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Existing water-efficient technologies and practices could save up to 1.86 trillion gallons of water per year in six Southwestern states alone, according to a new report released today by Environment America. This quantity of water is equivalent to the total amount of water consumed in New Mexico and Nevada each year. While the report’s calculations are based on data from the Southwest, its general conclusion of the vast potential for water-savings are applicable to states across the country that are grappling with drought – from Georgia to California.
“The good news is that, with efficiency and conservation, we can keep America’s rivers running freely and still meet the water needs of our growing economy,” explained John Rumpler, Environment America‘s Senior Environmental Attorney and one of the report’s authors.
The report, Using Water Wisely: Southwest Data Shows the Promise of Efficiency, analyzes water saving opportunities in six southwestern states—New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Texas and Utah. For example, the fast-growing city of Denver is expected to save 1.5 million gallons of water per year with a program that pays businesses to switch to water-saving technologies. Microirrigation, low-water use landscaping, and a shift to clean (and less water-intensive) energy sources are among the methods that the group calculates could recoup up to 5.7 million acre-feet, or 1.86 trillion gallons, of water in the region.
The report comes at a critical time, as policymakers across the country are grappling with responses to water management issues. In California, Governor Schwarzenegger declared a drought earlier this summer. In Georgia, officials are expected to propose a set of measures to curb the closures of swimming pools that loomed over metro Atlanta last summer. And the report is equally relevant for the water-blessed Midwest because Congress is currently considering the Great Lakes Compact, which would permanently protect the largest surface waters in North America.
“With these findings, we know that America can turn to efficiency first, rather than draining more water from our lakes and rivers,” explained Christy Leavitt, Environment America’s Clean Water Advocate. “There is no better example of such a policy than the Great Lakes Compact that is before Congress right now.”
