Relatively new in the consciousness of water engineers and managers is the notion that consumers should be closely involved in the determination of how their water supplies are developed.

As recently as forty years ago it was believed that this is such a 'technical' subject that there was nothing that the general public could contribute to the planning of, or decisions on, this subject.

Now it has become apparent that leaving water, and other public works, in the hands of engineers, government officials and politicians led to some very poor decisions.

One of the few items of really good news on the world water scene is now the degree to which it is become standard practice to include the public in infrastructure development and management deliberations.