How much water do you use?
According to a study conducted by the University of Minnesota Extension in 2005, the average water usage is 50 gallons per person per day.
Water used for normal household purposes
Typical amounts one would use:
- Shower (30-60 gallons/time)
- Tub bath (30 gallons/time)
- Flush toilet (6-8 gallons/time)
- Washing machine (30-50 gallons/time)
- food preparation and clean up (10-20 gallons/time)
Gardening
Typical amounts certain plants need during one growing season (6 to 7 months):
- corn (54 gallons/plant/season)
- potato (25 gallons/plant/season)
- tomato (35 gallons/plant/season)
- tree 25-30 feet (84,000 gallons/plant/season)
EXPERIMENT
To understand the importance of water to you and your family, list all the ways water is used around your home. You also can measure the amount of water used for things we all take for granted. Using a 5 quart ice cream container, fill a sink to the level used to wash dishes keeping track of how many quarts of water this uses. Use your quart container to rinse the dishes and count the number of quarts needed just to wash the soap off. Can you think of other ways to measure the amount of water used around your home to perform chores such as washing clothes, flushing toilets, or taking baths? What would your home be like if you could only have half the water you now use? What would you do if your water supply were cut off?