Super Eco

Several months ago I read a short article about water consumption, and in it a woman in Mali was profiled. She had two or three gallons of water to use a day, water she had to fetch herself from a faraway well. I remember thinking that I could easily survive on that amount of water; after all, how much water can one person drink?

Then I thought about my handy Western appliances and the water they use. Like flush toilets. And I quickly determined that two or three gallons was but a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of water I was likely using. But “a lot” is not very specific. What I wanted to know is how much water I really use.

Today I ran across this water consumption calculator. It helps you determine your household’s water usage, both as an entire household and per person, based on a surprising number of factors. For instance, while I knew that toilet types, appliances, and bathroom-sink habits affect water consumption, I hadn’t considered either my diet (a vegetarian or vegan diet needs less water than a typical meat-eating diet does) or my driving habits as a factor.

It turns out that my present lifestyle, based on national averages, consumes an astounding 600 gallons a day.  A day? And this is considered low usage compared to the average U.S. resident, even though I don’t have low-flow showerheads or faucets, I wash dishes frequently in a dishwasher, I don’t have composting toilets, and frankly I have a hard time with the whole “let it mellow” concept.

Two gallons of water a day seems like a very different world indeed.