In my hometown, Waynesboro, PA, our water comes from a surface water supply coming from the East Branch of the Antietam Creek, which is known as the Antietam Watershed. The water is then treated at the Waynesboro Water Filtration Plant. Waynesboro also uses a groundwater source that supplements the surface water supply. The groundwater source is filtered by a membrane before going into the distribution system, before it gets to your tap. After you’ve used it and water goes down the drain it goes through the sewer to the Waynesboro Wastewater Treatment Plant to be cleaned for it to travel on its way to its next destination.

According to the USGS site, I use approximately 168.36 gallons a day.

5 flushes = 15 gallons

1 20 minute shower= 40 gallons

2 teeth brushings = .5 gallons

1 face washing = 1 gallon

6 hand washings = 2 gallons

1 dishwashing by hand = 10 gallons

1 load of laundry = 25 gallons

6 glasses of water = .5 gallons

To make an attempt to use only 2 gallons of water a day I had to cut out taking a shower; normally I take a shower every day for roughly 20 minutes. According to the USGS just one minute in the shower uses 2 gallons of water so I made showering not a priority for this experiment. I definitely needed water for cooking and drinking, as well as for watering my two cats. I drink 6 glasses of water myself each day and give my cats about 2 glasses in a bowl. Another thing I cut out was washing the dishes for a day because normally that takes 8 gallons of water. I flushed a couple times during the day which ultimately pushed me over my 2 gallon limit. My experiment failed. I think if it didn’t take so much water to flush the toilet I could have survived on 2 gallons of water for the day, but it would just be made up for the next day because of the dishes piling up waiting to be washed and the need for a shower. I never realized how much water I used every day until this experiment and I could hardly imagine living on only two gallons for one day. In part 1b the USGS calculator estimated my usage at about 168.36 gallons a day! That’s almost 90 times more than what the people in Haiti and Mozambique use. Geography is very important to water use, where I live in PA there isn’t a shortage of water so I guess I kind of take it for granted. Some places even in the US have to take it easy on there water usage, like California during droughts.