Do you know what your water footprint is?

We often speak to clients about conserving water. In reality, water conservation goes beyond reducing the amount of water that one uses for bathing, food preparation, sewage removal or landscape irrigation. Most of us never stop to think about the vast amounts of water that are required in the manufacturing process that bring us such things as coffee, cereal, sodas, clothing, etc.

According to The Water Footprint Network, “the water footprint is an indicator of water use that looks at both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer. The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business.”

Following are some simple figures to consider. It requires:

• 16,000 liters of water to produce 1 kg of beef
• 3,000 liters of water to produce 1 kg of rice
• 1,350 liters of water to produce to produce 1 kg of wheat
• 1,000 liters of water to produce 1 liter of milk
• 900 liters of water to produce 1 kg of corn
• 140 liters of water to produce 1 cup of coffee
• 120 liters of water for one glass of wine.

In the USA, the average water footprint is 2500 cubic meters per annum per capita – or more commonly expressed, 2.5 million liters of potable water per person per year.

While directly conserving water is a necessary component of environmental responsibility, so also is reducing our water footprint. The next time you drink a soda, order a cup of coffee or buy a new cotton shirt, take a moment to consider how much water was used in the various processes that were necessary to grow and manufacture these items, not to mention bring them to you. Exercising good judgment, being selective and making things last longer can make a vast difference.

Visit WaterFootprint.Org and use their simple calculator to determine your individual water footprint. The results may surprise you!

For products that can help you save water in your home, we reccomend the use of High Efficiency Toilets (HET’s), water-saving showerheads and rainwater collection systems.  Incorporating one or more of these fixtures into your water conservation program can result in a significant reduction of your family’s overall water footprint.