The Effectiveness of Drought Management Programs in Reducing Residential Water-Use in Virginia

... Virginia’s draft water supply planning regulation sets guidelines for when voluntary and mandatory water-use restrictions should be triggered (9 VAC 25-780-120), and includes estimates for their expected effectiveness in reducing water demand. The Virginia regulations state that 5-10% reductions in water-use can be expected for voluntary restrictions programs and 10-15% reductions for mandatory restrictions. These estimates are within the range of the reductions estimated in this study, but were only achieved with significant efforts on the part of local water suppliers to disseminate information and enforce program provisions...