'A conservative value'

Monday, Mar. 09, 2009

Some suggest that water conservation is merely a drop in the bucket, but in reality it's a virtual river. Numerous studies point to water conservation as the most cost-effective strategy for increasing water supply reliability.

Studies by the Public Policy Institute of California and the Pacific Institute find that increased efficiency can yield at least 2 million acre-feet inexpensively. To put it in perspective, this quantity of water is adequate to meet the annual demand of more than 2 million families or to irrigate the entire Westlands Water District in excess of its annual needs.

Water recycling, agricultural efficiency and groundwater banking are additional methods of increasing water supply reliability. By themselves, these options have far greater potential than additional dams, without the exorbitant costs to already overburdened California taxpayers. Again, it appears that conservation is indeed a conservative value -- it's a pity that only the dreaded liberal environmentalists can see that.

Brandon Hill

Clovis