Water saving devices can help the typical single-family home to cut its consumption by 27 gallons, 39 percent of the 69.3 gallons used in a single day. Ignoring that behavioral responses often offset savings because people flush twice or keep spigots open longer, the largest water saving after toilets is “other,” more even than washing clothes more efficiently. I guess that would include water for drinking and plants.
Based on some estimates of the short-term price elasticity of demand for water consumption, it would take a 500 percent price hike to get the 50 percent cut in usage Gov. Mike Easley has called for by Halloween.
