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<br />lH!l'1, ., ~ 9 <br />JYV~l~'" <br /> <br />WATER SHORI'AGE RESroNSE PlANNING: AN OVERVIEW <br /> <br />INTROOOcrION <br /> <br />Water system planning, as required by WAC 248-54-065, provides the framework <br />for making key water supply management decisions. In April of 1982, the <br />Drinking Water Section of the Department of Social and Health Sel:vices <br />(OOHS) elaborated on this planning process by developing an Emergency <br />Planning Instructional Guide. '!his Guide was designed to assist utilities <br />develop plans to minimize the :i1npacts of emergencies such as landslides, <br />windstonns, fires, severe cold, civil disorder, etc. Because of periodic <br />droughts leading to occasional water shortages, further guidance on how to <br />prevent and plan for water shortages caused by drought was thought <br />necessary. '!his document is intended to help utilities develop short-tenn <br />water shortage response plans. <br /> <br />CAUSES OF WATER SHORI'AGE <br /> <br />A water shortage can be described as any situation in which water supply is <br />inadequate to meet demand. Water shortages can be caused by: <br /> <br />o drouqht; <br /> <br />o water contamination; <br /> <br />o inadequate plannincr to meet demand; <br /> <br />o shallow wells; <br /> <br />o inadequate P\ID1Pinq equipment; and <br /> <br />o water waste. <br /> <br />The frequency and/or cause of a shortage may indicate the best way to <br />overcome it. Droughts are temporary, but often reoccur. 'Ihus, depending <br />upon drought frequency, a solution to the problems created by drought may <br />be reducing demand and/or augmenting supply. On the other hand, water <br />contamination can put a water supply out of connnission pennanently (or at <br />least until treatment technology becomes affordable). In this case, a new <br />source of supply is probably warranted. Water shortage caused by inadequate <br />planning or equipment may be eliminated by attention to design and capital <br />improvements. Shortages resulting solely from increased demand for water <br />resou=es may be best eliminated through long-tenn resource management. <br /> <br />CONSERVATION <br /> <br />While there is no universally accepted definition of water conservation, <br />this tenn is often used to mean "saving water" through efficient or wise <br />use. People do not always agree on the meaning of "efficiency" because <br />there are varying degrees of efficiency. For exanple, efficient residential <br />water use can range from reducing toilet tank flows and turning the tap off <br />when water is not in use (activities that do not require significant, if <br />any, lifestyle changes), to planting low-water-use landscapes and car <br /> <br />1 <br />