How Much Water Do You Need?

Living in Southern California, I can't help but feel concern for the water supply and how we use our water. Here are some facts about what we are using or wasting our water on.

1. Four to seven gallons of water are required to flush a toilet. Placing a brick in your toilet tank to serve as a dam can save one to two gallons of water with each flush.
2. About five gallons of water are used if you leave the tap running while brushing your teeth. Just wetting and rinsing your brush uses only a 1/2 gallon of water.
3. The average household uses about 245,000 gallons of water per year. The average person about 188 gallons daily.
4. On average, 20 gallons of water are used to hand wash dishes. An automatic dishwasher requires 12-20 gallons.
5. Only one percent of the earth's water is suitable for drinking water. The rest is salt water (97%) and glacier ice (2%).
6. The earth's surface is 80 percent water, equaling 362 trillion gallons. Water is the most common substance found on earth.
7. The human body is made up of 70% water. A person must consume about 2 1/2 quarts of water per day (including water, food, etc.) to maintain health.
8. A pineapple is made up of 80% water. Many of the foods we eat contain water, including a tomato (95%), and an ear of corn (80%).
9. Watering the lawn at 5 to 10 gallons per minute for a half hour equals 300 gallons! Automatic clothes washers use about 30 gallons, a tub bath requires 36 gallons, and a shower uses 35 to 50 gallons.

Anyhow, we started entertaining many ideas on how to conserve water and make sure we are using only what we need and not being wasteful. It has turned into a household challenge for us. We try to see who can use the least amount of water. Now, I still have a long way to go. I still need to completely remove my lawn since that seems to be our biggest water guzzler. I also started thinking about rainwater (which we hardly receive in So Cal), and grey water, which is usable water for gardening and so forth.

As you search you tube ANYTHING is possible. I figured how much water my household uses on flushing the toilet and it is close to 75,000 gallons of water a year. That water can go to better use. Here is one way to alleviate that water waste.



Ok, so my kids laughed at first, but then said it looks like a good idea. Hmmm... am I ready to go to this extent? It is environmentally friendly especially since we are on a raw food lifestyle and everything we eat is compostable, but still. My heart says this is smart, my mind says this is out of my element. I know I will eventually do this....just one green action at a time.

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