Rocky Mountain Institute : Library

Water Efficiency for Your Home

W98-07, Water Efficiency: The Next Generation (PDF-16k): Full text of a shorter RMI article published by Home Energy magazine. Notes recent developments in toilets, faucets, and other areas of home water use (1998).

W95-36, Water Efficiency for Your Home (PDF-306k): This easy-to-follow pamphlet highlights ways to cut household water use by 35 percent or more without sacrifice. Covers showerheads, faucets, toilets, leaks, washing machines, outdoor water use, graywater, composting toilets, and rainwater collection systems (1995).

W04-21, Valuing Decentralized Wastewater Technologies: A Catalog of Benefits, Costs, and Economic Analysis Techniques (PDF-2.1MB): This report was prepared for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It reviews the full range of benefits and costs of decentralized wastewater systems relative to conventional centralized systems, and discusses techniques for valuation of the economic benefits of decentralized systems (November 2004).

W04-20, Case Studies of Economic Analysis and Community Decision Making for Decentralized Wastewater Systems (PDF-2.5MB): This report was developed with the National Decentralized Water Resources Capacity Development Project. It examines how communities consider and value the benefits and costs of onsite, cluster, and centralized wastewater system options in monetary or other terms, and examines the driving issues, motivations, thought processes, and decision-making methods of stakeholders relative to choices of wastewater system scale. Includes case studies of eight U.S. communities and an analysis of the financial benefits of incremental investment in small systems compared to large upfront investments in centralized capacity (December 2004).

W04-20a, Appendices: Case Studies of Economic Analysis and Community Decision Making for Decentralized Wastewater Systems (PDF-580k): These appendices provide the spreadsheets used to analyze the financial implications of onsite versus centralized wastewater system options for a hypothetical community (December 2004).

W02-18, North Central Arizona Water Demand Study (PDF-1.0MB): Prepared in collaboration with Planning and Management Consultants, Ltd., this "Phase I" report reviews existing water use, water conservation, and alternative supplies on the Coconino Plateau (Flagstaff and surrounding areas); suggests water efficiency, wastewater reuse, graywater reuse, and rainwater harvesting measures and implementation strategies appropriate for the region; and sets out a demand forecasting methodology for a second phase study (August 2002).

W00-32, Daylighting: New Life for Buried Streams (PDF-2.9MB): This report reviews the benefits, challenges, and costs of "daylighting"—exposing—formerly culverted or buried streams, and includes case studies of several dozen projects from around the U.S. and internationally (September 2000).

W99-22, Re-evaluating Stormwater: The Nine Mile Run Model for Restorative Development (PDF-11.3MB): This full color, richly illustrated report shows how low-cost, multi-benefit stormwater management measures, incorporated into retrofit programs and redevelopment projects, can reduce sewer overflows, restore urban watersheds, and revitalize communities (September 1999).

W99-22a, Technical Appendix to "Re-evaluating Stormwater: The Nine Mile Run Model for Restorative Development" (PDF-1.8MB): A briefing paper, presentation, and team report texts from a design charrette that examined low-cost measures to reduce sewer overflows, restore urban watersheds, and revitalize communities. (September 1999).

W99-21, "21st Century Water Systems: Scenarios, Visions, and Drivers" (PDF-152k): Prepared as the opening presentation for an August 1999 EPA workshop, "Sustainable Urban Water Infrastructure: A Vision of the Future," this paper outlines wide-ranging developments that will affect the form, function, efficacy, and ownership of water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure in coming decades (August 1999).

NC99-19k, Aqueous Solutions, Chapter 11 Natural Capitalism (PDF-135k): This chapter from the book Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution (www.naturalcapitalism.org) surveys the growing worldwide scarcity of water and the opportunities for saving it through improved practices in agriculture, landscaping, buildings, industry, rainwater and graywater recovery, and biological treatment (1999).

W96-04, Water 2010: Four Scenarios for 21st Century Water Systems (PDF-514k): Results of a scenario planning exercise conducted for the EPA, envisioning four hypothetical futures for the U.S. water industry. This groundbreaking report also describes scenario building methodology (1996).