Integrating Water Conservation Into Water Supply Planning

by William O. Maddaus, James M. Montgomery Consulting, Engineers Inc, Walnut Creek, United States,
Peter P. Macy, James M. Montgomery Consulting, Engineers Inc, Walnut Creek, United States,
Amy Vickers, James M. Montgomery Consulting, Engineers Inc, Walnut Creek, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Water Resources Planning and Management and Urban Water Resources

Abstract:

Consideration of water demand reduction strategies is increasingly important in water resources planning. Although more research is needed to improve the reliability of water savings data, enough is known today to plan and initiate conservation programs. Benefit-cost analysis can be used to forecast total program costs and benefits and estimate the cost of water saved. This value enables conservation to be compared to the cost of capacity expansion, thus enabling integrated planning. The integrated approach is demonstrated in two case studies -- Boulder, Colorado, and Worcester, Massachusetts. In each study, the effect of water conservation on major water facilities was evaluated. Each study showed how the city could save considerable sums of money by postponing construction and/or downsizing facility expansions.

Subject Headings: Water conservation | Water shortage | Water resources | Water supply | Water demand | Water supply systems | Case studies | United States | Colorado | Massachusetts

Services: Buy this book/Buy this article

 

Return to search