Mark, I seriously doubt there will ever be a solution to our water woes. The simple fact is that there are over 6 billion people relying on a World wide fixed amount of water. Some ask where all the water has gone. To start with, 6 billion people are carrying around something like 186 billion litres (50-60% of our body is water) not to mention all the water they have stored in the form of sauces, lotions, soft drinks, etc. Then I've heard wasteful comments like.."I have to pay for the pipe past my door, so I might as well use it!" Perhaps if payments were transferred from service charges to actual usage, or a much reduced service charge, then people might be inspired to install more tanks, but then Government would charge a tax on stored water because their policies are entwined with big business and the irreversible "growth equals wealth" mentality which is the real cause of our water woes and also climate change. The truth is, there are simply too many people on Earth, but in the end, nature will always take care of herself. The signs are there already that she's taking care of business, your posting and many more like them being an indicator. People are starting to wake up, but it will take nature to put a halt to the madness of capitalism. The fuse was lit long ago and the bang is soon to come. While the plight of the World relies on Governments pandering to greedy corporations, neither you, I or anyone else can do a damned thing about it, so just sit back and enjoy the ride as long as it lasts.

Even if your 'we're doomed' assertion is accurate, there are still things we can do about it - we can slow it down for starters.

The 'we can't do anything, so lets not even try' attitude is what has gotten us in this mess, and it is what is preventing wo us from doing anything about it.

I've pointed this out plenty of times, but I'll do it again - populations in the first world aren't increasing, it is the third world that is contributing. We can't reasonably ask them to stop having children, because it is the children that support them in later life in lieu of social services.
We can try to make life more equitable for the third world, which in turn will slow down their population growth.

The US government could also take a positive stance on condoms in Africa rather than discouraging them, simultaneously slowing the spread of aids and inhibiting uncontrolled population growth.

i agree. we do seem to be heading fo rsome major catastrophy and maybe it is inevitable. I was recently in India and it was my first experience of not easy access to water for free. someone is making a lot of money simply bettleing water (from dubious sources). I know people here in melbourne who don't drink the tap water. anyway, i agree that we need more tanks and catchments. it's amazing how much water goes down the drain in the city on a rainy day. Melbourne city is one very large water catchment actually we just always forget to put the plug in. if sewage can be turned into potable water surely rainfall over cities can too. when we are so concerned about catching water we are also very good at redirecting every drop away from the city and into the ocean along with all the rubish, oil, and whatever else it washes from the gutters. it would be interesting to find out whether water caught from rainfall in and around cities is actually potable.
this question might be naive but why don't i hear more about desalination plants? with the sea levels rising whay dont we drink that? i know the earths volume of water is always relative.... but?

Yes TLTR, I do agree with you, but fail to see how we can do anything to alter the mindset of the rich and powerful nations which in turn will lead to a stabilisation of populations in third Word countries. It's industrialised countries like the US that have caused this population explosion in the first place. Personally, I try to live a lifestyle that leaves as small an environmental imprint as possible. My home is almost self sufficient (except for power and phone) but sometimes my frustration at humanity gets the better of me, hence my last comment line. If I didn't care about the World and all her woes, I wouldn't even be posting on OLO. Sometimes, I do take heart from other posters here because I can see a groundswell of awareness beginning to stir, but I also fear that it's too late to convert the rest of those who perpetually chase the might dollar without a moments thought to just how their greed is destroying any hope that my grandchildren will live in time at least equal to what we have today. Even you TLTR must admit that the future for those kids doesn't look very bright.

Australia has plenty of water.
We have so much water that we are watering the desert in southern NSW to grow potatoes.Spraying tonnes of water onto soft limestone in Southern S.A. to grow grass for dairy cows.Rice in desert areas of NSW,and so the list goes on.
The government is aware of the need to soak up as much water that it gives a 100% tax rebate to the growers of Blue Gum trees.
We know that Coca Cola makes more profit from water in Australia than it makes from its Brand name soft drink.
Please do not keep following the path that Australia has no water.
My plan is to supply all Australians with a free water supply to every urban residence. Providing they have a large water tank and with the Federal Government $2000 rebate that Gas guzzlers are now able to claim,givern to water savers.
The Kimberleys and south west WA are other large watered areas.
What we need is less ignorant polititans and journalist who fail to see out side the square.
Every young Aussie girl now walks around with her own personal water supply care of Coca cola.
If australian governments were serious about water we would have large water pipes linking all states in Australia,similar to the new
electrical networks now in operation.

Yes, I'll acknowledge that the future doesn't look very bright.

I can't help but feel that most of our problems aren't caused by a lack of resources - the real issue here is apathy.

Think about for a second - the real expense in recycling isn't the recycling itself, it's separating the rubbish. If we had a dozen smaller bins for various products - paper, plastic, metal and so forth and all our organic waste was properly recycled, it would make a huge difference.

If only we stopped having so much packaging for every fast food meal, if we stopped drinking once from a plastic bottle then throwing it away, if we used our water more wisely, if we stopped making cheap new appliances instead of repairing our old ones, even if we replaced the filaments in lightbulbs instead of the whole thing... there are so many more practical things that we can do.

Future generations won't live as well as we do, but we have been spoilt. They will probably be better people than we are, if not a little resentful of their wasteful ancestors.

Besides - where there is opportunity there is profit, and as resources become scarce, those who can reuse what's there will reap the rewards.