Conservation rates: The best ‘new’ source of urban water during drought

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-2008

Publication Title

Water & Environment Journal

Volume

22

Issue

2

Abstract

In the United States, water conservation-oriented rates (WCOR) are an increasingly vital tool for promoting water conservation and mitigating urban drought. Our models prove that one type of WCOR, drought demand rates (DDR), can produce with minimal regulation the quadruple objectives of conservation rates: (1) improving efficiency; (2) providing revenue neutrality; (3) assuring distributional equity and (4) guaranteeing the conservation of water. We demonstrate that such rates can also reduce days that urban streams drop below ‘critical flow’ levels, providing a voice for nature. Our study is situated in northern New Castle County (NCC), Delaware (DE), USA, and the lessons garnered have relevance for industrialized communities seeking a ‘soft-path’ to drought mitigation.

Keywords

Critical stream flows; Demand-side management; Drought; Environmental justice; Metropolitan areas; Streamflow; Sustainable development; Sustainable urban development; Urban; Water conservation; Water – Rates – Environmental aspects; Water supply; United States

Disciplines

Environmental Sciences | Natural Resources and Conservation | Urban Studies | Urban Studies and Planning | Water Resource Management

Language

English

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or use interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the article. Publisher copyright policy allows author to archive post-print (author’s final manuscript). When post-print is available or publisher policy changes, the article will be deposited

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