Droughts are becoming almost the 'norm' these days. Many cities and some entire states are requiring immediate conservation measures be taken and are forcing residents to become more efficient in their water consumption.Some cities are severely curtailing the times and amounts of water used. Some cities are simply raising their water and sewage rates in hopes of curtailing the ever increasing demand.

The following is excerpts are from the Dallas Morning News on April 21, 2008:
The country is facing a water crisis, unnoticed by many Americans. The Southeast went through a record-breaking shortage last summer. The West is facing its worst drought in a century, and climate change will likely further deplete the water supply.

Agriculture uses about four-fifths of the water in the West, leaving just 20 percent for the region's fast-growing cities. And yet water is far more valuable to towns and cities.

 

Michael Greenstone is an environmental economics professor at MIT and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

As good citizens, it is incumbent upon us to conserve water NOW.