The Liquid of Life

The average American uses 100 gallons of water per day! No way, I say, and then I checked it out at a site called DCWASA for Kids. Yep, it's true. At the site I used the Daily Water Usage calculator. Three easy calculations on how much water I use in the shower, when flushing the toilet, and while brushing my teeth- that doesn't even include how much water I use for other things each day, like when I wash dishes, wash my hands, or fill up the pets' water bowls. If you don't have water-saving appliances, you are using 5 gallons for every minute of running water or every flush of the toilet. So, if you are in the shower for only 5 minutes, you have used 25 gallons of water! I am really bad about letting the water run a long time while I wash dishes. It would be more efficient if I used the dishwasher (uses 25 gallons) than if I left the water running while I wash dishes for 15 minutes (uses 75 gallons) Whoa. On the other hand, I am happy to say that a long time ago I stopped running the water while I brush my teeth- I make myself turn it off and walk away from the sink while I am brushing, so I am not tempted to let the water run the whole time, which is way fun- what is it about water- totally FUN. But it is not fun to learn how wasting water effects our environment in a negative way. For instance, some parts of the country are running out of clean, drinkable water. Fact: our bodies are 2/3 water, and we need 2 quarts of water a day to digest food, transport wastes, keep cells alive, make blood, and control body temperature. When we are all wasting water, we are using it up faster than it can be recycled; this hurts the environment, animals, plants, and people, which all need water. At the DCWASA site they call water the "liquid of life." Would you agree?
photo by krikit