The Star Tribune had an article today discussing how the Metropolitan Council is pushing all cities to encourage water conservation.  The paper profiles Minnetonka and their efforts to curb usage by dramatically increasing water rates for excessive usage.  While an “overconsumption tax” will certainly help curb usage, there are many other ways to promote conservation:

• Get a FREE low flow shower head from Centerpoint Energy (must be a customer)
• Install new low flow toilets if your toilets are from the 1980′s or earlier
• Have a lawn analysis and sprinkler head adjustment completed by a lawn irrigation company
• Raise the cutting height of your lawn mower – longer grass holds in more moisture
• Water your lawn deeply 1-2 times per week versus short watering 3-5 times a week

While increasing the cost of water for high-volume users will help curtail their consumption, we can all reduce water usage with the above tips and while it isn’t a huge financial windfall, over time the savings really do add up.

Suggestion to cities: why offer a partial rebate to homeowners (or businesses) that take any of the above actions?  The City of Austin gives its residents up to 3 FREE toilets!  While I don’t believe we need to go that far, these types of incentives will encourage far more conservation than simply taxing overly excessive usage.