Water footprint
The water footprint is a measure of humanity’s appropriation of fresh water in volumes of water consumed and/or polluted.
What's your water footprint? This calculator helps you estimate your total water use.
How much water do we use each day? Each week? Each year? As an individual, as a community? School? Country?
31 Replies
Good morning. Good Afternoon. Good Evening. Whatever you want to call the time of day you're in.
Just a little introduction. Hey, my name is Priscilla Pigao and I'm from the Philippines. I study in St. Theresa's College, Quezon City. I'm a student of the Advanced Environmental Elective Class. Actually, I was even an student of the previous Environmental Elective Class as well. People would ask me about the reason why I still chose to stay in this kind of Elective Class. Well, I think the reason is that I put a lot of importance to our environment.
Mr. Reyes, my previous Environmental Elective Class Teacher, asked me why I stayed. I suddenly said a lot of things about influence and leaving a legacy. When I first stepped in the High School Department of my school, I encountered a lot of projects, which was anchored to the development and love of the environment. Somehow even if my school had a lot of projects anchored to the environment, I felt that it was lacking. So, when I became part of the Environmental Elective Class I became even more inspired to do something for the environment. So, in order for me to do that, I envisioned myself leaving some sort of legacy or message here at school for the students from the lower batch. So, here I am. :D
Last year, we actually calculated for our Carbon Footprint. This year, we're calculating our Water Footprint. So, basically, you just click on the this link: http://www.watercalculator.org/ and you're asked questions about your consumption on different items. Then, there you have it! You'll be given an estimate of how much your Water Footprint is. The thing is, at first, I was pretty proud that my Water Footprint is low, but then all of a sudden, my Water Footprint raised so high when I placed that I was meat-eater. I honestly didn't know that eating meat can really be that of a big impact on my Water Footprint.
So, even though I recycle all my paper, all my plastic, and all my clothes, the thing is, eating meat is also a very large part of it all. So, I can conclude that eating meat can really affect my Water Footprint, especially when there are six people in my house. I'm pretty sad, It was really high. I have an estimate of 1,815.00 gallons of water a day as my consumption. Although it is lower compared to my other classmates, it is still evidently high.
I'll do my best to conserve even more. Eating less meat will also be good for me, especially since I want to lessen also on my weight.
Thank you! :D
1,792 gallons/day 12,544 gallons/week, 65,080 gallons/year. I think what greatly affects my virtual water consumption based on my recycling, shopping and electricity habits. Even though my water footprint consumption is below average, I still believe that I could lessen my water consumption by being more aware and conscious of my daily water consumption.
These days, what has been normal for a Roxanne Maglaya is what has been normal for others as well. I wake up, I eat my breakfast, go to school, study, eat, sleep, study again, eat again, go home and eat and then study again and then sleep. Each day, everyday, the cycle continues. Nothing new. BUT THEN, what may seem as a normal day for me would hold the greatest impact on the environment entirely; That such an everyday routine contributes gravely to the condition of water in our time today.
What am I doing, consuming, more or less, 2 382 Gallons/Day? I call myself an advocate of the environment but I, myself, am the one who is wasting water with the baths I take, with the food I eat, the habits that I unconsciously and thoughtlessly do everyday.
Don't even get me started on my household's water consumption. 18 949 Gallons/Day is a great amount as compared to the US Average which is 2 220 Gallons/Day. I would justify our consumption with reasons like we love meat or we are seven in the house who all give their laundry on an every-other-day basis or we have cars to clean or dishes to wash for almost 3 meals a day, etc... But at this point, no excuse will ever match the gravity of our water situation.
Really, accepting the reality this water footprint test presented is not the end of this journey.
With this new found realization, change is coming.
In our home, we monthly consume an average of 10 cubic meter (P115.88).
