Don’t Be Fooled: Turning Off the Tap is Not Enough to Alleviate Drought

By Kam Kompani,

March 18, 2020



Even if everyone follows them to a tee, commonly promoted water-saving recommendations would fail to alleviate water stress in the U.S., according to new research.

The authors showed that full adoption of commonly communicated water-saving practices would have only released 6% (174) of U.S. counties from water stress in 2010 — a drought year when over 90% of U.S. counties were water-stressed.

“This shortfall is likely explained by the dominance of the agricultural sector withdrawals in most counties,” the researchers suggested.

Adding that: “Of the 2,242 counties with a dominant sector, agriculture was dominant in approximately twice as many counties (1,103 counties) as either the domestic (570 counties) or industrial (569 counties) sectors.”

The intensity and frequency of droughts have been on the rise in many parts of the United States. “For example, regionally, 30-40% of the western U.S. has experienced sustained drought in recent decades and the concurrence of drought and heat waves has increased in duration and frequency across the U.S. from 1990-2010,” the authors pointed out.

This has prompted greater public interest in water conservation. Official water conservation advocacy programs typically promote individual-based strategies directed at reducing domestic water use, such as repairing household leaks, taking shorter showers, and running dishwashers and washing machines only when full, the authors highlighted.

In light of these findings, the researchers argued that “water stress will not be alleviated in most counties unless agricultural water efficiencies are achieved”.

Adding that this further emphasizes “the need to address agricultural water withdrawals”, which “dominates in regions projected to experience the greatest future increases in drought.”

In response to their findings, the authors proposed that people should attempt to influence the agriculture sector.

“For example, individuals may tailor their diet to reduce their water footprint. Additionally, consumers could pressure suppliers to reveal information about how well matched crops are to growing region conditions.”

“However, these potential water conservation measures are seldom recommended in water-saving campaigns.”

“Our analyses suggest that domestic water savings advocacy and incentive programs will fail the majority of the time in the United States because domestic water use is not the dominant driver of water stress, and available household savings measures are not sufficient to transition the majority of counties out of water stress during a drought.”

“Promoting individual water conservation actions targeted at reducing agricultural withdrawal have a much higher potential to significantly improve water savings and promote longer term water security.”

Study: Ruiz DM, Tallis H, Tershy BR, Croll DA (2020). Turning off the tap: Common domestic water conservation actions insufficient to alleviate drought in the United States of America. PLoS ONE 15(3): e0229798.