2 minute read
Wilson
Personal vs. Industrial Water Use
Written by Reid Wilson
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This water conservation tip, accompanied by a chorus of similar recommendations, are things that we have all been told since childhood. But how does our personal water use footprint compare to the water that goes into products which we use every day? I have put together an infographic to demonstrate the amount of water that goes into one of each of a variety of products which we use daily. This infographic represents many of the most manufacturing water-intensive products in an average American's possession. Let’s roughly calculate an individual’s annual water use resulting from the production of the items featured in the infographic: a daily steak, a new car every eleven-and-a-half years, two cups of coffee a day, three pairs of jeans and ten shirts a year, five 60-watt light bulbs running twelve hours a day for a year, and one new phone every two years.
Adding these calculations up to total annual water use brings us to 731,866.3 gallons of water annually for these products. Now compare that to Water.Phila.Gov’s estimated 101.5 gallons per day of personal water use resulting in 37,047.5 gallons annually for things like showering, taking a bath, brushing your teeth, washing dishes, and flushing the toilet. The products
(strictly featured in the infographic, which we consume annually) require 19.75 times as much water as we use within our living environment on personal care and hygiene. Now, this pessimistic figure should not be cause for dismay.
With this knowledge, what can be done to reduce our hydrological footprint? The Green Observer has many articles detailing how to thrift effectively. Thrifting doesn’t just have to involve clothes; buying used cars, getting local or homegrown food, and passing an old phone along are all ways by which we can collectively reduce this Olympic-sized pool figure. It is also vital to remember that all water use reduction matters, and any action taken towards environmental sustainability is a good one. So turn off the sink while you brush! Cut your shower time by a couple of minutes! Stop drinking water! Joking about that last one of course, but let’s do what we can, and work together to fight a global water shortage.
Sources
Billock, J., 2022. How much water it takes to create 30 common items. [online] Stacker. Available at: <https://stacker.com/stories/2592/howmuch-water-it-takes-create-30common-items> [Accessed 2 April 2022].
Water.phila.gov. 2022. Gallons Used Per Person Per Day. [online] Available at: <https://water.phila.gov/pool/files/homewater-use-ig5.pdf> [Accessed 2 April 2022].
