Australia's water consumption is increasing as inflows into major storages are decreasing � and it is not sustainable.

The cumulative legacy from many decades of increasing consumption and declining water supplies has been amplified by the climate shifts we are now seeing. Australians are realising that our everyday behaviour in relation to water has to change. What we've done in the past is no longer sustainable, and we are harnessing our best and brightest minds in science, economics and the law to find new ways to manage our water resources.

We are developing market mechanisms to allocate resources more efficiently. We are using the practical nous of engineers, with the biophysical systems understanding of the hydrologists, to get our physical infrastructure right. Australia's rich Landcare experience provides a model allowing us to tap into the enormous reservoir of voluntary goodwill and to bring on board all Australians through genuine engagement with communities and industries. Part of this is developing grassroots water literacy in every household, every school, every small business and every community.

There are still big questions that need to be answered. Why is it that, in this of all continents, we still use drinking water to flush toilets? Can we get over the 'yuck factor' with recycled water? We are, however, coming to understand how much water we have, how much it costs to supply, where it is located and who is using it for what purposes.

An enormous amount of work is being done to improve our knowledge in all these areas, led by the efforts of the Australian and state governments through the National Water Initiative. They are being supported by organisations such as Land & Water Australia - one of Australia's 15 Rural Research and Development Corporations. Land & Water Australia manages research across natural resource management. This includes improving our basic knowledge of Australia's natural resources, creating better technologies and the tools to manage them, and using social research to refine these tools and to involve whole communities.

Improved Understanding and Data

To better use and protect our water resources, we first need to understand them properly. Our understanding has been limited in the past by patchy and inconsistent datasets and information that has been difficult for people or organisations to access. However, that is changing.

• Declining inflows to our southern river systems have raised interest in the water resources and rivers of northern Australia. Northern Australian river systems are unique and relatively undisturbed, and to help ensure that any development that occurs is sustainable, an inventory has been taken of the habitats, plants and animals in the rivers and wetlands of tropical Australia. This is just the start of detailed research being done on the northern rivers.
  
  Work is also being done with indigenous Australians, to understand the cultural values they have for these river systems, to learn from their knowledge of these systems, and to encourage their participation in water planning.
  
  Further details about work being done by the Tropical Rivers R&D Program
  
• In most jurisdictions and institutions, surface water and underground water systems have been treated as separate resources and have often been managed by different government departments. Hydro-geologist Dr Richard Evans, a Land & Water Australia Senior Research Fellow who works with Sinclair Knight Merz Consulting, has undertaken research examining the connections between ground water and surface water.
  
  The interconnectivity may not be realised due to the sometimes long time lag between pumping groundwater and possible reductions in stream flows. However, that means that water resources across Australia may have been 'double counted' and in some cases double allocated.
  
  Dr Evans' work has an important bearing on water property rights and the management of water allocation in Australia. To address the problem we need to take a holistic approach to water management, considering whole catchment water balances.
  
  Find out more about Dr Richard Evans work

Better Technology and Tools

To make better use of our water resources, we can improve efficiency through the use of new technology and methods.

• New research has found that the rate of night-time evaporation from farm dams far exceeds previous estimates - in fact almost half of all evaporation losses. Evaporation losses from farm dams are significant and this work will assist in the design and construction of dams to minimise losses. The key is to ensure the dam is sheltered from sun and wind, and to minimise the surface area to volume ratio.
  
  Further details about work being done by the National Program for Sustainable Irrigation
  
• Irrigation uses around 70 percent of all water extracted in Australia, so water use efficiency can make an enormous difference. Research has found that centre pivots use around a third less water than traditional flood irrigation while producing more and better quality pasture. Meanwhile a type of drip irrigation called 'open hydroponics' is providing excellent results for orchardists. The system has been found to increase production and improve the health of trees yet use half the amount of water of other methods.
  
  Further details about work being done by the National Program for Sustainable Irrigation
  
• The consequences of climate variability and change create significant sustainability challenges. Farmers and resource managers need climate risk applications which help them plan and make decisions about the threats and opportunities which climate variability and change pose. The evolution of climate risk applications means that farmers have access to tools which enable them to plan and make production decisions on the basis of forecasts of crop and pasture yields. Enabling them to make the most of good seasons and minimise their costs in poor. Such tools include Australian Rainman, Yield Prophet, WhopperCropper and AussieGRASS.
  
  Further details about the work being done by the Managing Climate Variability Program

Social Implications

Australia's natural resources are managed by people. Therefore understanding how people interact with the environment - including their knowledge and attitudes - is essential for sustainable management.
More efficient use of our water resources will not be enough to solve the over-allocation of water licences in some areas, so inevitably there will need to be some 'buy backs' from irrigation, industries, and communities.

• How can we use market-based instruments to secure water for environmental flows? Recent research has shown what needs to be considered when we design water buyback schemes. For example, significant cost savings can be made by having well defined watering needs and taking opportunities to strategically 'miss' certain waterings. This work demonstrates that no single instrument is likely to meet the diversity of environmental watering demands and that a portfolio of instruments will help to balance cost, effectiveness and workability to meet environmental objectives.
  
  Consultation with irrigators during this research has found that there is some support for water markets but also a need for good planning, transparency and accountability if governments buy water for environmental flows.
  
  Further details of the Environmental Water Allocation R&D Program, including the full results of this research.
  
• Implementing the National Water Initiative is a complex challenge with implications for the whole community. A recent conference brought together researchers, industry groups and policy makers to look at the social, institutional and industry implications of water reforms and how they are being implemented. Discussions at the conference built upon detailed background papers commissioned from leading experts and responding to identified gaps in our knowledge.
  
  Key topics included: water planning, allocation and auditing; water markets, trading and pricing; institutional roles and responsibilities; values and perceptions, including indigenous perspectives; and the social and industry impacts of water reforms.
  
  Further details about the Delivering the National Water Initiative Conference