2006 Water Conservation Trends
By: Lance Winslow
In 2005 we saw many municipalities continue to ask citizens to conserve water, some mandated zeroscape landscapes in new homes. That is yards, which require no water at all. Some cities decided to allow sewer treatment plant treated water to go under into underground aquifers and then when needed, if needed to later be filtered and retreated before being used. Many experts warned against this, others claimed is was the best choice under the circumstances.
In Southern California they talked about building desalination plants to remove the salt from the salt water to drink. Most states have had their water companies include pamphlets of the ten or twenty best ways to save water in their water invoices. Some offered a rebate on taxes or for new appliances or low-flush toilets in hopes the citizens would assist in the saving and conserving of water. Some cities were forced to make ordinances about washing cars with shut off nozzles only or washing the car on the lawn or better yet take it to a car wash which recycles their water.
In 2006 these trends will continue and we will see few cities without some sort of plan to conserve water and restrictions on the use of water in the homes. We will see more land being bought from farmers with water rights in trade for development permits for office buildings or homes. We will see higher prices on sewer and water hook ups and we will see municipal water police, via the city’s code enforcement making sure such ordinances are followed. The amount of growth and use of water is disproportionate to the amount available and these systems will need to be in place to make sure we do not run out of this critical natural resource. In some areas we will see increased funding for cloud seeding and occasional mistakes causing adverse effects and flooding when it causes too much rain. This is just some of what you can expect with regards to water conservation issues in 2006. Think on it.
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