Our water consumption is basically low because first of all, we're only 3 in our household and we barely have any visitors that will increase our water consumption. My parents are also at work until night and I'm in school the whole day as well so naturally, there is no water consumption happening throughout the day. In addition, our water consumption is low because we really try hard to conserve by re-using gray water as water for flushing the toilet and for cleaning our garage because of dog wastes. Moreover, our family is really disciplined to always turn off the faucet and make sure that there are no leaks in the pipes so that we wouldn't suffer financially and also to help in ensuring that no wastage will happen.
1,990 Gallons/Day
Household: 18,518 Gallons/Day
I think the reason of my high water footprint results are because of the amount of water consumption from washing dishes, washing clothes, watering the plants and taking a bath. I believe that these factors affects our water bill and the amount of cubic meters that we consume every month.
I consume 2,079 gallons/day. On the other hand, for our household of four members, our water footprint is 9,175 gallons/day.
Knowing my water footprint was a significant experience for it was my first time to do such as an activity. I find it very meaningful and timely because of the widespread water crisis experienced by numerous people. We are all aware of the importance of water; it being a need of all human beings. However, the issue on water scarcity and contamination is prevalent especially in the Philippines and other countries as well. In my opinion, I find it selfish to waste water while others lack this need. The water wasted can be used by other members of the society if only we were mindful of our actions. Furthermore, this activity serves as a reminder on how I can limit my water consumption by being more aware and conscious of the ways I use it. Even though the value was below average, I believe that I can take action in order to wisely use the water we have today. There is still room for change and improvement. Moreover, shopping and washing the dishes are primarily the reason for such a value. In my opinion, I can decrease my water consumption by having a change of lifestyle and a conscious effort to monitor my water usage. With every drop of water saved, there is great hope for all to have access to water even the future generation.
My water footprint for each day is 1,590 gallons, for a week it's 11,130 gallons and for an entire year it's 580,350 gallons. Even though my water footprint is below average, I still find it quite high. I think what greatly affected my water footprint value is how we tend to do household chores like laundry and dish washing - we usually have a lot to wash. With this knowledge I think I am now more aware of the effects of my water consumption. This just gives me more opportunities to be able to lower my water consumption all the while, live a good, healthy and happy life. As a steward of God's creation, I believe that it is my duty to do what I can to help our environment therefore I shall strive to do what is asked of me.
My water footprint is 2,587 gallons per day.
Household: 25,857 gallons per day.
Water is an essential resource which we humans, along with our living environment, hugely depend on. From keeping our bodies hydrated daily, to using it for our everyday tasks - clearly, water plays a crucial role in our survival as humans. However, do we know exactly how much water we use, or maybe even waste, each passing day? Thus, the concept of our water footprint comes into the picture. Our water footprint is, as defined, the measure of our appropriation of fresh water in volumes which may be either consumed or polluted. Since this gives us a brief summary or rundown of our overall water consumption, which leads in bringing about awareness in each one of us. Now, how can our awareness lead us in taking action? Simple - by using our newfound knowledge and information regarding our own daily consumption in determining the faults in our habits, and changing these actions. Our own changes may be small, but little does go a long way in saving our water - and our planet. Through reducing, reusing and recycling our water, we are able to make an impact in our own little ways which contribute to a larger plan of ensuring our planet’s preservation.
Everyday, water is constantly being consumed by each person in our planet. Specifically, each person has their own reasons for their consumption. The water footprint of each one is usually dependent on their lifestyles and daily habits (i.e. throwaway culture, environmentalist, etc.). Some days or months may have an average higher water consumption than the others, due to reasons like holidays or just to simply beat the sultry weather. As a community, water may be consumed to clean areas within the community, drinking, leisure, industrial and more purposes. As a school, we use water to provide sanitation and hygiene in our washrooms in washing, watering our plants, drinking or hydrating and others. As a whole country, water is constantly being used all over the nation - from industrial purposes, agricultural purposes, financial purposes, as a basic necessity (i.e. hydration, taking baths, etc.), leisure, and more.
I believe there is still a lot of work to do regarding our own water footprints, and I may initiate the change myself through small acts like reducing my habitual water consumption. The earth has done more than enough for us, why not give back?
