Chapter 4

		mplementing effective water conservation measures and programs is critical to satisfying Utah's future water needs.

Due to past water management and development activities, Utah's cities, towns and industries generally enjoy an adequate supply of water. In the future, however, the demands for water imposed by a growing population will exceed presently developed supplies available for municipal and industrial (M&I) purposes. Implementing effective water conservation is a critical component in satisfying Utah's future water needs. The focus of this chapter is water conservation in the M&I sector. Water conservation as it relates to agriculture is discussed in Chapter 5.

• delay expensive capital investments to upgrade or expand existing water facilities;
• reduce sewage flows, delaying the need for more wastewater treatment facilities;
• conserve energy as less water needs to be treated, pumped and distributed to the consumer;
• lessen the leaching of chemicals and sediments into streams and aquifers because of improved urban irrigation efficiencies; and
• reduce stream diversions, enhancing water quality, environmental and recreational functions.