How can water be wasted? If you use water, it goes down the drain, through the sewage, into the ocean, then evaporates into the atmosphere, and turns into precipitation. Water can%26#039;t be lost, right?

I can see the line of logic you have here and it makes sense. Till you add the economic aspect into the mix.

Most states (and more than likely your county or even municipal) factor in the water that comes out of your taps. Thus you pay for the water that you use to clean dishes, shave, shower, water the grass, etc. In the economic realm then using water %26quot;recklessly%26quot; is a waste -- it comes out of your pocket and is a drain (pardon the pun) on not only your wallet, but community resources.

In that aspect you are paying directly for what you use. So leaving the tap running for no reason will cost you.

In a larger environmental sense every community pulls water or has water sent in from a watershed. This is a finite resource like oil, coal, and gold. There is just X amount to use at any given time.

Across the globe we are now putting a stunning amount of stress on watersheds and tables. This is most obvious in Africa. It will become a factor very soon here in North America.

Water is not a given. It doesn%26#039;t just magically run from your taps.

no as treatement plants return it back to drinking water

Yes, This is very true since the amount of water in the earth cannot go anywhere else. So yes but the forms of water can be converted, like clorine water is harmful to the environment.

Right...not without electrolysis to split it into hydrogen and oxygen.

Very good point.
It could be wasted in another sense though like if you live in an area where water is hard to come by, ( Like a desert location).
Or like someone else said as it relates to how much money you are spending.