What Is Your Water Footprint?Take a water tour with us through your home, yard, diet, energy, and consumer choices! Then, pledge to cut your water footprint and help return more water to rivers, lakes, wetlands, underground aquifers, and freshwater species. |
Know this: The average American lifestyle is kept afloat by about 2,000 gallons of H2O a day—twice the global average.
The bright side: By pledging to cut your water footprint, you can help restore freshwater ecosystems. Ready for the challenge? Let's get started... Float along with us through your kitchen, closet, and daily routine to figure out your water footprint. Then pledge to shrink your footprint by 20% and qualify to win great prizes from the Expedition Blue Planet. The more we save, the more water we leave for healthy ecosystems and a sustainable future. Home
View Tip » Water Fact: Only 5% of the average American water footprint is for home use, and close to half of that is for maintaining lawns and gardens.
Let's find out what your home and garden gallons add up to first. Okay? The water it takes to produce the average American diet alone—approximately 1,000 gallons per person per day—is more than the global average water footprint of 900 gallons per person per day for diet, household use, transportation, energy, and the consumption of material goods.
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Diet
View Tip » So far, that's probably about 5% of your water footprint. Surprised? In the next section, we'll show you that a whopping 50% or more goes to grow and process the food an average American eats every day. Meat and dairy stand out as being some of the most water-intensive fare. Dare to carry on? Let's do it.
The water it takes to produce the average American diet alone—approximately 1,000 gallons per person per day—is more than the global average water footprint of 900 gallons per person per day for diet, household use, transportation, energy, and the consumption of material goods.
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Energy
View Tip » Water is used to produce the fuels that keep us moving and our planet humming. A gallon of gasoline, for example, requires nearly 13 gallons of H2O to produce. The average American relies on nearly 670 gallons of water a day just for electricity production. So, let's find out how much water you're using to fuel your life!
The water footprint of your daily electricity use takes into account only water withdrawals for thermoelectric power production. It is based on average withdrawals by state, which can vary greatly depending on whether thermoelectric plants use once-through or recirculating cooling systems. If you live in a state mostly using hydroelectric power we're probably underestimating your footprint.
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Stuff and Services
View Tip » Are you a big shopper? Everything we buy requires water to make. Electronics, cotton, and paper are some of the most water-intensive products. In addition, restaurants, post offices, hospitals, and more, also have water footprints that we share. Ready to find out how much water you're gobbling up with the things you buy? Let's do it!
It takes around 700 gallons of water to make a cotton shirt, and 2,600 gallons to make a pair of jeans — most of them to grow the cotton. On average, every dollar you spend on clothes and shoes costs about 23 gallons of water!
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Zip Code
View Tip »
Please enter your
zip code:
zip code:
...or try a sample zip code:
| The White House | 20500 |
| The Grand Canyon | 86023 |
| Oprah Winfrey | 60607 |
| The Empire State Building | 10118 |
| West Hollywood | 90027 |
Climate counts—where you live plays a role in how much water you use, especially when it comes to tending to a yard.
House
View Tip »
This calculator gives you just YOUR footprint, not your household's.
House
View Tip »
1994 was the year that federally mandated low-flow showerheads, faucets, and toilets started to appear on the scene in significant numbers.
House
View Tip »
Have you replaced any of the following?
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Faucets
None
Some
All
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Toilets
None
Some
All
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Showerheads
None
Some
All
Please answer for all three categories!
On average, 10 gallons per day of your water footprint (or 14% of your indoor use) is lost to leaks. Short of installing new water-efficient fixtures, one of the easiest, most effective ways to cut your footprint is by repairing leaky faucets and toilets.
Bathroom
View Tip »
The average American takes about 5 showers a week. How many do you take in a week?
Please choose an answer!
If you use a low-flow showerhead, you can save 15 gallons of water during a 10-minute shower.
Bathroom
View Tip »
The average American runs a shower for eight minutes. How many minutes does it usually take you to shower?
Please choose an answer!
Every time you shave minutes off your use of hot water, you also save energy and keep dollars in your pocket.
Bathroom
View Tip »
It takes about 70 gallons of water to fill a bathtub, so showers are generally the more water-efficient way to bathe.
Laundry
View Tip »
What kind of washing machine do you use?
Front-loading
Top-loading
Top-loading, but it's water and energy-efficient
Please choose an answer!
Most front-loading machines are energy- and water-efficient, using just over 20 gallons a load, while most top-loading machines, unless they are energy-efficient, use 40 gallons per load.
