As with many conservation issues, many people don’t have their water conservation facts straight.
Here are a few water conservation facts to set the record straight, taken from the National Geographic Society and water conservation groups such as Think H2O.
Water Conservation Facts
Only about 2 percent of all the water on Earth is freshwater, and only 1 percent of that is available as drinking water
110 million gallons of water are consumed every day in the U.S.
The average U.S. household loses about 10 gallons of water per day because of leaks, an amount that is easily reduced by repairing leaking toilets and faucets.
You can save 15 gallons of water during a 10-minute shower using a low-flow shower head.
Still, showers are considered far more efficient than baths, which generally require about 70 gallons of water
A typically household uses about 20 gallons each day by flushing toilets. If you have a standard toilet, you can cut down on that amount by displacing the water in the tank by placing a brick into it
Front-loading washing machines use less water than top-loading washing machines
Doing laundry accounts for about 22 percent of all water usage in a household
Using a dishwasher is more efficient than hand-washing dishes, if you wait until you have a full load
For those who live in houses, about 60 percent of all household water usage goes to lawn maintenance
People in the U.S. use more water. For example, it takes about 1,000 gallons per person per day to create the food needed for the calories in the average person’s diet. That’s more than the average of what a person in every other country in the world uses for diet, household use, transportation, energy and consumption of material goods.
Water Conservation Myths
It’s impossible for one person to make a difference. As shown in the above examples, one person can save hundreds, even thousands, of gallons of water every month. Now imagine if everyone in your neighborhood did it.
Global demand for water is not rising that fast. A growing population has led to triple the water demand in just the last 50 years alone
The crisis is limited to developing nations. No, the crisis is spreading. Estimates vary, but most agree about 1 in every 6 people on the planet do not have access to safe drinking water. That’s more than one billion people.
Bottled water is safer than tap water. The same standards for water safety are used both by the bottled water industry and the governments that oversee tap water.
It’s easy to forget there are water issues when there is such a ready supply in the U.S. But simply by taking a few smart steps, it’s easy to reduce the amount of water you use – and make a positive impact on water conservation.
