An Average Californian's and American's Water Footprint
A series of simple questions to inform yourself.
About 30 percent of the contiguous United States was in at least a moderate drought as of December 16, 2014. Conditions are particularly bad in
Accordingly, many water utilities have asked their customers to cut their water usage in an effort to conserve the state's limited resource. In the Bay Area, for instance, the East Bay Municipal Utility District has called for a 15% reduction in water usage, or about 37 gallons per day per customet conserved. By best estimates, it will take at least months of above-normal rain to end this
So, what can you do to reduce your water footprint in these notably dry times?
Well, you should begin your conservation efforts by breaking this particular question down into three major parts:
- How much water do I directly consume and use?
- How much water is needed to produce the resources I consume?
- Knowing this, how can I most effectively conserve water??
It is easy to monitor the amount of water you directy consume and use and regulate accordingly. Spending less time in the shower, watering your landscape less often, and detecting and fixing leaky faucets are ways to conserve water at home. However, for the last two questions, you need a more scientific approach for this type of 'water accounting.' Though often forgotten, the last these two questions are very important for truly reducing the total amount of water you use daily.
Water resource engineers and scientists will employ a
In the following 12 infographics, we show the results of a water LCA for average Californians.
1. What portion of your water footprint comes from directly consuming and using water?
As you can see, most of your water footprint is embedded in the resources you consume! In the figure below, we provide a more detailed data visualization. The scale of each circle represents it overall contribution to your water footprint.
For more information on how these numbers were derived, see here. Now, let's explore more about your footprint.
2. If you are planning a meal, is meat more water intensive than vegetables?
Yes! Meat requires more water than plant-based products. This makes sense when you consider that animals need vegetables as an input to grow to a healthy size.
3. If you are planning a meal, which foods are the most water intensive per calorie?
4. If you are planning a meal, do all types of meats require the same amount of water?
5. Plant-based foods are the least water intensive. What is the water intensity of fruits?
6. Is the water I use at my home different from what is used in industry?
7. How much water is used to power my house with electricity? Are there benefits to using renewables?
8. What is the total water usage associated with different transportation fuels?
9. I know how many miles per gallon or liter per 100 km my car achieves. What is the water equivalent?
To get a sense of scale, let's evaulate a trip by a gasoline-powered automobile in the Bay Area. Click a start and stop location on the map and see how many liters would be needed per trip. (Answer: {{water}} Liters)
This is just an average for the Bay Area. Similar assessments will differ across the country and world!
10. Is there a real difference between being a vegetarian and a typical omnivore in terms of water usage?
11. Wow! You can save water by being a vegetarian. Even if we eat the same amount of food by mass?
12. Okay. Lastly, what is the water consumption of a vegetarian diet based on my recommended caloric intake?