Laundry
View Tip »
Is your top loader an energy efficient model (20 gallons of water per load)?
Yes
No
Please choose an answer!
Having an energy efficient washing machine can cut the water you use for laundry by half.
Laundry
View Tip »
The average person does 3 loads of laundry a week. How many loads do you wash every week?
Please choose an answer!
Nearly 22% of indoor home water use comes from doing laundry. Save water by making sure to adjust the settings on your machine to the proper load size.
Kitchen
View Tip »
Dishwashing is a relatively small part of your water footprint—less than 2% of indoor use—but there are always ways to conserve. Using a machine is actually more water efficient than hand washing, especially if you run full loads.
Kitchen
View Tip »
Energy Star dishwashers use about 4 gallons of water per load, and even standard machines use only about 6 gallons. Hand washing generally uses about 20 gallons of water each time.
Lawn
View Tip »
How big is the area of your yard that's growing grass, plants, or trees?
Please choose an answer!
Nearly 60% of a person's household water footprint can go toward lawn and garden maintenance.
Lawn
View Tip »
What grows in your yard?
Turf grass: 33%
Plants, trees, shrubs: 33%
Low-water use plants, trees, and shrubs: 33%
Please choose an answer!
Plant grasses and shrubs appropriate for your climate—ones that need only modest amounts of irrigation water to supplement rainfall.
Lawn
View Tip »
How do you water your yard?
I don't; I let natural rainfall do it
I water efficiently and only when necessary
I water a lot; I think it's better to water too much than too little
Please choose an answer!
Depending on the size of your lawn and whether you live in a dry region of the country, you could be using hundreds of gallons a week to keep your grass green. Save by collecting water in a rain barrel and using this instead of treated public water on your lawn.
Lawn
View Tip »
The average pool takes 22,000 gallons of water to fill, and if you don't cover it, hundreds of gallons of water per month can be lost due to evaporation.
Diet
View Tip »
338 gallons of water are used to produce one serving (3 ounces) of beef! Think about that! The average American eats about 7 servings of beef each week. Do you eat more or less?
Please choose an answer!
That quarter pounder is worth more than 30 average American showers. One of the easiest ways to slim your water footprint is to eat less meat and dairy. Another way is to choose grass-fed, rather than grain-fed, since it can take a lot of water to grow corn and other feed crops.
Diet
View Tip »
Raising and processing poultry also requires water—about 88 gallons per serving (3 ounces). The average person eats 7 servings of poultry a week. Do you eat more or less?
Please choose an answer!
A serving of poultry costs about 90 gallons of water to produce. There are also water costs embedded in the transportation of food (gasoline costs water to make). So, consider how far your food has to travel, and buy local to cut your water footprint.
Diet
View Tip »
It shouldn't come as a surprise now to learn that it takes about 108 gallons of water to produce a serving (3 ounces) of pork. The average American eats about 6 servings of pork a week. Do you eat more or less?
Please choose an answer!
Pork costs water to produce, and traditional pork production—to make your sausage, bacon, and chops—has also been the cause of some water pollution, as pig waste runs into local water sources.
Diet
View Tip »
A gallon (16 cups) of milk—from a cow—requires 880 gallons of water to produce. The average American consumes a cup of milk a day. Do you drink more or less?
Please choose an answer!
On average, a vegan, a person who doesn't eat meat or dairy, indirectly consumes nearly 600 gallons of water per day less than a person who eats the average American diet.
Diet
View Tip »
A cup of coffee takes 55 gallons of water to make, with most of that H2O used to grow the coffee beans.
Transportation
View Tip »
What is the average fuel efficiency of the car(s) you drive, in miles per gallon?
Please choose an answer!
Washing a car uses about 150 gallons of water, so by washing less frequently you can cut back your water use.
Transportation
View Tip »
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.
Transportation
View Tip »
We're going to ask you a few questions about how much you fly. First, how many trips to places less than 500 miles away do you take in a year? Count each round-trip as one trip.
Please choose an answer!
Flying from Los Angeles to San Francisco, about 700 miles round-trip, costs you 210 gallons of water, about twice the daily home water use of an average American.
Transportation
View Tip »
How many trips to places 500-3,000 miles away do you take in a year? Again, count each round-trip as one trip.
Please choose an answer!
A cross-country roundtrip (about 3,000 miles each way) could be worth more than 1,125 flushes of an efficient toilet.
