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Newsletter of the V.l. Planning Office and the V.!. Water Resources Research Center 809/774-1252 WAA TAX Caribbean Research Institute College of the Virgin Islands St. Thomas, US.Virgin Islands 00801 Ext. 250 Vol. 1, No. 4 July-Aug. 1978 INTRODUCTION There are many regions of the world that have seriously deficient water supplies similar to those we know here in the northeastern Caribbean. Historically, people living in parts of the Mediterra- nean and South Pacific have collected rainwater and used the technique of cis- tern storage. The island of Hong Kong for instance, has an elaborate rain col- lection system to help meet the needs of it's 4 million inhabitants. Rainwater catchments have aiso been used throughout the continental United States since earliest settlement. Recent droughts in the United States have compelled water resource managers to review the performance of conventional development programs which encouraged growth and expansion of water systems. A significant number of public utility com missions and water companies now favor programs which emphasize conservation. This issue of Waa ta" presents portions of a research study which was undertaken at the California Water Resources Center in 1976 under funding provided by the State of California and the U.S. Depart- ment of Interior, Office of Water Re- search and Technology. (Report No. 35, Project No. A-048-CAL). Residential Water Conservation by Pro- fessor Murray Milne expands the concepts of water and water rights which are found “San the California State Constitution; an \@kcerpt from that Article is also included in this issue. message which should be heeded of us who live in the Virgin Islands is that reducing consumption is equivalent to increasing supply. CONSTITUTION OF CALIFORNIA ARTICLE XIV: Water and Water Rights SEC. 3. It is hereby declared that because of the conditions prevailing in this State the general welfare requires that the water resources of the State be put to beneficial use to the fullest extent of which they are capable, and that the waste or unreasonable use or unreasonable method of use of water be prevented, and that the conservation of such waters is to be exercised with a view to the reasonable and beneficial use thereof in the interest of the people and for the public welfare. The right to water or to the use or flow of water in or from any nat- ural stream or water course in this State is and shall be limited to such water as shall be reasonably required for the beneficial use to be served, and such right does not and shall not extend to the waste or unrea- sonable use or unreasonable method of use or unreasonable method of diversion of water... WHY CONSERVE WATER? Think how much water you use to flush the toilet, to take a shower, brush your teeth, or to grind up an orange peel. Consider where that water came from. Imagine how long it took to move through the stream, lake, river, reservoir, spillway, aqueduct, pump, main, lateral, meter, pipe, valve, tube, and faucet before it finally flows out to fill your glass. Now think about the rest of its trip; down the drain, through the trap, out and down into a network of merging pipes and tunnels, and finally through a treatment Cultural Attitudes Affect Water Consump- tion: Every group of people seems to L have some illogical biases against certain perfectly functional water-conserving appliances; consider for example Ameri- cans' aversion to having a bidet or urinal in their homes. Commercially Available Products: Plumb- ing manufacturers are extremely reluctant to change the design of their products, but now for the first time new plumbing fixtures that use less water are being marketed at prices that are competitive with traditional plumbingware. Most of these devices are intended for new con- struction, although there is a huge untapped market for retro-fitting exist- ing dwellings. If water and energy costs continue to rise, even the most expensive replacement fixtures will become cost-— effective. Future Technology: The homeowner will soon be able to enjoy spinoffs from the new water recycle, reuse, and treatment systems that have been developed and tested in spaceships and other new trans- port vehicles. Solar Water Heating: To maximize the eco- nomic feasibility of solar systems, the consumption of the household hot-water- using appliances must be minimized. Consumer Response to Water Price In- creases: Consumers are looking for effec- tive residential water conservation meth- ods as a way of dealing with ever-—increas- ing water costs. Utility Company Respond to Reduce Consump- tion: Because fixed operating costs make up such a high proportion of a utility company's expense, a truly effective water conservation program might lead to falling - income which in turn would necessitate a rate increase. (Ideally a water con- servation program should bring about re- ductions in demand which just balance increases in demand from new customers.) Revisions in Water Rate Structures: Pub- lic utility Commissions and water com- panies are being pressured to replace de- clining block rates, which favored large users, with flat rates or even increasing block rates which encourage progressive water conservation. Consumers are also beginning to discover that some types of rates indirectly subsidize future growth ee and development in their communities, some- thing many of them would prefer to discour- age. New Residential Development: The temporary embargoing of water and sewer hook-ups has halted some construction projects and has convinced many developers that it is in their best interest to plan for water con- sumption from the beginning, for example by installing shallow trap toilets, flow reduc- ing shower heads, hot water pipe insulation, and water conserving appliances and by land- scaping with natural vegetation. Bond Issue Ballot Defeats: Voters have be- come extremely sophisticated in their under- standing the issues involved in water and sewage construction bond ballot measures, and are voting them down for a variety of reasons. One is that this is an effective way to stop unlimited development and growth in their community. Desalinization: The growing amount of re- search and development effort being expended in this area increased the likelihood of a breakthrough within this century, but it is inevitable that reclaimed sea water will turn out to be more expensive than current water prices, and this again increases the premium on water conservation. Water Quality: If there is to be a water crisis in this country it almost certainly will be qualitative rather than quantitative. The Safe Water Drinking Act of 1974 reflects the nation's growing concern for water qual- ity standards and the possibility that cancer- causing agents, heavy metals, and chemical toxins may be present in residential water supplies. Natural disaster or Sabotage: Earthquakes are only one of the many possible ways a city's entire water system could be made unusable, but a population that is experienced in the methods of water conservation should be able to implement the disaster relief plans more competently and should survive with much less inconvenience. Long Range Planning: If present trends con- tinue into the middle of the 21st century, municipal consumption will increase 8.6 times to the point where California's cities will be using almost one third of the region's water. Most of this increase will be due to increase in population and the rest can be attributed to increasing standards of living.