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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I DRAFT 8/24/92, Page 20 which already has some of the aspects which could be associated with an interruptible supply agreement. D. Improve Efficiency of Water Use 1. The Role of Municipal and Industrial Water Conservation Previous studies have recognized water conservation as an integral part of municipal water supply planning and management, equal in stature with development of new structural supplies. Water conservation has been proven to be a cost-effective and flexible way of stretching existing supplies and deferring the need for costly new facilities without adversely impacting utility revenues. The role of water conservation would be enhanced under a systems integration approach to regional municipal water supply planning. Implementing and monitoring many aspects of water conservation programs would be facilitated in a regionally integrated setting. For example, residential plumbing fixture and appliance replacement programs could benefit from a regionally coordinated and standardized information program aimed at homeowners, retailers and contractors. Similarly, local ordinances related to fixture installation and replacement could be standardized. Lawn watering information efforts such as the ET program could be more effectively covered by regional newspapers and television networks whose audiences included more than just a single municipality. Monitoring efforts could benefit from a centralized information clearinghouse which could coordinate the gathering and sharing of water usage, climate, land use and demographic data. In addition, the ability to market interim excess supplies from one community to another would be enhanced in an integrated setting. Individual communities' approaches to and savings from water conservation programs will tend to vary due to local differences in those programs, water rates, land use, demographics and public preferences. An institutionally and physically integrated water supply system could provide an effective market setting for the equitable and efficient sharing of water supply savings derived from water conservation. Water conservation has a legitimate role in both long-term "built-in" programs as well as drought-related emergency response programs. Studies have shown that water conservation programs which are integrated into municipal water systems over the long-term are far more cost-effective and less socially disruptive than programs activated only under emergency conditions. Long-term water conservation programs should therefore be the primary focus. Previous studies have suggested a potential for reducing current demands by 10% to 15% The role of drought-related programs is to respond to emergency situations which are beyond the capability that has been designed into existing water supply facilities. All water utility officials must continually deal with the trade-off of incurring costs for developing more water supply capability versus facing more frequent drought-related restrictions. This ch0ice should be based on local public preferences and economic factors. Each community should properly make its own decision in this area. A systems integration approach must allow for local flexibility in this area. One community may be comfortable tolerating relatively frequent drought restrictions due to prohibitive costs of additional supplies, while another community may prefer a high degree of reliability because of plentiful existing supplies. Systems integration can accommodate this flexibility in that each community would have the choice of either maintaining its current system reliability, offering some of its supplies into the market, or acquiring additional supplies from the market. An integrated setting would provide an incentive for communities to directly address the issue of cost versus reliability, since a market would then exist for recouping investments in excess supplies or buying more reliability.