Water shortages in Queensland : are businesses ready to meet the challenge

Water shortages are often viewed as a problem facing emerging economies, but with changes in weather patterns developed economies are discovering that the water supply infrastructure that was designed to meet their needs is failing to provide an adequate supply of water for consumers. In regions where an adequate supply of water was taken for granted households and businesses are ill-prepared to manage water shortages. Many businesses are able to manage changing resource availability however responding to changes requires that they understand the risks associated with water shortages and they have sufficient time to implement operational changes to meet the scarity of water. The paper reports on the approach taken by an association of businesses in Australia to understand and manage the risks associated with ongoing water shortages.