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Switching to water-saving fixtures and appliances can reduce indoor water use by twenty percent. The Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense websitelists many water-saving products. The Department of Energy’s ENERGY STAR label also has an extensive list of energy- and water-saving appliances, like dishwashers and washing machines. Technically, we aren’t running out of water on a whole – we’re running out of access to clean drinking water. And with factors like climate change, rapid population growth, and more frequent storms, fires, and drought, gaining access to clean drinking water gets more challenging every day.
An average of two gallons of drinking water flows out of a standard tap per minute. If you get into the habit of turning off the tap whenever you use water to brush your teeth, wash your hands or do your dishes, you can save between three and four gallons of drinking water in a single day. The average American family has the potential to save up to 1,000 gallons per year alone from this easy hack.
Top 6 NSF Drinking Water Filtration Standards
Watering a large lawn in dryer regions can account for more than half of a household’s water use. Worse, some sprinkler systems are inefficient, with only half of the water making it into the soil. The rest of the water is lost due to wind, runoff, evaporation, and poor design. It’s easy to forget that we also use water in ways we don't see every day. Water is used to grow our food, manufacture our favorite goods, and keep our businesses running smoothly. We also use a significant amount of water to meet the nation's energy needs.
But many environmental factors are bound to affect access to clean drinking water, starting with drought. From brushing your teeth to making a cup of coffee, water is an important part of your daily life. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, an official government organization, the average American family uses about 300 gallons of water per day, or about 88 gallons per person. So, if you are one of these people, your average household water usage will depend entirely on how much water you use.
Household Of Two
Installing a rain sensor on your irrigation system is a cost effective way to lower your water consumption. One flush of the toilet is estimated to use approximately 5-7 gallons of water, unless it is in a recently built home using more modern water-efficient toilets. Scaled up to a month, that is 9,300 gallons of water usage each month for an average family.
The rest is either salt water found in oceans, fresh water frozen in the polar ice caps, or too inaccessible for practical usage. While population and demand on freshwater resources are increasing, supply will always remain constant. And although it's true that the water cycle continuously returns water to Earth, it is not always returned to the same place, or in the same quantity and quality.
What’s Causing California’s Drinking Water Crisis?
Our natural water consumption is responsible for increasing the frequency of drought by around 25% since 1960, according to reports. And the NRDC estimates that the cost of drought is second only to the cost of hurricanes, coming in at about $9.6 billion in loss and damage in a single event. Two of the biggest environmental factors that can impact water usage are infrastructure problems and drought.
Xeriscaping is the practice of arranging your garden in such a manner that it requires little or no irrigation. When compared to a traditional green lawn, putting xeriscapes in your yard may save you up to 60% on outdoor water. It doesn’t need to be watered if you walk on it and it bounces back when you take your foot away. Simply halving your grass watering frequency will result in significant water savings in the long run. According to statistics, our natural water use is to blame for a 25% increase in the frequency of droughts since 1960.
However, the withdrawals are concentrated in specific regions of the country, especially across the Midwest and East, and are smaller in the Western United States. Surface Water Is Top Source The majority of water withdrawals — 61.5 percent or 198 billion gallons per day — came from surface water such as lakes, rivers and streams. Your usage depends on the number of people in your household and your lifestyle. Every single person on earth needs a certain amount of water each day to live a happy and healthy life.
Click the links below to check in on your state's water use and learn more about what you can do to protect water resources for your state. The majority of the water withdrawn for the public supply comes from surface water sources, such as lakes or streams, while most self-supplied domestic water use comes from groundwater sources. Giving a home's main bathroom a high-efficiency makeover by installing a WaterSense labeled toilet, showerhead, and faucet aerator can pay for itself in as little as 1 year.
The agricultural industry uses about 70% of clean drinking water globally, much of which is used by the meat industry for growing feed. There are a number of ways that you can reduce your personal water consumption. Across a family of four, that would mean a total household usage of 12,0000 gallons per month.
Many Americans are taking a closer look at ways to be more environmentally friendly. This can include recycling, buying second-hand, and conserving water. The latter is something Indiana American Water takes very seriously. Of course, this number does assume that a person living alone will use less water overall in the appliances that they use. Less water going down the drain means more water available in the lakes, rivers and streams that we use for recreation and wildlife uses to survive. Using water more efficiently helps maintain supplies at safe levels, protecting human health and the environment.
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