5 Amazing Things You Never Knew About Water
We all know that water is a precious resource and most of us take care not to waste it, but there are some amazing facts about water that can help you conserve even more in your day-to-day life! Here are 5 amazing things you never knew about water!
1. Water conservation isn't just about water. When we talk about saving water, we're not just talking about the wet stuff itself. Water conservation is about domestic water (the stuff you use at home) and virtual water, which is the water that we don't see - this refers to the water that is inherent in products we buy and use.
2. Domestic Water. The water we use at home for cleaning, cooking, and washing is called our domestic consumption. In Calgary, our average water consumption each day (per capita) was 387 litres in 2017.
That's much higher than the 223 average for Canadians in 2013. Overall, both of these averages are very high on the global scale.
3. You can cut down on your domestic water with choices made at home. One of the biggest losses of domestic water is from leaking plumbing - toilets and faucets mostly. Take a look at this guide to finding leaks in your home. Another big draw of that domestic water consumption goes towards watering your lawn in the summer. Keep your water use down by using a rain barrel for your water needs, water at the right times of day, and avoid watering when it's going to rain. You can find these tips and more with The City of Calgary's YardSmart program.
4. Virtual Water. While domestic water is easy to see - when you take a shower or get a drink, you see the water you're using - virtual water is in many of the products we use day-to-day. It's hidden, but the average amount we consume of virtual water is a whopping 3663 litres per day each! The biggest chunk of that water use is for food - 3496 litres. Obviously, we need water to grow plants, but we also need plants to feed livestock, leading to a double whammy of water use. For the other 167 litres, that is for industrial uses. Clothes are an obvious one, since natural fibres need water to grow, and so is paper, but many industrial processes use water, too. So, our products that use the wet stuff in their manufacture bear a hidden cost in water.
5. It can be hard to cut down virtual water, but there are a few things you can do! Industrial production costs are hard to avoid, but a great start is to reuse products. When you buy from a thrift store, for example, you're not paying for a new product with all of its hidden costs. You can also make more informed decisions about your products by researching big water consumers and looking for lower cost options (linen over cotton, for example). By far the biggest one, though, is to eat less meat. Since it's a double cost in water, cutting down your meat consumption by a single day during a week is a huge reduction in water costs. You can learn more about virtual water from The Water We Eat.
So, what are some #GreenGoals you can try at home?
1. Water conservation isn't just about water. When we talk about saving water, we're not just talking about the wet stuff itself. Water conservation is about domestic water (the stuff you use at home) and virtual water, which is the water that we don't see - this refers to the water that is inherent in products we buy and use.
2. Domestic Water. The water we use at home for cleaning, cooking, and washing is called our domestic consumption. In Calgary, our average water consumption each day (per capita) was 387 litres in 2017.
That's much higher than the 223 average for Canadians in 2013. Overall, both of these averages are very high on the global scale.
3. You can cut down on your domestic water with choices made at home. One of the biggest losses of domestic water is from leaking plumbing - toilets and faucets mostly. Take a look at this guide to finding leaks in your home. Another big draw of that domestic water consumption goes towards watering your lawn in the summer. Keep your water use down by using a rain barrel for your water needs, water at the right times of day, and avoid watering when it's going to rain. You can find these tips and more with The City of Calgary's YardSmart program.
4. Virtual Water. While domestic water is easy to see - when you take a shower or get a drink, you see the water you're using - virtual water is in many of the products we use day-to-day. It's hidden, but the average amount we consume of virtual water is a whopping 3663 litres per day each! The biggest chunk of that water use is for food - 3496 litres. Obviously, we need water to grow plants, but we also need plants to feed livestock, leading to a double whammy of water use. For the other 167 litres, that is for industrial uses. Clothes are an obvious one, since natural fibres need water to grow, and so is paper, but many industrial processes use water, too. So, our products that use the wet stuff in their manufacture bear a hidden cost in water.
5. It can be hard to cut down virtual water, but there are a few things you can do! Industrial production costs are hard to avoid, but a great start is to reuse products. When you buy from a thrift store, for example, you're not paying for a new product with all of its hidden costs. You can also make more informed decisions about your products by researching big water consumers and looking for lower cost options (linen over cotton, for example). By far the biggest one, though, is to eat less meat. Since it's a double cost in water, cutting down your meat consumption by a single day during a week is a huge reduction in water costs. You can learn more about virtual water from The Water We Eat.
So, what are some #GreenGoals you can try at home?
- Skip meat in your meals for a single day per week - check out our #meatlessmonday posts for recipe ideas
- Get a rain barrel to water your garden and lawn
- Check for leaks in your toilets and faucets
- Reuse your products or buy previously used products
- Come to our Water 101 event March 23rd! Tickets are by donation.
If you try any of these out, let us know how it goes! You can reach us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Correction (04/03/2019):
'In Calgary, our average water consumption each day (per capita) was 387 litres in 2017.' This number should be 378, not 387, and is a gross Litre per Capita Day (L/c/d) number for all City of Calgary water customers, not only domestic.
'That's much higher than the 223 average for Canadians in 2013' This value is for domestic only, not gross L/c/d. Calgary’s domestic L/c/d in 2018 was 208 (reported directly from The City). Unfortunately, we weren't able to find more recent domestic L/c/d numbers from Canada by the time of this correction.
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