases in water consumption through retrofits of water using equipment is relatively new in Australia, and has been carried out on the basis of models which predict savings, and on results of demand management programs undertaken overseas. The availability of information on actual savings...

Jennifer McKay writes that the early Europeans perceived water and land in Australia in ways that led them to over-allocate and overuse water. As a result of this misperception Australians as a whole need to devise new policies to ensure that water allocation is within principles requiring environmental, social and economic sustainability. This will involve...