Lower water levels can lead to higher concentrations of natural contaminants, such as radon and arsenic, or human pollutants, such as agricultural, chemical and pharmaceutical wastes. Using water more efficiently helps maintain supplies at safe levels, protecting human health and the environment.
In California reducing water use through conservation and efficiency, particularly in southern California, will reduce the current strain on the San Francisco Bay Delta, the largest estuary on the west coast of the United States, as well as the strain on the rivers that feed the Delta. Given the existing degradation to the Delta, immediate attention to water use reductions are vital to restoring health and maintaining species diversity, at the heart of the ecological food web.
