What is Conservation?
Conservation is about preparing our current water-use habits for tomorrow’s demands. Our population isn’t shrinking; therefore, our dependence on resources of all kinds is not diminishing. We need to learn how to appropriately use our water today, while thinking to the future of providing water for generations to come. The effective use and minimization of water consumption is an important component of our society’s overall commitment to achieving a lifestyle that is not only suitable in the now – the present – but also serves us well in the future, so that our children have a decent and beautiful place to live as well. Water is important to us beyond the sheer aesthetic and theoretic environmental concerns – it is a resource absolutely vital to our existence. From farming to drinking, bathing to doing laundry, water has been used throughout the ages to sustain and nurture life. Humans also happen to use water in nearly every chemical and industrial process that we engage, as part of our efforts to produce new and useful objects and products to populate our lives. These objects include plastics, fabrics and processed foods. Other products include electricity, indoor heating and outdoor landscape transformation.
Water effects every aspect of our life, and in Utah, we must learn to live harmoniously with the levels of water that are feasible in our region, while we simultaneously try to develop additional sources of water.
Why is Conservation Important?
Water conservation is something we need to be thinking about and acting upon. The importance of water is self-apparent. We need water to sustain and build our lives. Making the link from the importance of water to the importance of water conservation is just as easy. We live in a state that is naturally very dry. As settlers, we have adjusted the landscape to accommodate our lifestyle decision. This transformative process has yielded large quantities of grain for consumption, lush green lawns for our homes and ample water for drinking and livestock. The reality is, however, that water in Utah is a finite resource, one that we are constantly developing and trying to explore, but one that is ultimately fixed. Our population is growing; is not static. We must therefore fix our water consumption at rates that are reasonable for our size and our true water consumption needs.
The importance of water conservation lies in the identification of areas in our lives where our current levels of water consumption can be lessened. Collectively, our actions can dramatically reduce our overall water consumption so that we can set aside some water for tomorrow’s use.