We're used to drought Kathianne. This is the driest inhabited continent in the world after all (and yet we have some of the wettest places as well in the tropical north, bastards keep it all for themselves though
).
But the problem for us is that this drought is longer and more severe than it's been in recorded history. Where I live we rely on the River Murray (well the Murray-Darling system) for our water needs and frankly it's not looking too good. But it's worse in some parts of the country. Desal plants are being planned but there is disagreement about siting them and some are dead against them due to the associated salinity problems (I'm not technically minded so I can't go through the arguments).
There's not much we can do about the lack of rain and we're all learning that we're going to have to adapt. Small things like water consciousness are now part and parcel of our way of life. Sadly this can manifest itself badly. In Sydney a man was killed by another man because the first was watering his lawn (legally) and the second man thought he was wasting water so there was an altercation and the first man suffered a fatal heart attack in the fight.
Bloody stupid but that's what's happening.
