Most consumers use more water in the summertime than any other time of year.
Water is a precious natural resource that is necessary to sustain life. It
is in everyone’s interest to use water wisely. Following are a few
interesting facts about water use and conservation.
According to a recent study by the American Water Works Association Research
Foundation (AWWARF):
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In households not using water-efficient fixtures, toilets used the most
water on a daily basis (20.1 gallons per person per day). Clothes washers
were the second largest water users (15 gallons per person per day) and
showers were third (13.3 gallons per person day).
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In households that did use water-efficient fixtures, clothes
washers assume the role of top water user (15 gallons per person per day),
followed by faucets (10.9 gallons per person per day), showers (10 gallons
per person per day), and toilets (9.6 gallons per person per day).
Toilet manufacturers now
must follow a federal mandate to make toilets using no more than 1.6 gallons
of water per flush.
Other AWWARF Water Facts:
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Typically,
households consume at least 50% of their water by lawn watering. Inside,
toilets use the most water, with an average of 20 gallons per person per
day.
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The
average five-minute shower takes between 15 to 25 gallons of water.
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An
automatic dishwasher uses about 9 to 12 gallons of water, while hand-washing
dishes can use up to 20 gallons.
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Only 1% of
the earth's water is available for drinking water. Two percent is currently
frozen.
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There are
more than 56,000 community water systems providing water to the public in
the United States.
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Public
water suppliers process 38 billion gallons of water per day for domestic and
public use.
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Approximately 1 million miles of pipelines and aqueducts carry water in the
United States and Canada. That's enough to circle the earth 40 times.
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About
800,000 water wells are drilled each year in the United States for domestic,
farming, commercial, and water testing purposes.
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