What are the benefits of water conservation?

In addition to "stretching" available water supplies to meet increasing demands, water conservation has distinct economic advantages. For example, use of water-saving shower heads can not only save the homeowner the cost of the water itself but also save over $100 annually in water-heating costs. Furthermore, conservation retrofitting of an existing building could generate benefits ranging between 15 and 20 times the costs incurred. Finally, water conservation lessens the demands made on a vital natural resource, thereby contributing to the sustainability of our environment.  more

Water conservation has both economic and environmental benefits: • If a municipality can reduce its water use, it can extend the lifespan of its current infrastructure; • Municipalities can postpone or avoid the need to expand or construct new water and sewage treatment plants; • They can defer, or avoid, the need to switch to a new water supply source. They can avoid changing from groundwater to surface water supplies, and they can defer or avoid building expensive pipelines to increase the water supply; • Municipalities can save on the actual operation and maintenance costs of water treatment plants; • Water conservation makes more money available to municipalities to practice conservation through such measures as leak detection, public education or installing meters in homes; • Water conservation keeps rivers and lakes cleaner by minimizing the environmental impacts of new water supply infrastructure; • Water conservation helps maintain water levels and preserve habitat for fish ...