Confronting the System: An Exploration of the Water Security Crisis in Melbourne

Abstract

Melbourne, Australia is a city of nearly five million people facing multiple threats to water security, in particular, climate change and population growth. Rising temperatures and reduced rainfall are prolonging droughts and depleting storage water levels. At the same time, an increasing population is creating greater demand despite decreasing stocks. In response, authorities have adopted a strategy meant to enhance their capacity to provide water, based on the concept of ‘security through diversity’. This approach, however, is neither sustainable nor a true embodiment of the principle of diversification. It is predicated on a centralized system of urban water management that is unsuited for present circumstances and places greater importance on supply-side interventions—such as desalination—than on initiatives meant to address demand. Thus, the strategy needs to be transformed if it is to better embody the principle of diversification and ensure water security. This could be accomplished by including a broader range of relevant stakeholders, such as Indigenous and other civil society groups, to improve the city’s current water management strategies and tackle its dependence on a centralized urban water management system.