Water Efficiency

Water efficiency and conservation are closely related: both reduce our water consumption. While water conservation tends to deal with habits, water efficiency is more about hardware and programs. Efficiency is about getting more performance out of each drop of water used. There are numerous water-saving devices – shower heads, toilets, washing machines and dishwashers, to name just a few – available today.

However, these savings can be greatly increased and accelerated through well-designed programs that encourage and even subsidize retrofits in already-developed areas. Such programs can be particularly beneficial in low-income neighborhoods and areas where there are many retired people on fixed incomes.

Institutional retrofits also often make particularly good sense. Schools, dormitories, civic centers, sporting arenas, hospitals and other institutions serve large numbers of people. When they replace their water devices they can save a great deal of water quickly. They can also save a great deal of money that can be much better spent on books, educational programs and health care than on water, sewer and energy bills.

Water and energy utilities should work together to develop and finance water efficiency programs. After all, saving water saves energy, and saving energy saves water. Emphasizing demand-side management of water and energy together helps each type of utility meet its long-term public service obligations with less reliance on expensive new supply-side projects such as new dams and new power plants. This will save utilities and their customers still more money in future years.