Second is a recent feature in the CBS News series “Where America Stands,” entitled, “America’s Dwindling Water Supply.” The article details some sobering facts including how the U.S.’s water use stacks up against the rest of the world. According to the article Americans average using 150 gallons of water per day with 30 gallons being used by 9 a.m. Compare that to the 40 gallons of water per day used in the U.K. and 13 gallons per day used in some of the worlds poorest countries and it seems we’ve got a lot of work to do.

The rest of the article points to how we got here and what we can do to make a difference. There’s even a link to the Water – Use It Wisely tips page as a resource for how to get started. While there is certainly an urgency to make a difference now, the good thing is there are plenty of easy ways to make a huge difference. Our job here is to help you understand that. But remember, no tip or resource works without your commitment. It doesn’t take much, just a little time and a little effort and we can turn this thing around in a hurry.

From Dec. 7 to Dec. 13 the 165,000 residents of Antelope Valley and its surrounding communities will have their water availability cut by 60 percent as the Quartz Hill Water Treatment Plant completely shuts down. As residents prepare for the water reduction, they’re being asked to adopt water conservation tactics to ease the burden on themselves and the community.  

This will certainly be a challenge for the residents of Antelope Valley and we want to be there to support them so why don’t we all challenge ourselves to reduce our water consumption starting Dec. 7? What we’ll all find, whether a resident of Antelope Valley or not, is that saving water is easy and before you know it, second nature. 

The real challenge for Antelope Valley residents will be maintaining their sudden water conservation effort. The plant upgrade is designed to increase production from 65 million gallons of water per day to 90 million gallons of water per day. That’s a big increase. Could you imagine the savings if the Antelope Valley residents, and all of us that saved along side them, stayed at the water levels that we adopted during the plant closure?  They savings would be gigantc!

So let’s make what started as a random water treatment plant upgrade, into a symbolic water conservation week. Click here for all of the tips you’ll need to conserve, or follow us on Twitter for daily tips. 

Also, as always, make sure to use our Facebook page as a place to update everyone on your results.

Anytime we talk about water conservation the topic is serious.  But that doesn’t mean the delivery has to be which is why the event featured beach balls, temporary tattoos and kids trivia challenges. Above all the message should be accessible and easy to understand. If we’re going to succeed in the face of this challenge we all have to feel like we can make a difference. And the best part is that just like the attendees of the latest WUIW event found out – we can.  

To see the rest of the pictures from the event check out our Flickr page.  And don’t forget to get involved in the conversation on our Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages too.