It may seem counterintuitive: Over the past two decades, the population served by the Newport News (Va.) Waterworks has grown by 15 percent. However, the total water consumption in the area has dropped by 15 percent. Per capita consumption has declined from roughly 130 gallons per day to less than 100 gallons per day.

That drop in demand is not isolated to coastal Virginia. For a whole host of reasons — conservation efforts, low-flow toilets, more efficient plumbing and the economic recession — water utilities across the country are reporting that their customers are using less water. Utility managers believe that decreased consumption is, by and large, here to stay. In fact, Brian Ramaley, director of Newport News Waterworks, and many of his colleagues have a phrase for the situation: "the new normal."

While they applaud efficient use, water utility managers now are confronted with some significant financial issues. Less consumption means less revenue, and water utilities' expenditures are almost entirely fixed. Consequently, utilities are being forced to reconsider their rates and their capital improvement programs to adjust to the new patterns.

How did we get here?

A 2010 study funded by the Denver-based Water Research Foundation helps demonstrate the demand trend. The study found that "a household in the 2008 billing year used 11,678 gallons less water annually than an identical household did in 1978."

According to water industry members, several factors have fueled the new consumption patterns. For instance, water-efficient toilets and plumbing have become more widespread in homes and commercial properties, Ramaley says. That is in part because the federal National Energy Policy Act of 1992 mandated the installation of low-flow toilets — which use no more than 1.6 gallons per flush, as opposed to the six gallons per flush of older models — in new construction. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WaterSense and Energy Star programs that encourage individuals and businesses to purchase water-efficient devices likely have played some role, as well.

Furthermore, the public has become more conservation conscious, either through the active encouragement of water utilities or through the general influence of the environmental movement, Ramaley says. "Now, people tend to not let the water run when they're brushing their teeth," he says. "They don't just turn the hose on in the backyard and forget about it. If they do things like lawn watering, they tend to be much more controlled about that."

Pricing structures that charge consumers more as they use more also have affected consumption, says David LaFrance, executive director of the Denver-based American Water Works Association. He says the spread of water-efficient devices, the public's growing awareness of conservation and conservation-geared rate structures are "planned" reductions in water use that utilities can design their finances around. "Unplanned" reductions stem from things like droughts and recessions, and can be more difficult to financially plan for, LaFrance says.