Water is fundamental for life and health.

The value of water is immeasurable — all life on earth would cease to exist without it. This underscores the tremendous importance of our role as stewards of this most precious and finite natural resource.

Yet like so many other things that seem plentiful and are readily available, we often take it for granted.

Water conservation must become a personal ethic for all Hawai'i residents; it must become a way of life.

Indeed, conservation is at the very heart of the Board of Water Supply's mission: Water for Life, Ka Wai Ola. Sustaining our island's water resource is crucial to meeting the needs of the community, the economy and the environment.

The prolonged and unprecedented drought from 1998 to 2003 reminded us that we cannot take for granted the water supplies we have today. We must account for all resources in our watershed. And that means taking a holistic approach to water resource management modeled after the Hawaiian concept of ahupua'a.

This approach establishes an awareness of the health of the watershed and the inter-relationship between our mountain forests, streams and aquifers. Natural resources are inter-connected, and we must consider this in its totality, as our island's population and its thirst for water grows.

It's interesting that the more we modernize and move into this 21st century, the more we find we are relearning the sustainable ahupua'a principles of ancient Hawaiians. (Go to www.boardofwatersupply.com/water resources, watershed management plans tabs for more information).

Water for Life means that the health of the watershed should guide the inter-relationship between land use and water resources. A healthy watershed is a sustainable watershed. That means diversifying our water supplies to support O'ahu's growing economy, applying new technological advances in recycled water, desalination and ocean resources to extend our natural resources for future generations. New tools such as deep monitor wells and calibrated, three-dimensional groundwater models help us to optimize well pumping operations and site new wells to meet new demand while ensuring our aquifers continue to be sustainable. As we develop new groundwater sources, we actively work to ensure the forests that capture the rain that supplies that aquifer, are actively managed and healthy.

The Board of Water Supply has been implementing conservation measures since 1929. Back then, that meant sealing leaking wells that depleted our aquifers and installing meters on every water service, not just for revenue but also to ensure wise use. Low-flow fixtures were mandated in the 1990s, recognizing that the toilet was the single highest water use in the home. By converting 3-gallon-per-flush toilets to 1.6-gallon-per-flush, significant water savings were realized.

Since 1990 and the implementation of low-flow fixtures and other conservation measures, BWS pumped about the same amount of potable water in 2005 as we did in 1990 even though O'ahu's resident population has grown by more than 50,000 people. Our water conservation program is now being retooled to incorporate the innovation and best practices of some of the top water conserving utilities on the Mainland.

O'ahu's consumers understand, better now than ever before, that O'ahu's water resources are limited and precious.

But how do we translate that understanding into action? How do we convince people to conserve water when it always flows from the tap? We can have all the tools in place, but people have to live conservation in order to achieve a sustainable future on O'ahu.

It takes a generational change, in effect a social norm shift: precisely what BWS and our watershed partner, Malama o Manoa, sought to achieve with their Kuleana project. MOM taught our kids to teach their parents and family to conserve water and control polluted runoff through simple changes in everyday practices around their home. In order to effectively teach conservation, you have to know conservation and understand the impact our actions or inactions have on our environment.

Similarly, the BWS and The Nature Conservancy partnered to teach Leeward O'ahu high school students the value of preserving and protecting our watersheds. Through our Watershed Management Partnership Program, the BWS provided more than $37, 500 in funding for Project Stewardship, a hands-on educational program involving students from Wai'anae, Nanakuli, Waipahu, Kapolei and Mililani High Schools. In total, Project Stewardship volunteers spent more than 1,000 hours planting more than 700 plants in the Honouliuli Preserve over a six-month period.

Twenty-eight years ago, we started our water conservation education and poster contest with kids in kindergarten through sixth grade. Winners received savings bonds to further their education and recognition in our annual water conservation calendar. We've spoken to young adults in their mid-30s who participated in that contest, and guess what, they continue to practice water conservation. That's a lesson learned: Educational programs achieve a generational change, one student at a time.

We can't control the weather. But we can work together to carefully manage our precious — and limited — resource, both when the weather is dry as well as year-round. This is the only way we will truly achieve our mission of Water for Life, ensuring that future generations enjoy the same dependable, high-quality water we enjoy today.

We can't achieve this without the help and support of all O'ahu residents. With a little effort, common sense and by following these easy water-saving tips, you can save thousands of gallons every year. We can use all the water we need. But let's not waste it.

He hue wai ola ke kanaka na Kane — Man is Kane's living water gourd. Contained in this traditional Hawaiian proverb is the essence of our responsibility as O'ahu's water stewards.

But this responsibility does not only fall on the Board of Water Supply; it falls on each and every one of us who drink from the land. The real test of our efforts will not come today, or tomorrow or next year. Instead, history will be our judge, and we'll know we have been good stewards of our 'aina when our great grandchildren have the water they need.

Clifford Lum is the Board of Water Supply's manager and chief engineer. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.