ABSTRACT
Water conservation is a powerfully effective short-term drought mitigation tool that is also a proven approach to better managing long-term water demands. The contrast between water-tight systems and leaky ones is glaring, particularly in the face of reservoir-draining droughts and other water supply constraints. Water conservation is a powerful yet underutilized drought mitigation tool that can stave off the severe water shortages, financial losses, and public safety risks that historically have been assumed to be an inevitable consequence of drought. Hardware measures, such as leak repairs, high-efficiency toilets and other fixtures, and more efficient cooling and heating systems, will result in long-term demand reductions and typically require one action only to realize ongoing water savings. Beyond temporary drought responses, in some cases the water demand reductions from multiyear conservation programs have served to minimize or cancel major water and wastewater infrastructure expansion plans and related long-term capital debt.
