New Water Policy and Practice Volume 1, Number 2 - Spring 2015 | Page 69

New Water Policy and Practice - Volume 1, Number 2 - Spring 2015

Water Industry (Law) Reforms: The Adoption of
Australian Drinking Water Guidelines in Western
Australia — From Targets to Aspirations
Neil ColesA1
The past two decades have overseen a dramatic shift in the way Australians
view water resources, their value, and the way in which it is allocated and
managed. Water law and regulatory reforms within government and industry
at National and State levels have resulted in unprecedented changes in the
way governments, councils, and corporate bodies are structured to manage
it. Although Western Australia has been at the forefront of the planning
and regulatory reforms required to manage two decades of declining rainfall
and expanding population, much of the reform is driven by the National
agenda. Modifications in water policy, water industry re-structur