Houston Public Works, the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District, and civil engineering researchers from the University of Houston – Devin Shaffer and his student Dana Reed – studied the use of drinking water, on a land-use basis, for an area of northwest Houston. The results helped them estimate how much water could potentially be saved through targeted water conservation measures.
When groundwater is extracted, the land above subsides. Subsidence is a costly problem for the Houston area. According to the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District’s website: “For the greater Houston-Galveston region, land subsidence is the decrease in land-surface elevation caused by aquifer compaction due to abundant, long-term groundwater withdrawal.” What this means is that if the elevation of your house is only 10 feet above sea-level and you lose 10 feet of elevation because of subsidence, your house is now at sea level and at greater risk of flooding. Water conservation programs can help reduce reliance on groundwater and help to prevent land subsidence.
One of the most startling revelations the team had was when investigating the primary culprits of overuse. They expected to find that water wastefulness was an outdoor water problem, like people over-watering their lawns, but instead indoor plumbing issues made up the larger percentage of excess usage. It is especially hard to predict how best to conserve water in a city with no zoning laws and mixed land use. Instead of having a ballpark estimate of how much water is used in a given area based on consistent land use patterns, in Houston you may have an apartment building right next to a commercial real estate building. These two types of structures have different water needs and habits, and the most relevant conservation approach will be different, too.
Inefficiency is the main reason indoor fixtures should be kept current with the most up-to-date, environmentally-friendly appliances. The newer the fixture, the more likely it is designed to conserve water. While fixture replacement programs may be undertaken on the policy end, the research shows that a decision support tool based on land use can help the city determine the most effective way of working toward conservation.
Winter Storm Uri did a lot of collateral damage and caused many older pipes to burst during the coldest temperatures Texas had seen since the 1980s. When water began to flow into pipes once again, it was accompanied by sand, silt and debris. This prompted many people to replace older fixtures altogether, which was collectively a step ahead for water conservation in the Houston area.
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