 A water policy that creates sustainable water
use balances the needs for protection of the environment and public
health, while not compromising the ability of future generations to
procure water to meet their basic needs. It also creates a shift
from the traditional view of water as a commodity managed solely for
the convenience of humans to a more balanced effort to maintain the
water needs of the entire ecosystem of which humans are a part.
To sustain life, it is essential to change the traditional view of
water management to one that recognizes that human interests, in the
long run, cannot be separated from the interests of the plants and
other animals in the watershed.
The goals defined below go beyond the status quo and seek to
redefine current thought on the use, treatment and reuse of
water and wastewater. For example, partial or complete recycling of
the City's entire wastewater flow could be set as a goal to be
attained in the not-too-distant future.
This goal drives a number of
related activities, such as monitoring and reducing pollutants
entering wastewater before treatment and ultimately eliminating
pollutants entering receiving waters after treatment. Recycling
wastewater also requires increased storm water management, including
greater control of urban run-off and combined system overflows.
Pollution prevention and water management will allow better use of
millions of gallons of high-quality Sierra water daily. These new
and expanded uses could include groundwater replenishment, aquatic
habitat creation or enhancement, fisheries protection through
greater flows in streams, and riparian (stream-side) habitat
restoration. The large water bank created by more careful water
management would reduce the need for new dams or water projects and
reduce current demand on overburdened smaller streams and creeks.
Source: http://www.sustainable-city.org/ |
