San Antonio Spurs Pioneering Water Conservation Effort

"[B]y dramatically cutting consumption, pioneering new storage techniques and investing in water recycling and desalination projects," San Antonio has become the envy of cities across America now reeling from a record drought. According to Buchele, "There are so many programs and projects that Chuck Ahrens of Water Resources and Conservation with the San Antonio Water System can hardly keep track."

Although Ahrens has a hard time naming them all, "These are the things that have allowed San Antonio to be one of the fastest-growing cities in the country while not increasing water consumption," writes Buchele. "In fact, the city still uses about the same amount of water it did in the early '90s even though it has added more than 300,000 residents."