Water Conservation‐A Practical Approach

In facing a growing realization that demand for both energy and water is outrunning supply, the federal government is making special efforts to cope with the problems. As with energy, the principal thrust of federal efforts toward solving water shortage problems seems to emphasize reduction of demand to conserve existing supplies rather than development of additional supplies to satisfy increasing demands. Few argue against the principle of conservation, but sole reliance on that approach to overcome deficits could be disastrous for the future. Conservation is largely a one-time measure, resulting in a temporary sag in the general upward trend of the demand curve. Although conservation of water is a stopgap solution rather than a permanent one, it is, of course, a worthwhile effort. Development of a federal water strategy is the responsibility of the Water Resources Council (WRC). This agency held a series of public hearings throughout the country during the summer of 1977 to hear testimony concerning proposals contained in a draft water resource policy study developed by the WRC staff. In August 1977 the city of Dallas presented its views on the WRC's water resource policy study at one of these public hearings. Dallas's testimony concerned the following hypothesis set forth in the WRC policy study: "Inefficient use of water in existing water-consuming