Kuwait lies in an arid region with limited options for sustainable water supply. Annual water share is less than 500 cubic meters and it depends exclusively on water desalinization. The consumption rate is among the world's highest (550-600 liters per day), while the water tariff is the world's lowest ($0.50/m3) with a 92% subsidy. In response to increasing demand of 3.5 million people, growing at a rate of 2.3% per year, the government adopted a supply-side strategy of expanding production rather than ratcheting up low water rates. Kuwait could very well cut water use and meet its future demand with existing production capacity by improving water use efficiency, by using, for example, a progressive rate structure, instead of a very low flat rate. A 17-question survey was designed to assess willingness to pay (WTP) among Kuwaiti households under different pricing and subsidy schemes, as well as with or without specific information that Kuwait potentially faces serious water shortages. Using a sample of 446, analysis indicates that Kuwaitis are somewhat sensitive to water pricing. They are also sensitive to the presence of a water subsidy for basic household use, and to information about water vulnerability and scarcity. The effect sizes are mostly too small to show significance using standard statistical techniques. However, the non-parametric binomial test shows that the set of correct predictions regarding WTP at different combinations of price, subsidy, and information cannot be random. These findings could be instrumental in devising water conservation policy options to foster sustainable water use in Kuwait