Water is very essential in our lives, without it we wouldn't be able to survive.In our home we consume about 32 cubic meters monthly, now this amount is very high comparing it to my other classmates. Based on my Water Footprint results, I can say that my family and I consume a lot of water. I think one of the reasons why we have high consumption is because of the excessive time we use for taking baths and washing dishes. I also discovered that being a meat eater has a great effect in our water consumption. With the water footprint calculator I became more conscious and aware of what I should do to lessen my water consumption and for me to be able to help the environment.
"Thanks for using the Water Footprint Calculator! It turns out you’re using 1,218 gallons per day, given your current habits." 8,526 gallons per week and 444,570 gallons per year. As an individual, I should be aware of how much water I consume each day and know that I need to lessen the use of water. As a community and country, we should be aware that too much consumption of water is bad because we know that freshwater is only 2% of the total water in earth that can be consumable so we need to save it for us to have a future. What greatly affects the water footprint results are the number of people who consume water inside the house, the technology that we use, and the lifestyle of each individual.
My water footprint is 2,549 gallons per day.
Household: 13, 201 Gallons per day
Water is the most important element in our life. It is used everyday by different people and communities. In our home, we have 5 persons including me. We eat breakfast and dinner since all of us are out for school or work. I think that my water footprint is high because of the meal that we eat everyday - meat. Also, we wash our clothes with washing machine that includes the school uniform and other clothes used each week. I was greatly affected by my results because I think that I don't consume water that much but with the results, I am really not aware by my actions toward the environment.
Water breeds life into our everyday activities from the moment we wake up until the time we go to sleep and beyond. We definitely cannot go by one day without consuming water. It is expected, albeit surprising, that the average water consumption of a person is 2,220 gallons per day. In order to realize in particular how much water an entire household uses in one day, the water footprint is a great way to become aware. In my family, we take up 25 cu. m. of water per month which amounts to Php 660.02. The greatest contributor of the water footprint in my household is diet where in it takes up 1,534 gallons per day. This is followed by shopping habits with 291 gallons per day and bathroom sink with 99 gallons per day. Each week that adds up to 14,525 per person and 88,277 gallons for the entire household. Imagine its magnitude for an entire year. This highlights how important it is to practice proper water consumption in our everyday lives in order to save water.
Water is one of the most important necessity in our lives due to the fact that it suffices our everyday needs such as keeping us dehydrated and all that. According to the Water Footprint Calculator, we've been using 2,599 gallons of water per day. It turns out that my family and I consumes water too much compared to the average amount of water consumption. Through these results, I can say that we are not aware that we are consuming too much water.
In our household, we consume a total amount of 37 cubic meter of water each month. We consume this amount of water each month mainly because we are 11 in our home.Based on my water footprint I consume 1640 gallons per day and in our household we consume 33, 350 gallons per day.We consume a great amount of water especially when it comes to our bathroom, kitchen and laundry use since there are 11 of us in our house so there would be tons of utensils to clean, clothes to wash and 11 of us to take a shower and etc.
We consume 15 cu.m. on average per month since we are only a small family.
Based on the water calculator that I answered a while ago, what greatly affected our water footprint was the food we ate. I saw the rise of the water as I clicked on the "meat" option under a particular question. I was shocked to know that eating meat greatly required water. Everything we do entails the use of water that's why it's important to be aware and to be conscious of the water footprint that reflects our way of life. With this new knowledge gained, I hope that everyone who got the chance to know their corresponding water footprints will eventually and gradually change their habits.
Your Results
Household: 14,573 Gallons/Day
Thanks for using the Water Footprint Calculator! It turns out you’re using 1,266 gallons per day, given your current habits. In three months, we'll remind you to take the calculator again at WaterCalculator.org to see if you’ve managed to shrink your water footprint. To give you a head start, here are over a hundred water saving tips.
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See you in three months!
