In my hometown, we get water from a public water supply. This water comes from groundwater that comes from rain and snow. Water wells are used to harvest the groundwater, and it is treated and sent through a filter. Then it is pumped into pipes and tanks, then into our homes, then through the tap. After water is used or goes back down into the drain, it is carried by gravity through sewer lines and pumped into a treatment plant. Here the water is retreated to be used again.
Here is my average water usage:
Flush toilet: 4 times = 12 gallons
Wash hands: 10 times = 10 gallons
Take shower: 1 time, 15 minutes = 75 gallons
Drinking water: 8 cups = .5 gallons
Brush teeth: 2 times = 1 gallon
Wash dishes by hand: 1 load = 20 gallons
Wash laundry: 1 load = 30 gallons
I use approximately 148.5 gallons of water per day. I may not do my dishes or laundry every single day, but this does not account for other things I might do in a day like water plants, wash fruit or use water for other food preparation, or give water to pets.
Two gallons of water seems like a very crazy amount of water to live off of per day, since I am spoiled with the almost 150 gallons that I use everyday. I did try to cut down on my water usage though, and my priorities included washing my hands, brushing my teeth, and drinking water. In all types of washing, it is important to turn the water off as much as you can. I had never really had to do this before, and it was a challenging thing to remember to do. As soon as I got my hands wet to wash them, I turned the water off while I scrubbed my hands with soap. Then I turned the water back on to rinse. I also turned the water off while brushing my teeth and as much as I could while I showered. I tried to use only half of a gallon of water for drinking purposes and food preparation. I pretty much failed at using only two gallons of water in one day right away. It was pretty much impossible for me to use so little water, mostly because I use the bathroom, and flushing the toilet takes a lot of water.
Geography is important in water use because depending on where you live, you may have a lot less water to use than other people. Water in some places in the world is not as clean as it is here. It is not as readily available as it is to me, and some people have to travel very far on foot to retrieve it. I am very fortunate to live in a place where I don’t have to worry about getting water, I just have to turn the tap on. Although, this spoils me, and I am not as conscious about my water usage as others are.
Hi Sarah, my name is Kevin and I was thinking about ways you could look at your daily water usage differently, for example, look at your frequency at which you do laundry. You are probably not me on a 2+ week rotation but you can look at how frequently you do you laundry or run the dish washer after it fills and divide that into your amount and cut back on your daily usage. Your laundry could become a 3 gallon a day number vice a 30 to maybe give a more accurate look.
http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/10/working-in-the-desert-and-conserving-water-kevin-berthoud/
Hi, I am Baixue Chen, here is my link: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/10/activities-4/
I saw you also use a lot of water at that day, and you use most of water on shower. However, it is kind of waste to use 20 gallons to wash dishes. In addition, it is also very for me to image living in such a place. If I need to live there for more than one day, I don’t know how could make myself alive. I also feel so luck that I don’t need to worry about water problem.