The availability of an inexpensive and practically unlimited supply of water has long been taken for granted in facilities throughout the country. As a result, engineering and maintenance managers had little or no incentive to conserve. They - and others in facilities - paid little attention to how, where or how much of water systems used. Water was a non-factor when it came to managing a facility. Today, the situation has changed. Prolonged regional droughts, an expanding population, and changing environmental regulations have combined to create a situation where public and private water systems cannot keep up with the demand for water. Even in regions with adequate supplies of water, the increase in water use has stressed the capacity of waste treatment plants. The net result is that water is no longer as plentiful or inexpensive as it once was. Many communities have implemented use restrictions to curtail the rising demand for water.