The period of fieldwork, 2002–3, corresponded to a time of significant drought onset in south-eastern Australia. By the end of winter 2002 there was considerable discussion of the drought in the Australian east-coast media. However, people were already talking about water well before this, and it seemed to us as interviewers that the drought sharpened an existing consciousness rather than creating a new one. Media influences in relation to water consumption and the drought were diverse and pervasive during this period. Messages about water consumption came through all forms of everyday media, even down to the reporting of dam levels on the TV news. With the imposition of water restrictions there was extensive advertising in the daily press, as well as mail-outs to individual households.

In contrast to the diversity of their views on other issues (for example, the role of trees, the importance of native species, love and hate of lawns), recognition of the importance of water conservation was the nearest thing to a shared environmental commitment across the study population. While a few thought ‘the government’ or ‘they’ should have built more dams, none contested the idea that as a society we need to change our ways when it comes to water. This is consistent with Kurz et al.’s (2005) finding in Perth that ‘water was constructed as being a finite, precious and shared resource that must not be wasted’ (616), in contrast, for example, to energy resources.