Conserving water in and reducing wastewater flows from homes and businesses effectively adds capacity to city infrastructure. Cities can promote such actions, which are found in several other best practices, including Existing Buildings and Green Business Development. Actions in this best practice include using pricing signals and making water and wastewater infrastructure more energy and materials efficient so as to achieve significant environmental and economic benefits to a city. Benefits of taking actions in this best practice include reducing the mining of water from aquifers, and reducing the carbon emissions and costs from water and wastewater systems, which can easily make up 25-40% of the city operations' carbon footprint.
In addition to actions under this best practice is, under another best practice, the related risk-management-focused climate adaptation/community resilience action 29.7: Protect water supplies and wastewater treatment facilities to reduce physical damage and sustain their function during extreme weather events.