Adaptive economic management of Australia's urban water

The project will generate experimental and survey data, undertake new analyses and create innovate models for the adaptive economic management of urban water in Australia. The Millennium Drought demonstrated the failures of current management to respond to climate variability: short-term demand 'fixes', such as water restrictions, proved inadequate and economically inefficient while supply augmentation, such as desalination plants, proved expensive and unnecessary in some cities. The research responds to this 'wicked problem' and will generate, for the first time in the world, an integrated, dynamic, and adaptive supply and demand model to manage urban water optimally over time.