Water Conservation Facts

Less than 2% of the Earth’s water supply is fresh water.
Of all the earth's water, 97% is salt water found in oceans and seas.
Only 1% of the earth's water is available for drinking water. Two percent is frozen.
The human body is about 75% water.
A person can survive about a month without food, but only 5 to 7 days without water.
Every day in the United States, we drink about 110 million gallons of water.
Landscaping accounts for about half the water Californians use at home. Showers account for another 18 percent, while toilets use about 20 percent.
Showering and bathing are the largest indoor uses (27%) of water domestically.
The average American uses 140-170 gallons of water per day.
If every household in America had a faucet that dripped once each second, 928 million gallons of water a day would leak away.
There are 7.48 gallons in a cubic foot of water. Therefore, 2000 cubic feet of water is 14,960 gallons.
An acre foot of water is about 326,000 gallons. One-half acre foot is enough to meet the needs of a typical family for a year. There are 7.48 gallons in a cubic foot of water.
It takes 3.3 acre feet of water to grow enough food for an average family for a year.
A leaky faucet can waste 100 gallons a day.
One flush of the toilet uses 3 ½ gallons of water (on average).
An average bath requires 37 gallons of water.
An average family of four uses 881 gallons of water per week just by flushing the toilet.
The average 5-minute shower takes 15-25 gallons of water--around 40 gallons are used in 10 minutes.
You use about 5 gallons of water if you leave the water running while brushing your teeth.
If you water your grass and trees more heavily, but less often, this saves water and builds stronger roots.
An automatic dishwasher uses 9 to 12 gallons of water while hand washing dishes can use up to 20 gallons.
Public water suppliers process 38 billion gallons of water per day for domestic and public use.
Approximately 1 million miles of pipelines and aqueducts carry water in the U.S. & Canada. That's enough pipe to circle the earth 40 times.
About 800,000 water wells are drilled each year in the United States for domestic, farming, commercial, and water testing purposes.
More than 13 million households get their water from their own private wells and are responsible for treating and pumping the water themselves.
Industries released 197 million pounds of toxic chemicals into waterways in 1990.
You can refill an 8-oz glass of water approximately 15,000 times for the same cost as a six-pack of soda pop.
A dairy cow must drink four gallons of water to produce one gallon of milk.
300 million gallons of water are needed to produce a single day's supply of U.S. newsprint.
One inch of rainfall drops 7,000 gallons or nearly 30 tons of water on a 60' by 180' piece of land.
A gallon of gasoline takes nearly 13 gallons of water to produce. Combine your errands, car pool to work, or take public transportation to reduce both your energy and water use.
Flying from Los Angeles to San Francisco, about 700 miles round-trip, could cost you more than 9,000 gallons of water, or enough for almost 2,000 average dishwasher loads.
A cross-country airplane trip (about 6,000 miles) could be worth more than 1,700 standard toilet flushes.
According to recent reports, nearly 5% of all U.S. water withdrawals are used to fuel industry and the production of many of the material goods we stock up on weekly, monthly, and yearly.
It takes about 100 gallons of water to grow and process a single pound of cotton, and the average American goes through about 35 pounds of new cotton material each year.

Visit our water conservation FAQ page to find useful ways to save water in your home, business and yard, and creative and fun ways to teach water conservation to your kids.

Want to find out what more you can do to help?

Arroyo Grande Residents call (805) 473-5447
Pismo Beach Residents call (805) 773-4656

Or contact us here.