The Water Footprint Calculator Team
Reading this text from the Water Footprint site reminded me of my responsibility as a steward of nature. Despite the fact that my household was able to obtain a lower than average amount of water consumption as compared to the citizens of the US, I am still aware of the times that I remain indifferent to the consequences that my actions and decisions incur. Nevertheless, I am happy that we were able to abide to most of the choices that lessened the amount of water wasted due to certain actions in everyday living.
By ensuring that our family, relatives and even some neighbors eat veggies and fish during alternating days, use public transportation, walk nearby distances, use rain barrels and grey water for household activities, utilize appliances that are energy efficient, recycle most of our non-biodegradable wastes, and fix varied household utilities so that more water might be saved we were able to maximize the water that we've paid for. As an individual, I must become aware and critical in making decisions so that our household may become an example to our community. Moreover, by having a local government unit that prioritizes the welfare of our environment, more water might be saved and financial losses would decline.
This goes to show that saving water, and eventually all natural resources, is a global effort. As students, we can make a difference by participating in the school's environmental advocacies and following the eco-friendly tips posted in certain areas around the school. This site is also one of the primary influences in initiating change in perspectives which could lead to positive action later on. Change could only begin with a willing decision from an individual who recognizes her abilities as well as the capabilities of others whilst encouraging them to look at a whole new perspective and take the risks in order to make a significant difference. Hence, let us all join hands and fulfill our duties as responsible stewards and concerned individuals who want the future generation to experience the loving care of nature.
Your water footprint:
2,131 Gallons/Day
Household: 13,736 Gallons/Day
I did not expect that I am consuming this amount of number of gallons per day and because of this water footprint calculator I became aware of the different factors that contributed to the gallons I am consuming per day.
The biggest factor that caused my big consumption of water is the "virtual water". The highest virtual water that I am consuming is my diet since my family is a meat eater and only 2 of the members eat veggies that's why this has a big impact when it comes in consuming water. My least virtual water consumption according to the data is plastic and it is accurate since my mother is really strict when it comes to plastic.
With this I will try my very best to lessen my consumption of water since now I know the different factors that contributes to my consumption of large amount of gallons per day.
1,244 Gallons/Day
Household: 32,211 Gallons/Day
I think that the factors that affect my water footprint is that I water the plants when I get home every other day and washing the dishes. Although our household consumes a lot of water since we are 13 in the house and each one of us has their own lifestyle like taking baths ever other day or taking 2-3 baths a day and the amount of time consumed differs who the person is taking the shower. Through these results, it made me more aware of how much water I consume which led me to think of ways how to conserve such resource through cutting down the amount of water I use in a day to day basis. With this, I can be a contributor in preserving one of the most abundant resources we have which is water.
1,902 Gallons/day
We consume 98 cu m. on average since we are many in the family.
Since we are many in the family, It is hard to not use the water from time to time, we use many clothes so when it is already laundry day our helper wash our clothes simultaneously. And we eat altogether so the dishes are many.
Individual water footprint: 2, 148 gallons/day
Household water footprint: 8, 907 gallons/day
We use water impetuously in each passing day without ever taking time to evaluate just how many gallons of water we consume each day. Water footprints are not as popular carbon footprints yet they are equally as important as water is one of the most important resources in our planet. Thus, given the opportunity to discover my water footprint as well as that of my household's, I was really interested in knowing my water footprint as I knew that this discovery would be greatly enlightening and eye-opening.
Upon seeing my water footprint, I was greatly surprised to find out that I consume such a high amount of water on a day to day basis. As I utilise water everyday, I feel as if I only use a small amount of water when in reality, I'm actually essentially wasting thousands of gallons of water due to my reckless consumption of water. Honestly speaking, I've never been greatly cautious of the amount of water I consume on a daily basis which is why it came as a shock to me that being a "meat eater" was actually the one that caused my water footprint to skyrocket. I can, with utmost honesty, say that I spend very minimal time in the shower and that I never leave the faucet open for long periods of time and that it is primarily being a meat eater that caused my water footprint to leap from mere hundreds of gallons to thousands of gallons of water. As a household, doing laundry everyday and having tons of loads of dishes washed on a daily basis could have played a huge part in raising our household's water footprint. It also doesn't help that we use separate cars on a daily basis in order to get to and from school or work.
