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This article reports the process and results of a study in which community was engaged to examine emotional resonance around the concept of urban water. The study was an important component of a legal and governance study, which aimed to identify the governance challenges and potential solutions to support the implementation of an integrated urban water management strategy in metropolitan Adelaide. The team used photostory method for this purpose, which included participants taking photos and interpreting their meanings through a process of reflection. The dialogue around the photos, the diaries, and the group discussions demonstrates how this method can provide a greater depth of understanding of how water saving and sustainable water management are rationalised and how they become shared experiences. The article concludes by discussing some of the limitations of the method and providing suggestions for using this method to engage a community in research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents a speech by Jennifer McKay of Centre for Comparative Water Policies and Laws, University of South Australia, Adelaide, delivered at the 2011 International Water Resources Association (IWRA) XIV World Water Congress, held in Porto de Galinhas, Pernambuco, Brazil, September, in which she discussed groundwater management.

Sustainable development is the modern rhetoric to guide environmental or natural resources management. There are many ways to do this and one is the wider utilization of economic instruments, such as taxes and levies. Although such levies are becoming common in Australia and worldwide, the role of the taxes or levies is still limited. In many cases, these taxes/levies -although environmentally related- have a fiscal rather than a purely environmental motive, for example, the Natural Resources Management (NRM) Levy in South Australia. This study evaluates the NRM levy policy using one NRM region and focussing on the Adelaide urban community. Data was collected through a web-based survey with 770 respondents who answered 59 questions. The research found that community strongly prefers a levy calculated on the volume of water consumed. Respondents also indicated that they would use less water if the levy were calculated on the volume of water consumed. The clear implications of the results suggest that if a tax or levy aims to change water consumption behaviour then it should be based on the volume of water consumed not on property value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freshwater availability to meet the growing needs of humankind has raised serious concerns in the recent past. Two immediate responses to counter this challenge are efficient allocation of the scarce resources, and development and use of alternative sources of water. While ‘water markets’ are seen as a means to achieve efficient allocation of the scare resources, treated wastewater and low-quality water are now considered as potential sources of water to supplement the freshwater supplies. However, the latter option, that is use of reclaimed water as an alternative, imposes concerns regarding its suitability to sustain development. This is because of various issues related to wastewater usage and application. At the same time, it is also true that a successful and well-planned reuse scheme can help achieve sustainability as evidenced in some isolated cases around the world. In line with this, the current paper adopts a case-study approach to demonstrate how a successful reuse scheme in Adelaide, South Australia, has contributed to the sustainable development of the region. The paper looks into the socio-economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability and arrives at a conclusion that properly planned and managed reuse schemes backed with effective regulatory and policy measures can lead to sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]