Water: Let’s Hear It for Conservation Innovation

reichardt_klaus_waterless

by | May 4, 2015

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reichardt_klaus_waterlessWith California residents being asked to scale back water consumption by 25 percent and the US Drought Monitor reporting that as of the end of March 2015, 36.8 percent of the contiguous United States is now experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions, it would appear there is little to cheer about when it comes to water here in the United States. However, a report released in April 2015 offers some bright, even promising, news on the topic.

The report, Water Use Trends in the United States,[1] finds that since 1950, when the United States Geological Survey (USGS) first started collecting data on national water consumption, water use on a per capita basis has declined significantly, and trends indicate it will continue to do so. According to the report, the term “water use” refers to the amount of water withdrawn from the ground or “diverted from a surface-water source for use.” Surface water is water in rivers, lakes, oceans and the like. In fact, the report finds that total water use in the United States is now less than it was in 1970, despite continued population growth and major jumps in our country’s gross national product (GNP) beginning in 1980.

Specific details from the report include these findings:

  • National water use has declined over the past three decades but experienced major drops between 2005 and 2010.
  • Total water use, which includes both fresh and saline water, peaked in 1980 at 440 billion gallons per day (bgd), dropping to 400 bgd by 1985.
  • By 2010, total water use had declined to 350 bgd, which is lower than in 1970.
  • The number of gallons per capita per day (gpcd) of water was 1,900 in 1980; by 2010 it was down to 1,100.
  • The inflation-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) for every 100 gallons of water used in the United States was $4 in in 1980; by 2010, economic productivity had increased by 20 percent, to $11 per 100 gallons, which “shows that the US now produces far more wealth with far less water than at any time in the past,” according to the authors of the report.

Notably, water use in the United States steadily increased every decade starting in 1900 until 1980. In fact, in 1980, more than 320 bgd were used in the United States. However, that dropped to about 280 bgd by 1985. Although there are multiple theories as to why this reduction occurred, we should note that the last major drought in California was in 1977 to 1978, when residents were also asked to scale back water consumption by 25 percent or more. Before this drought, there was relatively little focus on water efficiency and few technologies available to help consumers — residential as well as commercial/industrial — reduce water consumption.

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