WaterSMART program stretches water supplies

The Department of the Interior's WaterSMART program is saving water, finding better ways to stretch existing supplies and helping partners plan to meet future water demands, according to a three-year progress report on the program released Oct. 11.

Combining new initiatives with existing programs as part of a comprehensive strategy for sustainable management of water supplies in the United States, Water
SMART projects, along with other conservation activities, are expected to save an estimated 587,839 acre-feet of water a year — enough water for more than 2.3 million people.

These water conservation results put the Interior Department well on the way toward achieving its high priority goal of saving 730,000 acre-feet per year by the end of 2013.

According to Dixie Luke, Fire Mountain Canal in the North Fork has utilized a Water SMART grant to automate some of its gates at a reservoir, and plan to do more if there are more opportunities.

The water savings and other accomplishments are detailed in the report, WaterSMART: A Three-Year Progress Report. "SMART" stands for "Sustain and Manage America's Resources for Tomorrow."

The report is available online at www.usbr.gov/WaterSMART.

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