Water, Water, Everywhere and Not A Drop to Spare: What’s the Future of Water Conservation in Washington?

In the United States, households alone use an estimated 29 billion gallons of water daily. And while abundant water availability is a luxury that is afforded to some states, others are not so fortunate. Most people think of dry, arid southwestern states when they think of water conservation reform, but it may surprise you to learn that even those states with seemingly limitless natural resources can still struggle.  

Washington, despite the abundance of rainfall, lakes, and rivers within its borders, is one of those surprising states that struggles with water availability. In fact, according to the Department of Health, Washington’s ground and surface water supplies are at critical risk of overuse.

Water conservation is a huge topic of interest across the state, primarily in discussions concerning how the recent trend towards overuse can be reversed. Various strategies centered around how to reduce water consumption are being discussed at all levels of Washington’s society, but it has most notably been a hot-ticket item among politicians. Many politicians have partnered with local and statewide institutions to work closely with the communities they represent to investigate their water consumption habits and how they can be altered for the future.

There are politicians who have made significant strides on the topic of water conversation, and some have worked to make it a statewide initiative, but conservation laws remain highly debated in among local officials. It’s commonly agreed that it’s cheaper, safer, and easier to use less water in general than to try to recycle and reuse wastewater. How to actually enforce, maintain, and moderate those decreased consumption efforts remains in question. The bottom line is that it will take everyone, on the individual and state level, making a solid effort to actually impact water consumption in Washington state.

There are solutions that have been proposed in the past decade, like the Safe Drinking Water Act and increased Water Conservation Programs, but there is a continued effort build up existing policies and add new ones to the docket. These new policies will pave the way towards Washington’s future and will impact the environment and climate for generations. It’s up to local and state-level politicians to find positive and actionable solutions that can be applied at every level of Washington’s society to truly make a difference.

For more information about how you can conserve more water and what steps are being taken for the future of Washington’s efforts, click here.

Share thisTweet about this on TwitterShare on Facebook0Share on Google+0Email this to someoneShare on Reddit0

Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.