ABSTRACT
The physical measurement of water supply is closely aligned to debates on pricing, and raises related issues about social equity. The range of potential technological fixes for ameliorating water supply problems is considerable, and each carries its own social and political issues and cultural meanings. Issued free to householders, they represented a fairly small request for conservation, and required little effort, putting little pressure on an uneasy relationship between suppliers and water users. Educational policy instruments are the most common method used by resource managers to try to encourage people to reduce their water usage levels, or to dissuade them from polluting water resources. Representations of the ‘life-giving’ ‘elixir’ as scarce have been highly effective in encouraging people to re-evaluate and sometimes even re-sanctify water. The changing dynamics are well illustrated by the responses of water users to problems.
