What's Your Water Footprint?

Ever since we can remember, we were taught to be conscientious about water use – turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth, be mindful about watering lawns, etc. Lately, the scope of water conservation has expanded as local, national, and international conversations about water are turning toward food choices. The concept of our water footprint is something we are starting to look at more deeply, thanks to several articles and a handy online calculator...

The Water Footprint Network defines the concept as "the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business." This includes everything from drinking and washing to the water used to produce our food, paper, and clothing.

When it comes to food, it takes, for example, about 18 gallons of water to produce one apple, 53 gallons for one egg, and 2,050 gallons for a pound of beef. Thinking about this can be overwhelming and, of course, we should remember that water is just one aspect among many when considering the links between our diet, the environment, and other factors that might be important to us. But we are committed to learning more.

Personally, I am starting to eat less of certain foods and am especially mindful and grateful when I do eat big water guzzlers. I am also excited to support practitioners of dry farming. In the kitchen, I am using less water for boiling and trying to cook with fewer dishes and utensils so there is less washing up required (for some reason, this is a really difficult one for me, but I am trying!).

Is your water footprint something you consider? Do you have any tips or thoughts?

Further reading:
• Water Footprint Product Gallery and Calculator, from Water Footprint Network
• What's Your Water Footprint?, from Mother Jones
• From Lettuce to Beef, What's the Water Footprint of Your Food?, from Treehugger
• Food products should carry 'water footprint' information, says report, from The Guardian
• The Best Dirt on Dry Farming: Conserving Water (and Making Great Wine), from Greenopia

(Image: Water Footprint Network)

Comments (6)

this is definitely sound woefully ignornant, but what's the big deal, water is a consistant resource? Could someone explain this to me please. (i'm not trying to anti-enviroment, i really don't get it)

I have a well and no inhibition about watering my garden copiously. I don't like hauling hoses around so i let the grass go brown in the summer but i keep the plants in the beds deeply watered. The quality of my garden and productivity is directly dependent on the water so i keep the soil very moist. I count on the well for all outside watering. Inside, I wash dishes by hand, flush the toilet only when beyond tolerance, fill the tub with only 3min of water and conserve when possible. We do not have a regional water shortage in Oregon, but I feel it's the responsible thing to do...conserve resources.

ok so i use 991 cubic m per year but what does that mean? how do I compare to median / average user? anyone have an idea?

"what's the big deal, water is a consistant resource? Could someone explain this to me please."

It is and it isn't a "consistant resource" depending on where you are. A lot of the big industrial farms irrigate their farms by diverting water from rivers, for one.

And in areas like the southwest USA, they also pump water from the Colorado river to supply all the water for people in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and a lot of other major cities -- because they don't have any other source of water. But so much water is taken from the Colorado river that it dries up before it reaches the ocean. The Colorado River used to run all the way to the ocean, but so many people are pulling water out -- using it for their own drinking water, washing dishes, taking showers, etc. -- and so many business are using it -- farms, the fountains in Las Vegas, keeping city parks watered, etc. -- that the river now dries up several mkles before it reaches the sea.

So water is a resource, but like everything else, it is a finite resource.

"what's the big deal, water is a consistant resource? Could someone explain this to me please."

Here on Long Island we get all of our water from underground aquifers. Since we tend to take more water out than gets replenished through rainfall, salt water has started encroaching into some of our aquifers and the water company has to dig deeper to reach fresh water. Yet for some reason there isn't any strong water conservation campaign going on.

i just got back from my parent's place in the Caribbean, where the water that we have is rain water. it makes a huge difference in how much water you use when you know if you run out, you'll have to pay $500 to have a truck from two islands over come over on a barge and pump it into your sistern. they have a graywater system and we always think about water when we wash clothes, dishes, ourselves. it's funny how that kind of attention slips away when you're back stateside and have plentiful water. i kind of doubt that any big changes will be made until it hurts people in the pocketbook, regardless of which resource they're using, but in the meantime, i try and pretend i'm in the Caribbean sometimes and find that the guilt really helps me cut down on how long i run the faucet when i cook, wash, brush teeth, etc.!