Water‐Conservation Methods to Meet Pennsylvania's Water Needs

Water conservation is coming into focus as a method to alleviate serious problems facing Pennsylvania and the rest of the US. Water shortages, water pollution control costs, and energy consumption are all of increasing concern. Water conservation is fast becoming a way of life in many parts of the country. The "limitless resource" has become limited in places like Florida, California, Colorado, and even the humid Northwest and Northeast. Industry finds that it is cost-effective to reduce wasteflow volumes and recycle water after treatment to meet new environmental regulations, while communities cannot get government assistance in funding water and sewer projects unless they use water less wastefully. As demands for water resources mount, pollution shrinks the usable supply. At the same time, the heating of water for domestic, commercial, and industrial purposes results in a correspondingly large consumption of energy. Because hot water use is the second greatest consumer of residential energy (after home heating), conserving hot water can reduce energy consumption significantly. Among the more pressing laws and regulations spurring the state toward water conservation are the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Act and Comprehensive Water Quality Management Plan (COWAMP), the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act, and the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. A discussion of possible means of meeting these regulations follows.