Knowing Where You Consume the Most Water Makes Conservation A Whole Lot Easier!
Friday, March 19th, 2010According to www.drinktap.org, the amount of water consumed - on on an average daily basis - in U.S. household breaks down as follows:
| Use | Gallons per Capita | Percentage of Total Daily Use |
| Showers | 11.6 | 16.8% |
| Clothes Washers | 15.0 | 21.7% |
| Dishwashers | 1.0 | 1.4% |
| Toilets | 18.5 | 26.7% |
| Baths | 1.2 | 1.7% |
| Leaks | 9.5 | 13.7% |
| Faucets | 10.9 | 15.7% |
| Other Domestic Uses | 1.6 | 2. |
By installing more efficient water fixtures and regularly checking for leaks, households can reduce daily per capita water use by about 35% to about 45.2 gallons per day. Here’s how it breaks down for households using water conservation measures:
| Use | Gallons per Capita | Percentage of Total Daily Use |
| Showers | 8.8 | 19.5% |
| Clothes Washers | 10.0 | 22.1% |
| Toilets | 8.2 | 18.0% |
| Dishwashers | 0.7 | 1.5% |
| Baths | 1.2 | 2.7% |
| Leaks | 4.0 | 8.8% |
| Faucets | 10.8 | 23.9% |
| Other Domestic Uses | 1.6 | 3.4% |
Using the numbers provided Drinktap.org, that amounts to the following potential water savings:
- 25 gallons per day
- 750 gallons per day
- 9,125 gallons per year
Where’s a good place to start? Well, let’s take the top current water users: you toilets and your washing machine. Older toilets consume between 5 to 7 gallons of water per flush. Newer toilets use only 1.3 to 1.6 gallons per flush with no loss of pressure. At the very least, you would cut your per toilet water consumption by 32%.
According to www.ehow.com, you can cut your clothes washer water consumption by up to 40% by switching to a front loading model. Click on this link to learn how: http://www.ehow.com/how_4485936_conserve-water-front-loading-washers.html
Saving water is the job - and responsibility - of us all. Have any suggestions you’d like to share with us and our blog readers? We’d love to hear from you.