Water conservation is quickly becoming a common household practice in many Central Texas homes and businesses. Conservation advertising campaigns bombard the airwaves, while even a mention of the C word causes an immediate media frenzy.

So, why all the hype, and is this water conservation initiative really all it’s cracked up to be?

Water conservation has major benefits when it comes to the average cost of water and meeting long-term water needs. It reduces electricity consumption, which saves money and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

In the long term, conserving water may defer the costly purchase of additional water rights and reduce annual costs for water. Water efficiency can also immediately save homeowners and businesses money on their water bill.

Austin City Council’s latest water conservation goals are to lower citywide water use to 140 gallons per capita per day by 2020. City leaders also want the community to know and understand where their water comes from and become more mindful about their water usage. There are a variety of water conservation programs in place to help the community do their part in reducing daily water usage.

One of the biggest ways to save water is to monitor automatic outdoor irrigation systems. Lawn watering is where the biggest conservation potential lies. Lawn watering can account for up to 50 percent of water consumed, dropping slightly to 38 percent in non-summer months.

Currently, Austin is in Stage 1 water use restrictions, which means all of Austin Water’s customers from residential to commercial must follow a two-day-a-week watering schedule.

Other voluntary programs and tools include:

• An online water calculator for families to determine how much water they use for routine household activities
• A free toilet program in which a home or business owner can replace old toilets with new water-efficient ones (Hurry! This program ends Aug. 31, 2011.)
• Rainwater harvesting rebates that encourage the collection of rainwater for non-potable uses such as watering your lawn and garden
• A landscape conversion incentive that gives cash back for swapping turf lawns with native and adapted plants
• Irrigation evaluations that provide advice on how to most effectively use residential and commercial irrigation systems
• The response to these programs has been very positive, especially during the drought of 2009. Now, as we experience more drought conditions in the summer months, city leaders are urging water customers to continue practicing water conservation.

Another initiative supporting water conservation here in Austin is the Water Reclamation Initiative, which began back in 1974 and is dedicated to conserving the drinking water supply, protecting the environment and providing inexpensive non-drinking water for irrigation, cooling and manufacturing.

Reclaimed water is a cost-effective water source created by reusing treated wastewater effluent that is normally discharged to the Colorado River. Reclaimed water improves the city’s ability to provide water for non-drinking-water purposes even during times of drought.

The newly christened reclaimed water tower located on 51st Street is the first of seven planned for Austin. The award-winning tower holds two million gallons of reclaimed water and serves as the latest milestone in the utility’s expansion of the reclaimed water system.

The tank also features 48 solar panels on its roof and has a rainwater harvesting system integrated into its design. It will serve customers ranging from area parks and golf courses to hospitals and the University of Texas. This new tower also serves as an important link in the system that makes it possible to move reclaimed water to the capitol complex and the downtown area.

Water conservation starts with a mindset of knowing how water impacts our daily lives. For so long we have taken this limited resource for granted with excessive showers, unrepaired leaks, poorly managed outdoor irrigation systems, inefficient and outdated toilets, excessive dishwashing and laundry, and the list goes on.

Once you step back and take a good, hard look at your life and how you use water, you can begin to make the appropriate adjustments to lay out and follow a conservation plan of action.

Austin Water provides so much information and so many ways for you to watch your water use. Conserving water is more than a year-round commitment. It’s a way of life, and that’s why Austin Water is helping create a new water-wise culture one drop at a time.

To find out more about your family’s water use, visit waterwiseaustin.org.