That an individual is aware of the risk of a natural hazard and the range of damage mitigation measures is no guarantee that he or she will act on this information. Based on a review of the literature, the available evidence is weak on the relatonship between awareness or knowledge and the consequent adoption of damage mitigation measures. Although substantial sums of money are expended each year on public information programs on natural hazards, little effort has focused on the cost-effectiveness of such programs.
During the 1970's much attention was focused on the role of water conservation in the planning and management of urban water supplies, and actions to implement water conservation were taken at all levels of government. Yet many policies and programs appear to rely on conceptions of water conservation which confuse supply and demand oriented strategies or which inefficiently conserve water at the expense of other scarce resources. Through an analysis of the underlying concepts and values, a definition of water conservation is reached which is both precise and practical and which provides a sound basis for the development of water conservation policies. Examples drawn from recent field studies illustrate the application of the definition.In recent years the role of conservation in the planning and management of water resources has been the subject of increasing attention. A decade ago the National Commission on Materials Policy [1973] noted the development, over the years, of a general perception that water resources are used inefficiently. The commission also stated that "important reductions in the use of water for municipal, industrial, and agricultural purposes can be achieved .... "Five years later a symposium on national water policy [Greely, 1978] recommended that "water conservation practices should be an integral part of the evolving national water policy .... "Similar sentiments are echoed in the popular press. In the New York Times, Reinhold [1981], noting that America is endowed with generally bountiful water resources, asserted that "these supplies are being squandered through poor management and inefficient use to such a degree that water is running short in many areas."A number of factors account for this growing interest in the efficient use of water, frequently expressed as advocacy for water conservation. First, new reservoir sites have become increasingly scarce. Second, concern for environmental quality and for the environmental impacts of water resource development has grown. Third, groundwater resources are frequently inadequate to meet the demands of urban areas. Fourth, the political, economic, and institutional problems associated with interbasin transfers of water have proliferated. Finally, the real costs of water have risen dramatically during the last decade as a result of increases in the cost of energy, rising incremental development costs, and the higher water quality standards mandated by such federal legislation as the Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 and 1977 and the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974. In combination, these factors have created a situation which directs attention to the possibilities for water conservation. CONSERVATION AND WATER RESOURCE POLICY During the 1970's, many local governments and water purveyors, as well as state governments, embraced water conservation as a partial solution to water supply problems. Among the local agencies to gain national attention for their water conservation programs were the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (Hyat...
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