05091 Water Inventory

How much water?

Measure your water consumption during any convenient interval which in most cases is a month, since water systems bill on a monthly basis and this is the smallest unit for which total consumption figures are available.

If you live in a situation where you get a water bill, this will be easy. Look at your water bills and get some historic info and plug the numbers into the spreadsheet. If you live in a dormitory, or an apartment building where the landlord pays the bill, it becomes more complicated.

You could try to get someone to tell you what the monthly consumption for the building is. You could divide that number by the number of residents for a rough average. Or you could measure your water use by timing your showers, counting the flushes, doing something to measure other water uses (drinking, cooking, hand and dish washing, etc.) but that is likely to be rather tedious.

As with all resource use, our goal over time is to reduce our resource footprint. The purpose of this inventory is to develop your base line. Do the best you can, with the information you have available. If you err, err on the side of “more” rather than “less,” since the systems have lots of inefficiencies built into them.

Where does your water come from?

Next, you need to know something about where your water comes from.

What is the watershed for your area?

How is the water delivered to you? The answer to this question will typically be a water service of some sort, either private or publicly operated, unless you are on a private well.

Since we need to understand our ecosystem in its totality, where does your local water service get its water within your watershed? Does it bring water in from other watershed areas?

What challenges are present in your area for water? Has your area overshot its water resources? Is it over-pumping wells, draining lakes, importing water, desalinating sea water?

If your water utility imports water, where does your water system get its water? Are you downhill from those water resources?

What are the major water uses of your area? Do industries consume large amounts of water? If so, list them and their estimated annual consumption.

Where does your waste water end up? Where are the discharges from your city’s sewer systems? What are you sending downstream?

What water comes your way from upstream sources? How many sewer systems discharge into the upstream area of your water shed?

Your personal water behavior.

Do you buy bottled water and drink it? If so, how much bottled water do you buy and drink every month? What does that cost you over a year’s time? What do you do with the bottles after you drink the bought water? Are you a member of organizations that serve bottled water at events? How much does your organization spend on bottled water?

What noxious substances do you dump down your drains? Motor oil? Harsh household cleaning chemicals? List them and their ingredients.

Do you always flush urine?

Do you flush non-biodegradable solids down the toilet like condoms or cigarette butts?

Do you let the water run while you brush your teeth, clean your contacts, and/or shave? How long does it take for you to do these tasks? How much water runs down the drain while you do these tasks? Measure the water flow of your sink faucet.

Do you wash your vehicle away from a commercial car wash and let the water drain into the storm sewers?

Do you use toxic chemical non-organic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides on your landscape? What about the landscapes of your place of work, your place of worship, your school, the places you shop, your city’s public parks?

Do you harvest any rainwater? Are there any rain water harvesting strategies used at the place you live?

What other bad water habits do you have?

What good water habits do you have?