Benefits of Conserving Water
Wise water use is more than turning off the tap when brushing your teeth. In a nation and world faced with decreasing supplies of clean water, conservation is crucial.
Engineers in O'Fallon, Illinois, say municipalities have been studying how we use water since the 1970s. From low-flow showerheads and toilets to water-saving landscaping, plants and irrigation to maximizing commercial and industrial water usage, the benefits of conservation have been to save taxpayers and industries money, reduce municipal infrastructure budgets and preserve clean water resources.
Taxpayer Money
Saving energy is a big benefit of water conservation, says the Texas Groundwater Protection Committee. Water is hefty to move and expensive to treat so conserving it reduces electricity from water pumps and treatment plants.
To save the cost of removing water from its source, treating it and delivering it to homes, many municipalities now store, reduce use and reuse existing water.
Edmonton television station CTV says the Alberta capital recycled 20 million liters in three years by reusing the water from its municipal swimming pools to water its parks, trees and flowers. The city and taxpayers benefited by saving money to transport and treat that amount of fresh water and by offsetting the effects of drought.
Home budgets
The less water that flows out of your tap, the less you pay in water and sewage fees. Many municipalities have conservation tips for how their rate payers can reduce use, or incentives such as free showerheads to reduce the demand on the municipal supply.
Attach your downspout to a rain barrel and see the benefits in your pocket when using the rainwater on your lawn and garden shrinks your water bill.
Edmonton's water utility Epcor estimates that average homes using low-flow fixtures and water efficient appliances can save more than $300 a year.
Environment
Taking water from its natural source--whether a river, underground aquifer, lake, reservoir or dam--alters the environment of that water source. This can affect the wildlife, fish and ecosystem, destroy habitat by reducing water to drink or spawn in and make the water features less enjoyable for human use.
Water conservation benefits the environment by reducing or reusing the removed water and, in some cases, returning some of it to the water cycle as recycled gray water.
Less water taken, transported and treated reduces electricity and energy demands, minimizing their effect on global warming.
Supplies
Keeping chemicals, motor oil, lawn fertilizer and pesticides out of house and municipal drains is as important to the water supply as fixing leaks, shorter showers and running full loads of dishes and laundry.
The benefits include keeping the local water supply clean and municipal savings from not needing bigger water treatment plants.
Water Rights
The nation's dwindling fresh water supplies have created a complex network of water rights and laws, with users increasingly in conflict.
Farmers in California's Imperial Valley feed much of the nation with their irrigated crops, but are just one of the water users of the Colorado River.
Users up river also have rights, and as each takes its portion, the mighty stream that carved the Grand Canyon slows to a trickle and some years never reaches the sea.
Active water conservation practiced by all users is beneficial. It helps keep the stream moving, stretches a limited commodity without increasing its quantity and assists the production of the nation's food supply.
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