Water preservation, also known as water conservation, is the practice of using water efficiently to reduce unnecessary water usage. It includes all the policies, strategies, and activities to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, to protect the hydrosphere, and to meet the current and future human demand. The aims of water conservation efforts include ensuring the availability of water for future generations where the withdrawal of freshwater from an ecosystem does not exceed its natural replacement rate, energy conservation as water pumping, delivery, and wastewater treatment facilities consume a significant amount of energy, and habitat conservation where minimizing human water usage helps to preserve freshwater habitats for local wildlife and migrating waterfowl, but also water quality.

Strategies for water conservation include preserving, controlling, and developing water resources, both surface water and groundwater, and preventing water pollution. The key activities to conserve water include:

• Installing water-efficient appliances
• Taking shorter showers
• Turning off faucets in between uses
• Watering lawns and gardens when the sun is not at a peak point
• Protecting groundwater resources to prevent contamination

Water conservation is important because fresh clean water is a limited resource, as well as a costly one. The U.S. population has doubled over the past 50 years, while our thirst for water has tripled. With at least 40 states anticipating water shortages by 2024, the need to conserve water is critical. By reducing water use, we can reduce the energy required to process and deliver it to homes, businesses, farms, and communities, which in turn helps to reduce pollution and conserve fuel resources.