Overall, discovering my water footprint, together with that of our household's, was truly an eye-opening experience that also served as a reminder that I must do something in order to be able to consume water more sustainably. Only less than 3% of the Earth's water is readily available for consumption by humans and given that we are now currently 7 billion people in our planet, we have to take certain measures in order to be able to distribute water among us equally without inflicting any harm on our common home. It surely is a great challenge, but it is a challenge we have to step up to.
In our household, we consume 43 cu. m. on average per month since we are somehow a big family. The total number of members in our house is 8. It composes 5 family members and 3 helpers. In this instance we greatly consume water specially on taking a bath, washing the laundry, dishes and cars. These factors affects the amount of water consumption in our home. According to my water footprint 2,802 gallons/day. Through this results i realized that we should really lessen the consumption of water to help conserve water resources specially during this time. Through this water footprint calculator I saw the gallons of water i use everyday may it be through actual and real one, and because of this i realized that yes water is essential but we should not take it for granted because we might not now that the resources of it is slowly disappearing. We should know its importance and limit.
"The water footprint is a measure of humanity’s appropriation of fresh water in volumes of water consumed and/or polluted."
MY WATER FOOTPRINT: 2288 Gallons/Day
HOUSEHOLD: 18,581 Gallons/Day
So what is my water footprint? It pains my heart to say this, but my water footprint as of October 3, 2016, is 2,228 Gallons/Day. Given that the US Average water footprint is 2,220 Gallons/Day, I can honestly say that my household is wasting a lot of water. We are not doing a good job in decreasing our water consumption. My household wastes water everyday by washing a huge load of dishes on a daily basis, by washing a large batch of clothes everyday, by wasting gasoline through unnecessary expeditions every weekend, by relying on meat as a staple food source everyday (because we really can't live without meat), and by ignorantly disregarding the effects of grave water consumption. With a heavy heart, I'm deeply sorry for the way my household behaves and the way we waste water.
Personally, I try my best as much as possible to conserve water at home. However, my household has quite an indifferent attitude towards conserving water and ultimately saving Mother Earth.
We try shall work towards a better sustainable future, with better effort this time now that I am aware of my water footprint. In time, I hope my household, along with the other many households in my country, can achieve this.
I am but one of the many households in the Philippines that are wasting water everyday. I believe we must change our ways. Soon. Let us save the Earth.
In the words of our Pope, "The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life. This is why the earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor; she “groans in travail” (Rom 8:22). We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters. (1-2)"
Water we doing? It's time for change.
-Danielle Rosales (St. Theresa's College, Q.C.)
water footprint: 2,163 gallons/day
household: 17, 869 gallons/day
the availability of water that can be consumed by humans has always been somewhat uncertain for some because of their lack of information about it. It has been an essential part of our lives because we human beings use this in our everyday routine and through the water footprint test, it would serve as whether or now we are responsible human beings in terms of conserving water and with this, it would serve as our guide on how we can minimize the use of water. Our billing statement says that we consumed about 51 cu/m in that said month and it costed us around P2000 - this is a reasonable amount for me considering the fact that we are 8 in our household and the only time we consume loads of water is when we do laundry and clean the place of our dogs. I, as an individual, try to conserve water as much as possible because i can honestly say that i am aware of the issues and concerns regarding supply of water here on earth in today's time; the amount of time i shower is raging from 5-10 minutes and i when i brush and wash the dishes, i don't leave the faucet on for too long. my father takes his car to and from work while my mother commutes to and from work, same goes for me commuting to and from school. in addition to it, i was greatly surprised by how being a meat-eater would actually increase and affect my consumption of water. also, it would have been more helpful if we used rainwater collector system for watering our plants everyday. in sum, this water footprint test actually helped me realize how much my family and i consume water everyday and i hope that in the near future, we would lessen the use of water and instead be ideal by recycling, reusing, and minimize the consumption of it.
