Why Do You Need To Know How Much Water Does The Average Person Use Per Day?
Have you ever wondered if you use more or less water than an average person? And if that’s the case, what can you do to save water and money?
According to recent figures, the average US household of four pays roughly 72.93 dollars per month for water. So, if you’re spending a lot more than this, you’re probably utilizing a lot more.
Continue reading to discover about the typical domestic water usage in the United States, as well as how you may save more water.
Residential Water Usage in the US: By The Numbers
So approximately how much water does the average person use per day? Here’s the gist. The average daily water usage may be divided down as follows, according to a survey by the Water Research Foundation: 24% for toilets, 20% for showers, 19% for faucets, 17% for washing machines, 12% for leakage, and 8% others.
These findings may surprise you. While it makes sense that toilets use the most water, you might not have realized just how significantly a leakage can contribute to your water bill.
Furthermore, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discovered that states with the largest population increase had the highest average water use in the previous decade. Idaho’s population has grown by 27%, and the state’s average daily water use is 151-200 gallons of water per person. Utah’s population has increased by 33%, with an average daily water use of 151-200 gallons of water per person.
Average Water Usage Per Person, Per Day
The EPA has released a study that shows how many gallons of water the average individual consumes each day for a single device. The following are the important findings:
A person uses 11.6 gallons of water per day in the shower, 18.5 gallons of water per day in the toilet, and 10.9 gallons of water per day from the tap each day in the bathroom; 1 gallon in the dishwasher, and 15 gallons of water in the washing machine per day in the kitchen.
Of course, this is an average amount that will vary depending on the size of your home, the number of bathrooms, and the number of people in an average family. Environmental variables might also have an effect on how much water you consume.
These daily averages may be used to calculate the average water consumption cost per person, per week, or per month for each appliance.
The following are the results for the average monthly cost per person: In the bathroom, a person uses 348 gallons of water per month in the shower, 555 gallons in the toilet, and 327 gallons of water from the tap; in the kitchen, 30 gallons per month in the dishwasher, and 450 gallons of water per month in the washing machine.
Multiply these amounts by 12 to calculate the average cost per person, per year, for each appliance. Are you surprised by the actual figures on how much water does the average person use per day? Wait until you look at the environmental factors that impact water usage.
Environmental Factors That Impact Water Usage
Now that you know how much water the average person uses per day, it’s time to talk about the environmental factors that impact water usage.
A variety of environmental factors can have an impact on how much water we have access to. Given that water covers over 71 percent of the earth’s surface, this may be difficult to accept. However, the majority of our natural water supplies are dangerous to drink and not always readily available.
Infrastructure issues and drought are two of the most significant environmental elements that might have an influence on water usage.
Infrastructure
Water pipes in our homes may be built of lead, or they may be choked with dirt or rusted. This can have an impact on the speed and quality of the water that comes out of your faucets.
The expense of leaking water mains and ageing, disintegrating pipes is astronomical — according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, we waste nearly 2.1 trillion gallons of water in the United States each year as a result of these issues.
Our old infrastructure might also make it difficult to get consistent access to clean water. Lead-lined pipes are still a problem, and older pipes that have rusted or become blocked with silt might result in less water flowing through your faucet at a slower rate. “Faulty meters, ageing pipelines, and leaking water mains—cost the United States an estimated 2.1 trillion gallons in lost drinking water per year,” according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.
On a personal level, many more factors can influence water pressure in your home. A leak in your pipe, for example, not only adds to your monthly water and electricity costs, but it also reduces your water pressure since the water escapes via fractures in your pipe rather than flowing to your faucet. This restricts water consumption on an individual level, as well as on a community level if you’re utilizing well water.
Even a little leak in a pipe can impair your home’s water pressure, especially if the line is closer to your home’s point of entry and serves all of your appliances and faucets. Because part of the water will leak out of the pipe rather than running around your house, this is the case.
Drought
Drought reduces the quantity of water usage in our local reservoirs, limiting the amount of water that can be carried to our houses and the amount of water that can be dispensed from our taps. Drought affects millions of people all over the world.
According to statistics, our natural water use is to blame for a 25% increase in the frequency of droughts since 1960. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the cost of drought is second only to the cost of hurricanes, with a total loss and destruction of $9.6 billion in a single occurrence.
Tips For Conserving More Water
Every drop counts. Did you know that the average home loses enough water each year due to plumbing leaks to fill a backyard swimming pool? One out of every ten houses is believed to have a leak that wastes 90 gallons of water or more every day.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average family wastes roughly 180 gallons of water each week due to residential water leaks or plumbing leaks.
There are various ways to conserve water without restricting it if you wish to reduce your water consumption, whether for the sake of the environment or your budget.
