Why Conserve Water in a "Water Rich" State?

Do some water supply districts in Rhode Island need to practice conservation more than others? Should Providence have to implement conservation measure or demand reduction programs to the same extent that Jamestown should? These are questions that are difficult to answer. A primary assumption made by this thesis is that conservation will be beneficial to Rhode Island in the long-term. However, how does one encourage conservation in a short-term situation (drought emergency) when conservation often involves changing long-term behaviors?

First conservation should be thought of in terms of costs and benefits. Everyone should implement a conservation technology or program if the cost of implementing such a measure is less than the cost of not implementing the measure. It only makes sense to do so. It is important to keep in mind, however, that the costs and benefits of implementing programs are going to be different for each system. The benefits of conserving water in Jamestown are much higher than the costs, therefore, their conservation programs are much more comprehensive than Providence's need to be.

Second, when thinking of costs and benefits, it is important to include long-term potential for drought. For example, even though they have a plentiful supply, maybe Providence should think about conservation because, as more systems become stressed, their reliance on Providence for a water supply (either in times of emergency or everyday) will increase. If this happens, Providence may be faced with a huge increase in demand that may simulate drought conditions. Keeping this scenario in mind, it would make sense for Providence to begin to implement conservation programs that will affect long-term water use behaviors. By thinking about conservation now, when the day comes that Providence is responsible for providing 75% of the state with water, they will have enough supply to do so under both normal and drought conditions.

In the end, everyone should have conservation on their radar screen. The most important idea to keep in mind when reading this thesis is that every water supplier's management methods should evolve as the times change. The future can not be predicted but it can be prepared for and in many cases, encouraging conservation can only help.