Whither Australia: Will availability of water constrain the growth of Australia's population?

Abstract

Supply of water for cities and for food production will not be a major factor limiting the growth of Australia's population in coming decades. The water needed to sustain the population of Australia can be divided into two kinds. Direct water requirements are those that meet the immediate needs of the people - potable water supply and waste removal. Indirect water requirements refer to the water needed to sustain the economy and the standard of living - food production, manufacturing, mining, etc. Agriculture is the largest indirect user, using between 50% and 70%, while household use, including sewerage and drainage, uses less than 30%. Industry uses the remaining 20%. In this paper, we do ..