Together the four of us probably drink almost four gallons per day in hot weather, plus some for cooking. We have a high-efficiency washer with which we do on average two and a half loads per week, amounting to about seven gallons per day. Washing hands, brushing teeth and the tiny flush on our urine-separating compost toilet definitely uses at least two gallons.
Altogether, that puts us at around 28 gallons per day for the four of us. Stewing about this, I looked up the average US water usage and discovered that North Carolina households use an average of 70 gallons per day per person. If our household was average for our area we would be using gallons, ten times as much as we do. And our state usage turns out to be some of the lowest in the country! In Idaho where they get far less rain, per person usage tops gallons per day.
Out west, the point of conserving water is obvious. Our civilization is drawing down aquifers at a terrifying pace , and our ability to feed ourselves will be seriously damaged when they run dry. But here in the east we get 60 inches of rain per year. Very small potatoes. Most household water eventually goes down the drain. Treating the water after use has a carbon impact about four times greater than making it drinkable in the first place.
And then there is the impact of treating the sludge after you have it pumped. Likewise, older showerheads flow well over the federal limit of 2. Some shower fixtures, especially those with multiple nozzles, exceed the federal limit, so these fixtures require reduced shower time in order to save water. Likewise, newer dishwashers and clothes washers use water much more efficiently than older models. Water efficient dishwashers save more than 5, gallons of water per year compared with washing dishes by hand and use less than half as much energy, too.
So while the answer is technically no, we are not running out of water as a whole—we are running out of access to clean, drinking water.
With the onslaught of more frequent droughts, fires, and storms, as well as rapid population growth—the ability to get clean drinking water is getting harder by the minute.
So what can you do? A few things can certainly help on the individual level: going vegetarian times a week is recommended since, as mentioned above, the the meat industry is one of the largest water consumers in the country. Learning about the impacts of climate change and what we can do to lessen our carbon footprint can help, too. More than anything, investing in a water filtration system will help ensure that you can access clean, drinking water, no matter what.
If you invest in a filter bottle , for every one of our cartridges you use, you save disposable water bottles from entering the environment. Remove Product? Are you sure you want to remove the following product from the cart? Cancel Yes. Average Water Usage in the United States The average family uses more than gallons of water per day.
Residential water usage in the United States. Average water usage per person per day. According to the EPA , here are how many gallons the average American uses in each room, per day: Toilet — How does your state stack up? 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. In Alabama about million gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered every day for domestic use, with the average Alabama resident using 76 gallons per day in and around their home.
If every Alabama resident reduced their shower duration by one minute, about 2. In Alaska about 64 million gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered every day for domestic use, with the average Alaska resident using 90 gallons per day in and around their home.
In Arizona about million gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered every day for domestic use, with the average Arizona resident using gallons per day in and around their home. If every Arizona resident reduced their shower duration by one minute, about 3. In Arkansas about million gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered every day for domestic use, with the average Arkansas resident using gallons per day in and around their home. If every Arkansas resident reduced their shower duration by one minute, about 1.
In California about 4 billion gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered every day for domestic use, with the average California resident using gallons per day in and around their home. In Colorado about million gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered every day for domestic use, with the average Colorado resident using gallons per day in and around their home. If every Colorado resident reduced their shower duration by one minute, about 2.
In Connecticut about million gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered every day for domestic use, with the average Connecticut resident using 75 gallons per day in and around their home. If every Connecticut resident reduced their shower duration by one minute, about 1. In Delaware about In the District of Columbia about In Florida about 1. In Georgia about million gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered every day for domestic use, with the average Georgia resident using 79 gallons per day in and around their home.
If every Georgia resident reduced their shower duration by one minute, about 5. In Hawai'i about million gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered every day for domestic use, with the average Hawaii resident using gallons per day in and around their home. In Idaho about million gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered every day for domestic use, with the average Idaho resident using gallons per day in and around their home.
In Illinois about 1 billion gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered every day for domestic use, with the average Illinois resident using 80 gallons per day in and around their home. In Indiana about million gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered every day for domestic use, with the average Indiana resident using 76 gallons per day in and around their home.
If every Indiana resident reduced their shower duration by one minute, about 3. In Iowa about million gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered every day for domestic use, with the average Iowa resident using 65 gallons per day in and around their home. If every Iowa resident reduced their shower duration by one minute, about 1. In Kansas about million gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered every day for domestic use, with the average Kansas resident using 73 gallons per day in and around their home.
If every Kansas resident reduced their shower duration by one minute, about 1. In Kentucky about million gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered every day for domestic use, with the average Kentucky resident using 67 gallons per day in and around their home. If every Kentucky resident reduced their shower duration by one minute, about 2. In Louisiana about million gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered every day for domestic use, with the average Louisiana resident using gallons per day in and around their home.
If every Louisiana resident reduced their shower duration by one minute, about 2. In Maine about In Maryland about million gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered every day for domestic use, with the average Maryland resident using gallons per day in and around their home. If every Maryland resident reduced their shower duration by one minute, about 3. In Massachusetts about million gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered every day for domestic use, with the average Massachusetts resident using 65 gallons per day in and around their home.
If every Massachusetts resident reduced their shower duration by one minute, about 3. In Michigan about million gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered every day for domestic use, with the average Michigan resident using 79 gallons per day in and around their home. If every Michigan resident reduced their shower duration by one minute, about 5.
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