Stepping Up Conservation Actions
In order to reduce the overdraft, we must implement effective conservation programs that will reduce the demand for water in all sectors: Residential, Commercial, Institutional, and Industrial. Three types of approaches are available to influence the water using behavior in these sectors. Each has its advantages or limitations based on its program costs, relative impact on water use, and acceptability to the community.
- Behavioral measures to influence day-to-day habits and behaviors, such as taking shorter showers, are very low cost but usually have low short term impacts on water usage;
- Incentives for implementing conservation measures, such as the installation of high efficiency toilets, can have significant impacts but involve significant costs;
- Regulatory measures, such as the mandatory use of drought-tolerant vegetation in new developments, can achieve significant reductions in water use but may not be acceptable to the community.
The overdraft may also be reduced by augmenting aquifer recharge, which requires infrastructure to capture and recharge stormwater. This approach is discussed in a related article.
Theoretically, most of the overdraft could be offset with a magic wand that would instantly install all the most efficient water appliances, take out all landscaping use of water (including golf courses), and convince the public that saving water is the most important thing in their lives. Of course this is unrealistic. So we are faced with determining realistic near and longer term goals for municipal and county conservation programs. With these goals, priorities can be established for deciding on the most appropriate combination of conservation measures.
A comprehensive conservation program should be based on matching the estimated potential for reducing water use in the sector with the expected owner response and corresponding water use reduction associated with the program, all conditioned on the availability of dollars to pay for programs. This is not a simple job but it has been accomplished by cities such as Flagstaff and Albuquerque. The Quad Cities can do it too!
The commitment to support water conservation is necessary to achieve a reduction in the overdraft needed for a sustainable water future. This is a long term project requiring the resources to plan and pay for the conservation efforts.
These steps can be followed by municipalities and counties to prepare a conservation plan for their jurisdiction.
- Establish commitment to reduce the current contribution to the overdraft;
- Determine the theoretical and practical potential for water use reduction by sector;
- Establish near and longer term goals for water use reduction by sector;
- Identify possible conservation program options by sector;
- Evaluate program options in terms of “bang for the buck”. That is, determine which options provide the greatest reduction in water use per dollar of program cost.
- Prepare a comprehensive, coordinated conservation plan for all sectors.
- Approve and implement the conservation plan.