Department of Statistics, UCLA

Adequate water supplies are an obvious necessity for the health of cities and their residents. Water is used for drinking, hygiene, cleaning, waste disposal, irrigation, transportation, and a host of industrial processes. Yet, projections of the match between the demand for water and supply of water are grim (Lettenmaier et al. 1999; Gleick, 2000; HELP Task Force, 2000, Cosgrove and Rijsberman, 2000, Aldhous, 2003). For example, Jakarta and Bangkok may not be able to meet water demand within the next decade or so (Dupont 1998), and as many as 300 cities in China may already suffer already from water shortages (Postel 1996). In addition to issue of supply, many cities in the Asia Pacific suffer from substandard sewage connections, the commingling of drinking water and sewage, and inadequate waste removal, which all contribute to an increased incidence ground and surface water contamination and water borne diseases (Appan 1998; Elliott 1998). Indeed, the entire Bengal Delta in Bangladesh has been likened to “a giant toilet that is adequately flushed just once a year” (Clarke, 2003: 254)