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Rainwater harvesting in Tuscon, Arizona. (Source: Seri AZ Solutions, Sonora Environmental Research Institute, Inc.) |
Climate change will increase the risk of drought in many parts of the country, particularly in the Southwest, but also in summer in many other areas. Droughts can limit the supply of and access to water. Policymakers can make it a priority to address the needs and vulnerabilities of frontline communities by supporting programs that ensure a reliable and affordable water supply to counter the risks of drought. Drought risks address having too little water but also include ensuring that frontline communities have reliable and affordable access to water. The two fundamental strategies for addressing drought risks are reducing water use and increasing supply. This section highlights tools for helping frontline communities maintain access to water through payment assistance programs to avoid shutoffs and to reduce demand for water from water systems and utilities.
One way that governments and water systems can ensure frontline communities have access to water despite drought conditions is through demand reduction strategies. Demand reduction strategies include the use of technologies that consume less water. Low flow toilets and water-efficient laundry and dishwashing machines are among the water-efficient technologies that provide the same services as old technology using less water. In the western United States, where irrigating lawns is typical, water use can be reduced by planting more drought-tolerant vegetation (which for some types of vegetation may require virtually no irrigation) or reusing water from indoor uses such as showers and washing dishes and clothes (grey water) for irrigation.
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Many rural communities lack access to reliable and affordable water supplies.See footnote 3 Much of this problem has to do with poor water quality, but some of it is the result of inadequate supplies such as in California’s Central Valley, in some tribal areas, and the colonias along the U.S.-Mexico border. The affordability of water can be a key driver in determining whether frontline communities have sustained access to water. As water rates increase, a larger share of the population is at risk of being unable to afford to pay their water bill, thus, facing water poverty.See footnote 4
Addressing water supply problems takes two strategies. One is to install technologies that capture rain or snow for outdoor water use (such water is not considered potable). Where cost is involved, (e.g., investing in water-efficient appliances or rainwater capture), frontline communities may also need access to financing through loans or grants for the purchase and maintenance of equipment that improves water efficiency. Addressing affordability and shutoff of water supplies directly addresses cost issues faced by frontline communities.
The other strategy is to adopt programs and policies that ensure that frontline communities have sustained access to affordable water and are not cut off from obtaining water for domestic needs. Equitable approaches to ensuring access to water include policy strategies that make water rates more affordable for low-income consumers or that limit or avoid water shutoffs and other disruptions in supply.
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Reducing Water Use
Increasing Water Supply
Endnotes:
1. WaterSense Labeled Toilets, EPA (2017), View Source. | Back to contentBack to content
2. Southern Nevada Water Resources Authority (which has Las Vegas and its suburbs) prohibits installation of turf in front yards of new development and limits turf to 50% of the area of backyards. Marilyn Kirkpatrick, et al., Joint Water Conservation Plan, Southern Nevada Water Authority (2019), View Source. | Back to contentBack to content
3. Sarah Jones & Emily Atkin, Rural America’s Drinking-Water Crisis, The New Republic (February 12, 2018), View Source. | Back to contentBack to content
4. Elizabeth Mack & Sarah Wrase, A Burgeoning Crisis? A Nationwide Assessment of the Geography of Water Affordability in the United States, 12 PLoS ONE 1 (January 2017). Back to contentBack to content
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