Water Conservation
Washington State has experienced several droughts in recent years. In response to the drought of 2001, many local governments prepared contingency plans for water shortage emergencies. Due to drier and warmer-than-average weather conditions and long-term forecast, the state again experienced drought conditions in 2005. In March 2005, Governor Gregoire authorized the Department of Ecology to declare a statewide drought emergency through December 31, 2005. Once again the state is making preparations expected drought in 2010. See the Department of Ecology's Web site 2010 Drought Preparation. Since conditions exist for periodic water shortage, MRSC has retained links to informational materials related to the 2001 and 2005 droughts.
For current information on drought conditions, see the Department of Ecology's Web pages on 2010 Drought Preparation, Water Supply Information and Water Conservation, which provide information and links to information on the water supply forecasts, current conditions, water conservation measures, and on historic droughts.
MRSC's Water Conservation pages provide links to water conservation information for Washington local governments. For comments or additions to this page, contact Lynne De Merritt, Senior Research Consultant, at ldemerritt@mrsc.org or (206) 625-1300.
Contents
- Drought Provisions
- Water Conservation Overview
- Water Conservation Issues
- Why Conserve Water?
- Water Use Efficiency
- Federal Guidelines
- Water Conservation Planning in Washington State
- Relationship of Water Conservation to Salmon Restoration
- Sample Conservation Plans from Water System Plans
- Sample Water Conservation and Water Use Efficiency Policies
- Water Conservation Measures
- Information Resources