All About Water

Residential Water Usage by the Numbers

When you flush the toilet or hop in the shower, the amount of water you are using is probably the last thing on your mind. However, as our resources dwindle and water conservation becomes increasingly important, reducing your personal water use becomes critical. Fortunately, there are some easy ways to reduce your water usage at home, but before you adopt them, you will need to understand where your water goes.

Toilets

Some of the most visible sources of water usage at home include flushing toilets, bathing, and brushing teeth. According to the American Water Works Association, toilets compose the largest portion of water usage in the home, taking up 26.7 percent of total indoor water usage. Toilets use about 18.5 gallons per capita every day. This is partially because, historically, toilets have not been designed with water conservation in mind, so they are very inefficient. However, recent awareness of water usage at home as well as advances in design and technology are slowly changing this.

Showers and Faucets

Showers make up around 16.7 percent of water usage at home, averaging 11.6 gallons per capita every day. The amount of water that a shower expends can also vary depending on the type of shower head. A broad, low-pressure head will waste a lot more water, due to its wide coverage. Investing in a narrower high-pressure device will help reduce water usage at home. Faucets, such as kitchen and bathroom sinks, account for another 15.7 percent of water usage at home, or about 10.9 gallons per capita. Some of this water usage inevitable; people need to drink water or wash dishes. However, there also are simple ways to reduce faucet water usage, like turning off the tap while you brush your teeth or shave.

Washing Machines

Laundry machines are a major source of water usage at home, making up 21.7 percent of indoor water use. The average washing machine uses thirty-five to forty-five gallons per load, which amounts to over 12,000 gallons per year used by the average American family of four. However, by choosing a high efficiency washer (HEW), this amount can be reduced by approximately 6,000 gallons, or 50 percent. You can also reduce water usage in the laundry room by waiting to do laundry until you have a full load and by using the most minimal settings possible. Comparatively, dishwashers compose only 1.4 percent of daily water use, or about one gallon a day. High-efficiency dishwashers use even less and can actually use less water than washing dishes by hand.

Miscellaneous

Some may be surprised to learn that leaks from toilets, faucets, and pipes make up nearly 14 percent of daily usage.  Thankfully, you can eliminate and prevent leaks in your home by regularly checking for leaks. Besides leaks, other miscellaneous water uses are fairly small components of total water usage at home. By simply switching to high-efficiency appliances and practicing good conservation habits, you can easily and conveniently reduce your water usage at home.

Commercial water usage can reach billions of gallons each day even in relatively small towns, but there are many ways to limit and reduce it. Understanding where water goes and how it is used are key to learning how to conserve.

From Fuel to Food: Industrial Water Usage

Industrial water usage composes around 88% of water consumption worldwide, and over 50% of water consumption in the United States. Water is used for everything from generating power to lubricating machinery to absorbing pollution. However, certain industries use more water than others.

Petroleum Refinement

The largest industrial water usage sector in the United States is oil refinement, which uses over one billion gallons per day. According to the US Department of Energy, refineries can require up to 2.5 gallons of water for every gallon of gas produced. This is partially due to inefficient practices within the industry. For many years water was seen as low-cost and perpetually renewable, so no measures were taken to conserve it. Fortunately this perception is changing within the oil industry. Efficiency measures have been implemented that have reduced industrial water usage in some refineries by more than 50%.

Electricity and Power

Thermoelectric power is one of the largest sectors of industrial water usage in the United States. Electricity is created by steam-powered generators, which require massive amounts of water to supply power to consumers. According to the US Geological Survey, these generators use an average of 201,000 million gallons of water every day. Thermoelectric plants typically use non-potable surface water, including sea water in coastal areas. Because of this, their yearly water withdrawals can actually exceed the amount of available water listed by the USGS. In 2005, thermoelectric power plants were responsible for 50% of total water withdrawals.

Other types of power plants, including nuclear and solar, require large amounts of water for manufacturing, maintenance and cooling. Fortunately, much of this water is reusable, so while usage is high, actual water consumption is much lower. However, due to inevitable losses via evaporation, absorption, and leaks, these other kinds of power plants are still responsible for a large portion of industrial water usage.

Manufacturing

Other industrial water uses require an average of 18,200 million gallons per day, or about 9% of total water withdrawals. Most of this other industrial water usage is manufacturing-related. Since many manufacturing processes create large amounts of heat due to friction and chemical reactions, water is used for cooling down machinery and equipment. However, this process is slowly changing as more cost-effective and sustainable alternatives are developed, such as methods of harnessing that heat for power. Water is also used for lubrication and cleaning. Sometimes it is included in products themselves, such as in food and beverage manufacturing. There are many aspects of industrial water usage, but virtually every manufactured product at some point requires water.

Water is one of the most important resources available to the industrial sector. As companies realize this and conservation technology improves, the amount and types of industrial water usage are changing for the better.

Water Usage

We all know that we require water to live, but sometimes it can be difficult to determine exactly what our water usage entails. Many people are aware that the agricultural sector is the largest consumer of water. It takes a great deal of moisture to grow and process our food. However, the rest of our water usage can be harder to pin down. So where exactly does our water go?

Residential

According to the United States Geological Survey, in the US approximately 18 percent of water usage is domestic and public supply. This may not seem like a lot, until you consider the amount of water required to grow food and manufacture items. Comparing industrial and agricultural water usage to public supply shows how wasteful we can be. A good amount of home usage goes towards outdoor care such as watering lawns and gardens, but approximately 70% of domestic water is used indoors. Inside the house, the biggest drain on our water supply is the toilet. Most sources estimate that about 27 percent of household water usage comes from flushing the toilet. Washing machines are the next biggest drains, comprising about 20 percent of the total use. Showers and bathing only make up around 17 percent of use, while leaks drain 15 percent of the public supply.

Commercial

Restaurants, hotels, universities, office buildings and military bases all fall under the heading of commercial use. This sector seems like it would be large, but in fact only makes up about 3 percent of total water usage. However, that number is slowly but steadily increasing. Large institutions such as universities and military installations are the largest consumers of water. It can be difficult to get exact figures for commercial use because in some states off-stream fish hatcheries add to the total, while in others they are not counted.

Industrial

The industrial sector is the second largest consumer of water, after agriculture. According to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, about 22 percent of worldwide water usage is industrial. This includes manufacturing plants, hydroelectric dams, and power plants which use water for cooling. Fortunately many of these uses allow the water to be recycled, which means the actual water consumption is lower than it could be. Industries which require water for cooling, such as thermoelectric power plants, are the largest consumers within this group. In addition, many industrial processes such as oil refinement and chemical processing require large amounts of water as a solvent or to create a chemical reaction.

Although it can be difficult to reduce industrial and agricultural water usage, we all have it in our power to help conserve this valuable resource in other ways. By knowing where your water goes, you can begin to determine ways to cut down your personal water usage. With growing concerns about water scarcity, conservation has become more important than ever.