Home Water Use

Table of Contents: (1.) Water Use in the Industrialized World (2.) Acti it!: Water Use Calculator (".) Acti it!: #ri$s and %ea&s Water Use in the Industrialized World If youre like most people in the developed world, you dont think much about water. Clean, drinkable water is delivered into your residence almost invisibly, and its always there when you turn on a faucet. As such, most North Americans dont see the need for water conservation, particularly those who live in areas where freshwater supplies are abundant. But as populations grow and water supplies stay roughly constant, more and more pressure is being brought to bear on rivers, reservoirs, and groundwater a uifers and the need for conservation has become almost universal. !hese efforts are particularly crucial in areas with arid climates, low water supplies, and"or fre uent droughts.

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Title: #as $egas Copes with New %ater&'se #imits #ate: (eptember )*, +,,'ummar!: #as $egas has implemented new water restrictions and has a team of enforcers to make sure residents abide by those restrictions. .y /laskon of member station .N/0 reports. 1http2""www.npr.org3. 1-2--3 %in&: http2"" http2""www.npr.org"features"feature.php4wfId5)6-78,0e uires 0eal/layer

%ater is used for a wide variety of things in the modern world. Its used in large uantities in agriculture and livestock production, to generate electricity in thermoelectric power plants, and in numerous industrial processes. Another ma9or category is municipal water use, the use of water in homes and businesses. !o get an overview of water use in the 'nited (tates, review the material below from the 'nited (tates :nvironmental /rotection Agency 1:/A3.

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Ho( We Use Water in These United 'tates 1/<=3 1)8* .B3 United States Environmental Protection Agency http2""esa+).kennesaw.edu"activities"water&use"water&use&overview&epa.pdf As described in the :/A document, agricultural irrigation and thermoelectric power generation use a great deal of water, but while you cannot reasonably control the amount of water used to grow your food or generate your electricity, you can e>ert control over your personal water use and affect the uantity used for municipal supply. In a typical home, water is used for cleaning 1humans, clothes, dishes, vehicles3, drinking, sanitation 1flushing toilets3, and watering vegetation. !he brochure below from the '.(. :/A describes the breakdown of water use in a typical home and offers simple suggestions for improving water efficiency. 0eview it before proceeding. Usin) Water Wisel! in the Home 1/<=3 1+-? .B3 United States Environmental Protection Agency http2""esa+).kennesaw.edu"activities"water&use"using&water&wisely&epa.pdf Acti it!: Water Use Calculator !hrough the provided introductory materials, you should now have a good idea of the various ways you use water in your daily life, and some simple steps you could take to reduce your overall water use. In this activity, you will be asked to e>amine your current water use and then e>amine several lifestyle changes that could reduce your overall water usage. !o do this youll be using an online water calculator from the (outhwest =lorida %ater @anagement <istrict that asks you to provide some information about water&using activities and uses this information to calculate your overall water use. Water Use Calculator (outhwest =lorida %ater @anagement <istrict http2""www.swfwmd.state.fl.us"conservation"thepowerof)," 'se the water calculator to e>amine water use in your household, completing the Activity (heet as you progress. Consult the materials below to gain ideas for simple changes that can result in significant reductions in water use prior to completing the corresponding section of the Activity (heet. Usin) Water *fficientl!: Ideas for +esidences 1/<=3 1*?7 .B3 United States Environmental Protection Agency http2""esa+).kennesaw.edu"activities"water&use"water&cons&brochure&epa.pdf Water,*fficient %andsca$in) 1/<=3 1),7A* .B3 United States Environmental Protection Agency http2""esa+).kennesaw.edu"activities"water&use"water&cons&landscaping&epa.pdf

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H2-U'*: Water,'a er Home California Urban Water Conservation Council http2""www.h+ouse.org

Acti it!: #ri$s and %ea&s #osses from drips and leaks can form a significant but often overlooked use of water in the home. %hile slow drips and small leaks can seem inconse uential, the water losses incurred from these sources over time can be rather large, as was shown in the background material provided above from :/A. !o e>amine how much water can be lost this way well be using a Bdrip calculatorC from the American %ater %orks Association. Access the calculator using the link below and answer the appropriate uestions on the Activity (heet. Water,Wiser #ri$ Calculator American Water Works Association http2""www.awwa.org"advocacy"learn"conserve"dripcalc.cfm Copyright D +,,6, American %ater %orks Association. =or additional information related to water issues, contact A%%A at www.awwa.org or call 8,,&*+7&A--A. If this e>ercise encourages you to e>amine your home for leaky pipes and toilets, please consult the resources above for tips and techni ues for identifying sources of water loss.

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ESA 21: Environmental Science Activities

Name2 Instructor2 *stimatin) Water Usa)e:

Activity (heet %ater 'se

/rovide the re uired information and enter the information about your households annual water usage from the water use calculator in the table below. !o calculate the percentage for each category, simply divide the value in each category by the !otal ;ousehold 'se and multiply by ),, 1to convert proportion to percentage3.

