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Residential Water Conservation and Adaptation

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Rain barrel and waterwise rain garden

There are many actions that individuals and other entities can take in their homes and facilities to help reduce water use. These actions can range from simply being more conscious of water use to reusing water for multiple purposes or installing more water efficient appliances and waterwise landscaping. There are options available for renters and owners alike. 

Additionally, as more precipitation comes in the form of rain, there will be reduced snowmelt and water availability in summer and early fall and increased need to capture rainfall; while meeting this need may require large infrastructure changes, smaller distributed infrastructure such as rainwater catchment can help meet some of this demand and in many cases, with a lower environmental impact. Utilizing rainwater catchment systems to collect water during high availability and store it for use during times of high demand and low supply helps provide needed water while reducing demand on limited surface and groundwater resources in those times. Rainwater catchment systems can also be an effective way to help mitigate negative impacts from stormwater runoff

Finally actions that reduce surface runoff from impervious surfaces during storm events and instead increase groundwater infiltration such as rainwater storage systems or rain gardens can also help support increased water availability during times of low supply.