Environmental Education Class has been a part of different means by which it helps us see the problems that arise in our surrounding. One of which is the concerning water. Water is a well known resource and having said this every part of Creation needs to consume water. But despite this the Earth which is also known as the "blue planet" due to it being mainly covered by water is currently experiencing water shortage in different part of the world. Having said this we took a water footprint test and the results were 1,672 gallons/ day and 6,896 gallons/ day for the household.
Having 1,672 gallons consumed per day has been a normal thing for me to do but i didn't think it was that big. It may be that it was below the average of water that can be consumed by a person but the mere fact that there are still a lot of other people that too consume water only shows that all in all the whole world is currently consuming a lot since there are billions and billion of people that need water. I am only considering the fact that there are a lot of people needing water, my footprint may be low but i am just one of the many people that consume water. I think the thing or concept that greatly affect my water footprint is the fact that my family sticks to old school such as washing dishes, by hand, an old school washing machine. Aside from this my family is prone to eating more meat than veggies and because of this we consume a lot of water just by cleaning the meat we bought from the market. These practices have boon a routine for myself and my family but having seen that as a family we are consuming a lot when we could actually decrease this only shows that there is still room for improvement. By improving my lifestyle and asking my family to do the same at least by a little percentage I am already helping conserve water and at the same time energy that is needed to clean the water to be again consumed by people. With this I say that it is time for a change not only of the habits we do but also with the heart.
2465 gallons per day
Household: 14 965 gallons per day
I believe that the factors that affect my water footprint are the following: taking a bath, drinking water and the water used for the food I consume. When it comes to our household water consumption, what greatly affects it is quite similar with my own water footprint such as hygienic water purposes, water consumed in food preparation and water used for cleaning the house, our clothes and the plants we have at home. Ever since, I've been working hard to consume the least amount of water I can to help save our planet and I believe I now have to work harder from the realizations i acquired from this activity.
1,840 Gallons/Day
Household: 14,350 Gallons/Day
The things that affect my water footprint are the following: washing the dishes 3 times a day, spending too much time in the shower and doing the laundry every single day. Even though my water footprint is on an average scale, I think I could still further improve on saving water by simply manifesting awareness and mindfulness that water should not be taken for granted. Water is indeed a gift from God and it was meant to nourish and keep us alive. Also, we are reminded in the 7 principles of ecology that we all live in a finite earth. So given that water would not be forever abundant, we should be reminded that water is our source of life and we must think of ways on how to save and not waste it.
All my life, i have been raised in a household when in the conservation of the environment is very relevant. As a child, I engaged in different environmental prevention practices such as cleaning my teeth and using a glass to collect the water and use it for gargling instead of using my hands, I use two sides of my paper for my reviewers and for both academic and non-academic purposes that involve the use of papers, I ride public vehicles in some instances wherein my destination is near from my house to avoid much usage of gasoline and there are a lot more.
As the years progress, I could compare that I am more neglectful of my practices due to time constraints because of the loads of responsibilities that i have each day and my changing attitude as I grow up. I sometimes forget to turn off the faucet, I take too much time in washing my underwear because of my consciousness in really cleaning it thoroughly that I am not mindful of the time and water I am consuming, these are only some of my bad practices towards the environment.
2,575Gallons/Day, Household: 21,721 Gallons/Day, I consume this amount since i always wash the dishes, wash the laundry and make sure that it is clean without any traces of soap that's why it sometimes takes me a long time and i take a bath in a long span of time as well. Knowing this amount, I am determined to be conscious with my own and my family's water consumption by bringing back our old practice and not letting the hindrances such as the time constraints and the neglectfulness get in my way as an advocate of the environment.
Humans being their usual self, often take things for granted. Water is one of the things that we waste without barely noticing it. Maybe we think that the earth is abundant in water because it makes up 70% of the earth but little do we know that we can only consume less than 1% of that 70%.
