Water values

People value water and water environments for a diverse range of reasons. Water is essential for human life and wellbeing, is critical to food production, and is a part of many manufacturing and industrial processes. Australians have a deep connection with the water environments of rivers, lakes, estuaries, and coasts, which are central to much recreation and tourism, and for Indigenous
Australians water environments have a deep spiritual meaning. Perceptions of dryness of the continent have also shaped the Australian ‘psyche’.1
Many of the values for water are shared, but it is the contested values that are at the heart of conflicts over water, such as determining sustainable levels of use. Large-scale water use inevitably has some impact on water ecosystems, so setting sustainable levels of use inevitably involves weighing up competing values. This chapter outlines the many benefits obtained from water and how they shape the way water is managed in Australia. Although it is convenient to describe separate social, cultural, environmental, and economic values for water, they are in fact closely intertwined.