.er Ca$ita #ail! Use ()allons) (howers Baths !oilet flushes 0unning %ater ;and %ashing <ishes <ishwasher #aundry #awn %atering Ether Eutdoor 'ses !otal ;ousehold 'se --.-? +, +? ), , +, ), ), )--.--

.ercenta)e of Total ,.+6* ,.,-A ,.)?, ,.)8A ,.,A? ,.,,, ,.)?, ,.,A? ,.,A?

%hich category was the greatest percentage of your water use4 %as this surprising4 #a categorFa con el porcenta9e mGs alto fue la de las duchas, no nos sorprende ue sea las mGs alta, ya ue en nuestras casas la mayorFa de las personas se baHan mGs de una veI al dFa. /ero si nos sorprende ue el consumo total diario es muy alto. @any people in rural areas in developing countries must still carry water from its source to their homes. If you were to carry the amount of water used per person in your household on an
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average day, and a gallon of water weighs appro>imately 8.- lbs, how many pounds of water would you need to carry each day4 <ensidad del agua 5 8.- lb"gal :ntonces, 1)--.-- gal3 J 18.- lb"gal3 5 )),7.7 lb.

Water Use Anal!sis: :nter the per&person Kallons of %ater 'sed in the ;ouse values from the calculator in the table below. .er #a! 0our Household U.'. A era)e ""."" )al 1(1"".""23$ersonas) 166 )al .er /onth 444.45 )al "7666 )al .er 0ear 11444.5 )al "87666 )al

;ow did your households water usage compare to the '.(. average4 :l consumo por persona en la casa de uno de nosotros, en comparaciLn al promedio de :stados 'nidos, nuestro consumo es menor en un 77.7M. #o cual nos indica ue en :stados 'nidos las personas estGn consumiendo demasiado y ue no hay un buen control por parte de las personas y"o autoridades. Anal!zin) Chan)es: :>amine how small changes in lifestyle would affect your households total water usage. 0eturn to the water calculator and make a reasonable change that would reduce your overall water usage & describe the change in the table below. /ress BCalculateC after making the change, calculate the number of gallons saved per year, and enter it in the table. 0eset the calculator to its original values, and repeat the procedure for two additional changes. Chan)e +eduction in Annual Water Use ()al) ?***.6

BaHarse una sola veI al dFa 6A*8.8 Cerrar la llave cuando te estas en9abonando y cepillando los dientes #avar la ropa una sola veI a la semana
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(eeing the reductions in water use that occur as a result of these changes, would you be willing to immediately implement any of them4 :>plain why or why not. Claro ue sF, por ue tenemos ue concientiIarnos de los problemas ambientales ue estamos produciendo y padeciendoN por tanto tenemos ue hacer todo lo ue estO en nuestras manos como estos cambios para aprovechar mucho me9or el agua y ue sigamos beneficiGndonos de ella.

%osses from #ri$s and %ea&s: Epen the %ater%iser <rip Calculator, enter the values in the table below in the BP of drips per minuteC bo>, hit the BNow CalculateC button, and enter the results in the table. #ets assume that your home has leaks like those listed. =or each of the drip rates, add the <aily %aste from leaks to your !otal /er Capita <aily 'se from the %ater Calculator. !his would be your new !otal <aily %ater 'se. !hen calculate the percentage of the total water used that is due to the leak. As you did previously, simply divide the <aily %aste value by the !otal ;ousehold 'se and multiply by ),, 1to convert proportion to percentage3. Total .er Ca$ita #ail! Use from Calculator: 99999991"".""9999999999999 )allons #ri$s $er /inute 8 16 18 "6 ;6 #ail! Waste ()al) 6.52 1.33 2.1; 3."2 <.;3 :e( Total #ail! Water Use ()al) 1"3.68 1"3.55 1"8.34 1"5.;8 131.45 .ercenta)e of Total #ue to %ea& 6.668" 6.616; 6.6184 6.6"1" 6.6;6<

Compare the percentages of water use due to the leak to the percentages for the other categories 1Bathroom, !oilets, =aucets, etc.3 from your initial run of the water calculator. =or each drip rate, list the category with the closest percentage.

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#a siguiente tabla muestra el consumo por dFa de las fugas por gotas y de las primeras categorFas del consumo de agua con los valores mGs cercanos para lograr observar las diferencias y compararlos entre sF. Categoria -, gotas por minuto Baths 7, gotas por minuto ;and %ashing <ishes #awn %atering Ether Eutdoor 'ses Consumo en galones"dia 3."2 ? <.;3 ), ), ), /orcenta9e 6.6"1" ,.,-A 6.6;6< ,.,A? ,.,A? ,.,A?

<oes seeing the potential losses in leaks cause you to check your home for leaking pipes and toilets4 :>plain why or why not.

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