WHETHER RELATED TO COVID-19,climate change, or any other of ourcompounding disasters, those ofus living in the twenty-first centuryare accustomed to bleak headlinesthat implore us to take action. Crisescan be extremely motivating. Thisis no less true in water resourcesmanagement, where outdatedlegal frameworks and entrenchedinterests often combine to createseemingly insurmountable inertia. Inthis sense, extreme drought standsout as a unique opportunity to spurus to action. For example, aftermore than ten years of drought inthe early 2000s, Australia placed acap on surface water diversions andreduced urban water use by up to50. Yet, like most crises, droughtsalso have their dangers. They canput short-and long-term planningpriorities in tension, forcing difficulttradeoffs between communitiesof users and priorities. Further,rapid action is often at odds withenvironmental justice and equityneeds.
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