Every month, our household which consists of 5 family members, consume 21 cu/m of water per month which has a price of PHP 479.23. Based on the Water Footprint result and our household practice, I think the reason behind the high consumption of water is due to excessive and unnecessary water use such as in taking baths. Another reason is due to washing clothes because sometimes not all our clothes are washed at the same time causing excessive use of water.
With the help of this water footprint calculator we are able to know our own water consumption and be able to learn and improve from it. May we change for the better and for the future as well.
We all know that water is one of the most important substances on Earth. It is essential since no living creature can live without it. However, despite the awareness and knowledge we have about the importance of water we tend to misuse or abuse the usage of water in our everyday activities. As a part of Environmental Education Class for 2 years, I am fully aware of the issues and problems in our home--the Earth. We discussed and analyzed each problems and what caused it and many more. We even calculated our carbon footprint in order to know how much carbon we contribute to the environment. This year, we calculated our water footprint. Based on the results of my water footprint, I consume 2,431 gallons of water per day and for our household, we consume 19, 751 gallons of water per day. In contrast, we consumed 56 cu.m. of water based on our monthly bill and that's about 14793.6 gallons of water. I believe that there are ways in order to lessen and to control the use of water in our household, especially when taking a bath (time), washing the dishes, laundry, the food we eat, even our shopping habits. Now that I am fully aware of the our average water consumption I will make sure to lessen it and take action as a responsible steward of God's creation.
Hello everyone! My name is Bettina and I am a student from St. Theresa's College Quezon City.
These kind of activities wherein we have to assess how much damage we're really contributing to the Earth isn't really new to me since I have been an Environmental Education student last year wherein we had to calculate our carbon footprint. I have to say that I was super disappointed with myself and I felt like a hypocrite, considering that I am an Envi Ed student. Basically in this new activity, we have to calculate the amount of water that we use on a daily basis. Actually, instead of calling this activity "your water footprint," it would be more appropriate if this activity was called "how much water you waste in a day." I make it a point to save water since this is a very scarce resource however, looking at these results I can confidently say that I am wasting a lot of water. Obviously, these results made me very disappointed with myself. The Earth has very limited resources, especially now that we are facing a lot of problems in line with our water resources, oil spillage, dynamite fishing, bleaching of corals and the list just goes on. What am I trying to say? I just want to highlight that time is running out and there will come a point in our life wherein we would suddenly realize how stupid we are for taking our resources for granted. The clock would eventually chime on the twelfth hour to signalize that the Earth cannot sustain us anymore. However, we humans are the stewards of nature and we need to act now. Honestly, you don't have to be an Environmental Education student since all of us are responsible for taking care of our common home. Don't you think it's only fair to treat this place right since she gave so much for us in order to survive? We humans are always talking about how unfair life is, but I personally think that the Earth got the worst end of the bargain. How is it so hard to protect something that gave you life and supported us for our whole lives?
Anyway, I've been ranting too much. What I need to do now is to act and not say words that doesn't hold any promise whatsoever. I thought of 4 ways on how I can lessen the water footprint that I make on Earth.
1st Don't take too long in the shower
2nd As much as possible DO NOT use the bathtub
3rd Install a grey water system in our homes
4th Replace all faucets and other piping system to low flow
These may not seem a drastic change but we have to remember this: a little goes a very long way...
Being an Environment Educational student, we were always thought to preserve the resources and find ways in improving the condition of the Earth. With these results, I hope I can lessen my water footprint in this world. So now, I want to ask you the same question, How can you lessen the damage that you make on this place?
-Bettina Quilapio
2,894 Gallons/Day
Household: 20,756 Gallons/Day
That's about average for people in the US.
The US Average is 2,220 Gallons/Day
I am bothered by my water consumption result because I didn't know that me and my family consumed that much water. I also need to lessen my water consumption because it is above average. I know that I can improve this by being more aware of my water consumption.
Priscilla Denise Gomez Pigao
Oct 5, 2016 at 4:15 AM