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Instead of creating water supply systems that fully insulate mankind from climate-imposed water deficiencies, it is possible that for municipal water systems a nonzero probability of water supply shortfall is efficient. Perfect water supply reliability, meaning no chance of future shortfall, is not optimal when water development costs are high. Designing an efficient strategy requires an assessment of consumer preferences pertaining to the reliability of water supply. Contingent valuations of both current and future shortfalls are reported. The consistency of these measures is gauged using an expected utility model. Copyright 2000, Oxford University Press.