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We have carbon footprint calculators galore. But thankfully, we're all becoming increasingly aware of how our water consumption habits impact future supplies. We're quickly learning that our water footprint is a very important thing to know so that we can actively work to reduce it.
What's a water footprint?
A water footprint is the total of how much water we consume. It's more than just what you use brushing your teeth, washing dishes, or flushing the toilet. Water is embedded everywhere in our lives, including all the goods we consume and the services we use. It's called embodied water. What do we mean by embodied water? Well, it takes a lot of water to dye the cotton your t-shirt is made of, and far more water than that to raise the cotton in the first place. That means your t-shirt has a certain amount of water embedded in it by virtue of its creation, and that is part of your water footprint. The food we eat all has embedded water as well, and what we eat changes the size of our footprints. For instance, it takes far more water to raise that 12 ounce steak on one side of your place than it does to raise the steamed broccoli on the other side of your plate.
Adding up not only our more obvious water consumption like showering or watering lawns, but also the water consumption we don't see, from that used for everything from packaging to the products we use during our daily morning routine, will give us our total water footprint. But exactly how big is an average water footprint?
Average water footprints vary greatly not only among people living in the same city but across the globe. According to WaterFootprint.org, The average person in China has a footprint of about 700 cubit meters per year, whereas an average person in Japan has a footprint of about 1150 cubic meters per year. Yet towering above that is the average American, with a water footprint of 2500 cubic meters per year. So you can see, we have room to cut way down.
How can I calculate my own water footprint?
There's a handy calculator from H2O Conserve that can give you a gist. It isn't precise, but can give you a starting point. The calculator asks things like what state you live in, household water habits and the types of faucets you have, and the types of appliances you have like dishwashers and washing machines. It totals up your footprint, then gives you recommendations on where you'd be able to cut down on water consumption.
The footprint calculator from WaterFootprint.org gives you an idea of your water use, as does GoBlue.org.
So what can I really do to shrink my water footprint?
But unfortunately, there isn't a great tool to calculate exactly what our water footprint is. The information is far to detailed and variable, taking in household water use, the different products we buy, the clothes we wear, the food we consume and so on. So, we have to cut back wherever we can in ways we know reduces total water consumption. That's doing things like learning about the water footprint of food and switching the steak you planned on having for dinner to chicken, or removing meat altogether and going vegetarian. Or going with the product that has the least amount of packaging, since it takes a lot of water to both make packaging, and to recycle it.
Studying up on water issues, increasing your water IQ, and minimizing everywhere we can will help us avoid what is a quickly approaching water crisis.
More on water issues:
Survey: Should Food Labelling Show Water Footprint?
We Use How Much Water? Scary Water Footprints, Country by Country
Carbon Footprint of Tap Water
Got a tip or a post idea for us to write about on Planet Green? Email pgtips (at) treehugger (dot) com.
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