“On average, 10 gallons per day of your water footprint (or 14% of your indoor use) is lost to leaks. Short of installing new water-efficient fixtures, one of the easiest, most effective ways to cut your footprint is by repairing leaky faucets and toilets.”
Where Water is Wasted Indoors
- Low-flow showerheads can save 15 gallons of water during a 10 minute shower.
- A lot of water can be wasted if you leave the faucet running while brushing your teeth or shaving.
- To fill a bathtub it takes about 70 gallons of water, making showering the more water-efficient way to bathe.
- About 20 gallons of water a day are flushed down toilet by a person. A standard toilet uses about 3-1/2 gallons per flush, which can be lowered by displacing water in the tank, like placing a brick inside it.
- Every minute you can stop from using hot water is money and energy you can save.
- About 22% of water use indoors comes from running a washing machine. Always adjust to the proper water level on washing machine before running.
- Front-loading machines are usually energy efficient and water efficient
- At around 2%, dishwashing is a small part of a person’s water footprint. To save water run only when it is full.
- Energy Star dishwashers use about 4 gallons of water per load, standard machines use only about 6 gallons, and hand washing dishes generally uses about 20 gallons of water each time.
Source: nationalgeographic.com
The 5-Minute Shower Challenge
Where Water is Wasted Outdoors
- Nearly 60% of a person’s household water footprint can go toward lawn and garden maintenance.
- Climate counts—where you live plays a role in how much water you use, especially when it comes to tending to a yard.
- The average pool takes 22,000 gallons of water to fill, and if you don’t cover it, hundreds of gallons of water per month can be lost due to evaporation.
Source: nationalgeographic.com
Water Conservation Misconceptions
Recent studies have found that most people underestimate the amount of water they use and the amount of water used to produce common consumer products, such as coffee or pizza.
How Much Water Does It Take To Make…
- 42 gallons (159 liters) of water to make a single slice of pizza requires
- 37 gallons (in addition to 1.5 pounds of wood and 1.3Kwh of electricity) of water to make a single roll of toilet paper (2-ply, 500 sheets)
- 3,170 gallons (12,000 liters) for a pound (0.45 kilos) of chocolate
- 1,799 gallons (6,810 liters) for a pound of beef
- 4 gallons of water used to produce 1 gallon of beer
- US residents throw 40% of their food away every year
- Resulting in the wastage of 25% of all consumed fresh water
- A typical US diet uses 1,444 gallons (5,466 liters) of water every day
Source: nationalgeographic.com
How to Save Water Around the Home
- Low-flow Sink Faucets
- Low-flow shower heads
- Low-flush, Composting or Dual Flush Toilets
- Faucet Aerators
- Raw Water Flusing
- Reusing Wastewater
- Rainwater Collection
- High-efficiency Clothes Washers
- Weather Based Irrigation Controllers
- Automatic Shut-off Garden Hose Nozzles
Drought
Drought is a period of deficiency in a region’s water supply. A drought can be cause by several different factors. A meteorological drought is when there a less than average prolonged period of rainfall. An agricultural drought is when
United States Drought MonitorThe Aral Sea Disaster
Sources of Information on Water Conservation
The foregoing information was compiled from the the links listed above.
