We all need water, from microbes to sagebrush to people, but in our area it is in short supply. Importing water becomes more difficult and expensive each year, so conservation measures are of paramount importance. The ultimate sustainability goal would be to use no more water than is naturally available from local sources-groundwater, surface runoff, and recycled water. This will be difficult to achieve because Claremont currently uses water imported from the State Water Project for about half of its water supply. Difficult, but not impossible.

The Water Action Group is starting now to help Claremont meet the following goals:

• A reduction in the use of imported water by 40% by 2012
• A reduction in the use of imported water by 80% by 2017

Ambitious, yes, but we can do it! Action Group members will:

• advertise simple measures which can immediately reduce water consumption by 15%
• promote conservation through education and voluntary actions by businesses and residents
• advocate aggressive programs for water conservation assistance from Golden State Water
• assist the City in producing a water conservation ordinance
• investigate methods of providing recycled water for use in Claremont
• seek ways to clean up local contaminated wells and return them to use
• advocate and develop methods for recapturing more local storm water for irrigation and recharging the groundwater basins.
• work with other Action Groups on projects such as reducing landscape water use