TABLE OF CONTENTS Much of the focus of sustainable design is geared toward reducing energy use. However, depending on your region and location, water is one of our most critical and overlooked resources. The amount of water available is finite. There will never be more of it to use than we have available now. Seventy percent of the earth s surface is covered in water, but only 1% of that can be used for consumption. Of that 1%, the average person in the United States uses 53 gallons per day, and as our population continues to grow, so do our demands on our water.
There has been a recent population growth in the southwest. Lake Mead in Nevada above Hoover Dam is the main water supply for Arizona and parts of California and Nevada. That water comes from the Colorado River where there have been below average rains for the past few years and a large draw on the limited resources of the water reserves there. As of October 2007, the water levels have reached record lows. The current water level is 50 feet low, and it is predicted that without immediate water conservation, those levels can never be replenished. This water is responsible for irrigation for much of the farmlands in Southern California. Note that the white line in the following image represents the height of where the water level has been for decades.
This situation has prompted the city of Las Vegas to institute water conservation...
