As Hasbeen has noted the bit about running out of water is just nonsense. Even if one accepts the IPCC forecasts, no-one has the slightest idea what the increasing temperatures will do to rainfall patterns. This is an unknown. After all there does seem to be more rainforests than deserts along the equator.. Rainfall patterns may have changed since most of the major reservoirs in Australia were laid out, but they are known to have changed before. In any case, all this really means it that we will have to adapt.. There was a suggestion a while back that all the money spent on trying to reduce carbon emissions would be better spent provide clean water to everyone in the the devleoping world, and it was howled down.. worth considering now.

Curmudgeon: "no-one has the slightest idea what the increasing temperatures will do to rainfall patterns"

The BOM & CSRIO don't agree. They have made predictions on how warming will effect rainfall:

http://www.climatechangeinaustralia.gov.au/vicrain15.php

Hasbeen: "water tanks can supply the entire domestic need of most people."

Yeah, people I know do that. They have upwards of 4 20Kl tanks. Pity they won't fit on the majority of Brisbane house blocks.

As for us not running out of water - what fairy land are you two living in? You obviously don't live around Brisbane. If the dry spell had of persisted for 1 more year until 2009 you would have seen a city of over 1.8M run out of water. Obviously you live nowhere the Murray either, where they are currently burning down their orchards. You can't live in Perth, as they ran out of water a while ago. Ditto Adelaide. Sydney had its scare - although not as bad as Brisbane's. Maybe you live there, but you would have to of had your head in the sand not to notice the problems the rest of the country has been experiencing.

BOM and CSIRO should be thoroughly reprimanded for making those forecasts.. the IPCC forecasts were vague enough, not to mention highly contested, and the effect of climate change on rainfall is even more uncertain. As for running out of water - drought is suddently unusual in Australia - even long droughts? Beg to differ.
but in any case if there is thought to be a problem then what is the solution? There are some obvious solutions staring policy makers in the face, including the much-maligned desalination plants.. If policy makers seriously think that there will be a long term lack of water then they should get busy..