Fix Leaks
A leak can waste thousands of gallons of water every day. According to an EPA analysis, the average residential leak wastes 10,000 gallons of water every year. In addition, almost 10% of residences were found to waste at least 90 gallons of water every day.
It’s no surprise, therefore, that repairing leaks is the most effective way to conserve water. Your pipes aren’t always the source of the leak. Listen for leaks coming from your toilet or sink faucets. You may need to replace or repair the flapper valve or plunger ball on your toilet, as well as a new washer for your faucets.
Household appliances that leak, such as dishwashers, refrigerators, washers, and hot water heaters, may waste gallons of water each year, but they are more difficult to repair yourself, and leaks might pose a fire hazard. It’s better to hire a professional to inspect leaky appliances than to try to fix them yourself.
Replace Old Inefficient Appliances
Dishwashers and washers that are more than ten years old can significantly increase your annual water use when washing dishes. Even if you keep the amount of wasted drinking water from your taps to a minimum, if your appliances are inefficient, you’ll waste a lot of water.
If your appliances are more than ten years old, consider replacing them with ENERGY STAR-certified appliances, which are meant to be more energy efficient, water efficient and waste-free. Additionally, look for washers and dishwashers with a low water factor, which means they consume less water every cycle.
Replace Old Fixtures
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, replacing outdated, inefficient bathroom faucets and aerators with water efficient versions may save a household $250 in water and electricity costs during the faucets’ lifespan. A household may save more than 2,700 gallons of water per year by replacing obsolete shower heads with water efficient units.
Toilets, showerheads, and faucets are all wasteful in comparison to modern types that are meant to conserve water in the home. By replacing outdated toilets with modern models, you may save over 10,000 gallons per year and use less water every flush.
Replacing outdated, leaky showerheads and taps may save you money as well as power. According to the EPA, you may save energy by installing WaterSense certified showerheads, which will lower the amount of water used in showers and reduce demand on your home water heater, saving the typical American family up to 330 kilowatt hours per year.
Turn Off Water While Washing Hands, Dishes & Brushing Teeth
A normal tap produces two litres of drinking water each minute on average. You may save three to four gallons of drinking water in a single day if you make it a practice to turn off the tap whenever you brush your teeth, wash your hands, or washing dishes. This simple hack has the potential to save an average American family up to 1,000 gallons per year.
The remedy is simple: only use water when it is absolutely necessary. If you’re not holding your hands beneath the water, don’t leave it running. This can help you save water by reducing the amount of water you use — and every drop counts.
Water the Lawn Less or Xeriscape/Zeroscape It
Water waste from watering your lawn might amount to hundreds of gallons per year. The EPA predicts that if you reside in a hot or dry environment, your outdoor water use might reach 60%.
Watering your grass on a regular basis is usually unnecessary. It doesn’t need to be watered if you walk on it and it bounces back when you take your foot away. Simply halving your grass watering frequency will result in significant water savings in the long run.
You might also xeriscape or zeroscape your grass. Xeriscaping is the practice of arranging your garden in such a manner that it requires little or no irrigation. When compared to a traditional green lawn, putting xeriscapes in your yard may save you up to 60% on outdoor water.
Xeriscaping, also known as zeroscaping, allows you to take on a creative outdoor project and reap the benefits of conserving money and water while also reducing the amount of effort necessary to maintain your garden.
Water usage: Will we ever run out?
So, will we ever run out of water usage? This is an issue that will affect not just the United States as a nation, but also each of us individually as an average person.
The answer isn’t as simple as “yes” or “no.” For starters, the agriculture business, which consumes 70% of all clean drinking water globally, is the world’s largest user of water usage. Crop and food production are also included. A significant amount of water is used to grow food for cattle, making livestock one of the most water-intensive industries in the United States.
So, while legally speaking, we are not running out of water usage as a whole, we are running out of clean, drinkable water. “About one in nine of the world’s population – lack access to clean, cheap water within half an hour of their homes,” according to a study by The Guardian.
Climate change and population growth aren’t helping the situation. With more frequent droughts, fires, and storms, as well as a significant population increase, access to safe drinking water is becoming increasingly difficult.
To make matters worse, NASA researchers discovered that 21 of 37 of the world’s major aquifers are being drained at levels below their sustainability thresholds. This implies we’re depleting these aquifers quicker than they’re being replenished, and as the average water usage demand rises, the aquifers will decrease even faster.
So, what are your options? On an individual level, a few things can surely help: eating vegetarian 2-3 times a week is encouraged because, as previously said, the meat sector is one of the country’s major water users. Learning about climate change’s effects and what we can do to reduce our carbon footprint can also assist.
Above all, investing in a water filtration system will guarantee that you always have access to clean, drinkable water. For every one of our cartridges you use, an average person can save 600 throwaway water bottles from entering the environment if they invest in a filter bottle.
