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CONSERVATION PRACTICES AND ATTITUDES AMONG MARYLAND WATER SUPPLY MANAGERS 1
Author(s) -
Sawyer Stephen W.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1982.tb00074.x
Subject(s) - water conservation , water supply , business , economic shortage , exploit , energy conservation , water scarcity , natural resource economics , environmental resource management , environmental economics , environmental planning , economics , water resources , environmental science , engineering , environmental engineering , computer science , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , computer security , electrical engineering , government (linguistics) , biology
In addition to offsetting water supply shortages, water conservation is recognized as serving many purposes, ranging from reduced energy consumption to lower capital costs. Since the discussion of these benefits has been a recent development and has generally excluded local water supply managers, a question arises as to whether supply managers are implementing conservation programs to exploit these benefits. A survey of the managers at 35 Maryland water utilities provides insight into the prevailing attitude toward conservation in a water rich eastern state. The results indicate that most managers continue to view conservation only as a short term response to temporary supply shortages. Only 12 Maryland utilities have undertaken any form of water conservation activity and just two systems have ongoing, comprehensive conservation programs. Institutional, perceptual, economic, political, and time constraints all contribute to the managers’attitudes and general inaction. If water conservation is to be widely practiced, these issues must be addressed and the benefits attributed to conservation must be better documented and articulated to supply managers.