Engage your community
As community leaders, it is important to engage your public in how they can participate and make a difference in protecting water resources and reducing costs. Consumers are often willing to do their part and participate in sound water management practices if given accurate and helpful information. The following section provides guidance on how you can best develop an effective water ethic in your community based on transparency and demonstrated stewardship.
Go Implement water conservation + demand management
Living in a water-rich region like ours, it is easy to question water conservation. Beyond reducing unnecessary water waste to avoid supply constraints, other benefits include extending the life of existing infrastructure, slowing down or avoiding the need for expensive, additional water sources, saving on energy and chemical costs for pumping and treating drinking water and providing the opportunity for economic development by having enough supply for additional industry and population growth.
Water conservation should not be something we think about only during times of drought. Water efficiency is a way of life and a method to ensure water is available at a reasonable cost for future generations. Water conservation is any action, program or technology that:
- reduces the amount of water withdrawn from a water supply source
- reduces consumer water use (indoor and outdoor)
- reduces water loss or waste
- improves the efficiency of water use
- increases water recycling and reuse
- prevents water pollution
The adoption of water-efficient practices such as conservation is seen as an important step to reducing peak demand for drinking water, getting more service out of existing systems and delaying the construction of new, expensive sources.
