In communities across America, small clusters of citizens continue to work to stop large water and wastewater projects. They believe, among other things, that conservation is a better option to building a bigger facility. Whether or not they are correct in their belief, they are noticed, feared, and often successful in stopping projects from water treatment plants to wastewaterreclamation efforts. Their ranks may include others whose primary motivation is not water conservation, but wildlife or habitat protection. This paper examines how these motivational or attitudinal linkages might be exploited to benefit conservation during times when conservation is not viewed as an institutional priority. Includes 5 references.