Towards Urban Water Reform: A Discussion Paper

Most urban households face severe restrictions on their use of water. These impose hidden costs that could amount to billions of dollars each year. Australia’s urban water shortages are only partly due to low rainfall. An important contributor has been inadequate institutional arrangements for the management of our urban water resources. In a new discussion paper, the Productivity Commission identifies a number of deficiencies in how urban water is currently managed, the most fundamental being the lack of any effective market.