Personal Water Use Inventory
I understand the need for water conservation around the world. This personal water use inventory shows the amount of water I use per day and how much it costs me per year. Table 1 below shows my personal water inventory. The results depict that I am an average user of water. Further, Figure 1 below is a pie chart showing my personal water usage as a percentage. It is clear that machine washing takes up most of the water used. Finally, the last table, Table2 shows my water footprint results. From Figure 1, machine washing takes up 70 percent of all the water I use. The second largest is shower and then tooth brushing. After conducting water foot print survey, I found that I use more water in my house than the average American. Other aspects such as diet, energy, and other stuff are within the American average. With this understanding standing, I can now take action to mitigate my water use, especially in regards to machine washing of my clothes.
My normal water usage includes two showers a day, which add up to 980 gallons per week. I use the bathtub almost once a week, which makes up for 40 gallons of water in a week. I spend 35 gallons of water in flushing toilet and 420 gallons brushing teeth within a week. Tooth brushing is the third largest water consuming activity I do in my life. Hand and face washing accounts for only two percent of the water I use in a week. Shaving takes ten times more water than cooking and washing dishes. Washing machine takes the largest amount of water in my household. As indicated in Figure2, it takes over 70 percent of the water I consume in the house per week. Dish washing and cooking takes the least amount of water according to the data in Table1 below. Other activities that take up water in my house include water lawn, lawn sprinklers, washing car, wash down the driveway, swimming pool, and a combination of other activities such as drinking.
According to my water footprint results in Table2, I use more water in my home than the United States’ average. The US home water usage average is at 100 gallons while I use 124 gallons. On the diet section, the US average is at 1,056 gallons per week while I use only 851 gallons in a week. On the energy section, I spend 643 gallons in a week while the US average stands at 700.
On other stuff, I come close to reaching the US average of 232 gallons as my usage stands at 210, only 22 gallons less than the US average. On overall, I spend 1,828 gallons of water in a week as average American spends 2,088 gallons. While I can be commended for using lesser water overall, I can improve on my home usage of water. I can also decrease my water usage in other areas. The results have really surprised me; learning that I spend more water in washing hands than I spend cooking is an eye opener.
In conclusion, I think efforts to reduce our water footprint should be welcomed by everybody who wishes to see environmental friendly living and coexistence. Studies like this one will help me and the public at large to appreciate efforts geared towards environmental conservation, and especially water conservation.
Table 2: My Water Footprint Results
