Fun Facts

Only 1% of the water on Earth is fresh water. Oceans hold 97% of all water on Earth. The remaining 2% is frozen in Antarctica, Greenland, and the Arctic Ocean.

The human body is about 75% water. A person can survive about a month without food, but only 5 to 7 days without water.

Every day in the United States, we drink about 110 million gallons of water.

Each person needs to drink about 2 ½quarts (80 ounces) of water every day. It is important to stay hydrated.

 Public water suppliers process 38 billion gallons of water per day for domestic and public use.

Nearly 1 million miles of pipelines and aqueducts carry water in the U.S. & Canada. That's enough pipe to circle the earth 40 times.

About 800,000 water wells are drilled each year in the United States for domestic, farming, commercial, and water testing purposes. More than 13 million households get their water from their own private wells and are responsible for treating and pumping the water themselves.

Industries released 197 million pounds of toxic chemicals into waterways in 1990.

You can refill an 8-oz glass of water approximately 1,200 times for the same cost as a six-pack of soda.

A dairy cow must drink four gallons of water to produce one gallon of milk.

300 million gallons of water are needed to produce a single day's supply of U.S. newspapers.

One inch of rainfall drops 7,000 gallons or nearly 30 tons of water on a 60' by 180' piece of land, which is the size of many house lots.

Conservation Tips

Landscaping accounts for about 50%the water Californians use at home. Showers and baths account for another 13%, while toilets use about 10%. Faucets use about 9% and washers also use about 9%. The remaining 9% is from leaks. Thus, landscape is the easiest place to save water. 

If every household in America had a faucet that dripped once each second, 928 million gallons of water a day would leak away. A leaky faucet can waste 100 gallons a day.

One flush of the toilet uses about 1 ½ gallons of water. An average family of four uses about 250 gallons of water per week just by flushing the toilet. Avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily. Dispose of tissues, insects and other such waste in the trash and NEVER in the toilet or it could clog.

The average 10-minute shower uses about 25 gallons of water. Take short showers instead of baths. A full bathtub requires about 36 gallons of water.

You use about 5 gallons of water if you leave the water running while brushing your teeth. Don’t leave the water running when brushing your teeth or shaving. Get in the habit of turning off the water when it’s not being used.

If you water your grass and trees longer, but less often, this saves water and builds stronger roots. Water your lawn only when it needs it. If you step on the grass and it springs back up when you move, it doesn’t need water. If it stays flat, it does need water.

Water lawns during the early morning hours, or evening when temperatures and wind speed are the lowest. This reduces losses from evaporation.

Run your dishwasher and washing machine only when they are full.

When washing a car, use soap and water from a bucket. Use a hose with a shut-off nozzle for rinsing. Never put water down the drain when there may be another use for it such as watering a plant or garden, or cleaning.

When washing dishes by hand, fill one sink or basin with soapy water. Quickly rinse under a slow-moving stream from the faucet. An automatic dishwasher uses 9 to 12 gallons of water while hand washing dishes can use up to 20 gallons.

Store drinking water in the refrigerator rather than letting the tap run every time you want a cool glass of water.

Do not hose down your driveway or sidewalk. Use a broom to clean leaves and other debris from these areas. Using a hose to clean a driveway wastes hundreds of gallons of water.

Use of bowl of water to clean fruits & vegetables rather than running water over them. You can reuse this for your house plants.