Transportation
View Tip »
And how many trips to places 3,000-10,000 miles away do you take in a year? Remember, each round-trip is one trip.
Please choose an answer!
Traveling from Chicago to Istanbul and back, about 5,000 miles each way, takes as much water as the average American uses at home in a month.
Energy
View Tip »
How much do you spend on home heating, cooling, and electricity per month?
Please choose an answer!
The average American spends $264 a month on home heating, cooling, and electricity.
Energy
View Tip »
How do you get electricity for your home?
From a regular utility
From the utility but also purchased "green tags" or offsets
Partially from the utility, but have also installed a few solar panels
Primarily from rooftop solar panels, micro-hydro or your own wind turbine
Please choose an answer!
Windmills and solar photovoltaic panels require much less water per kilowatt generated than coal, nuclear, and other thermoelectric plants.
Energy
View Tip »
How would you describe the appliances and lighting in your home?
Standard stuff
Have replaced a few fixtures and appliances with efficient options
Complete set of Energy Star-certified appliances and fixtures
Please choose an answer!
Every kilowatt takes gallons to produce, so when you shift to energy-efficient lighting and appliances, you also save water.
Stuff and Services
View Tip »
The average American spends $1,800 a year on clothes and shoes, including jeans, T-shirts, running shoes, suits, and dress shoes. Do you spend more or less?
Please choose an answer!
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. Do you really need that additional T-shirt?
Stuff and Services
View Tip »
The average American spends about $1,600 a year to furnish a home. How about you? Include furniture, flooring, lighting, appliances, window coverings, and so on.
Please choose an answer!
One of the best ways to conserve water is to buy recycled goods, and to recycle your stuff when youíre done with it. Or, stick to buying only what you really need.
Stuff and Services
View Tip »
The average American spends about $1,500 a year on electronics, from computers to home entertainment systems. Do you spend more or less?
Please choose an answer!
The water required to create your laptop could wash nearly 70 loads of laundry in a standard machine.
Stuff and Services
View Tip »
Paper soaks up a lot of water! The average person spends about $100 a MONTH on paper, including reading materials, office paper, toilet paper, well you get it... How about you?
Please choose an answer!
Recycling a pound of paper, less than the weight of your average newspaper, saves about 3.5 gallons of water. Buying recycled paper products saves water too, as it takes about six gallons of water to produce a dollar's worth of paper.
| Your score (gallons/day) |
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| U.S. average |
100
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1,056
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700
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232
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2,088
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| Your score (gallons/day) |
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151
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1,039
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738
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19
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1,947
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| Your pledge |
151
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1,039
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738
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19
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1,947
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| U.S. average |
100
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1,056
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700
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232
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2,088
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How much water can you save? We're trying to reach 50 million gallons a day nationwide—a first step toward freeing up water to restore rivers, lakes, and other freshwater ecosystems. Every drop counts!
Click on the areas below to take action to reduce your levels of consumption.
Goal
(50 million)
Pledged So Far
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Water used in your home and yard |
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Water used for your diet |
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Water used for your transportation and energy |
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Water used by your stuff |
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Pledge this now
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Help Save the Colorado River
You can help restore freshwater ecosystems by pledging to cut your water footprint. For every pledge, Change the Course will restore 1,000 gallons back to the Colorado River.
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Every Drop Counts!
We live in a watery world, with the average American lifestyle fueled by nearly 2,000 gallons of H2O a day.
What may come as a surprise is that very little of that—only five percent—runs through toilets, taps, and garden hoses at home. Nearly 95 percent of your water footprint is hidden in the food you eat, energy you use, products you buy, and services you rely on.
Find out your water footprint, then pledge to dry it out, joining other nationalgeographic.com users who have already committed to saving thousands of gallons.
The more we save, the more water we leave for healthy ecosystems and a sustainable future.
More About Water Conservation
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Water Use Game
Check out our kid-friendly water calculator, and see if you rank as a water wiz or if you're waterlogged.
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How Much Water Per Pound?
How much water does it take to put beef, pork, wheat, and more on your plate? Explore our water footprint interactive and find out.
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10 Things You Can Do
The average American lifestyle demands 2,000 gallons a day to support, with 70 percent of that going to support our diets—more than twice the global average for daily use.
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Bathroom Revamp: Save Gallons
From toilets to tubs, roughly 60 percent of a home's water consumption takes place in the bathroom. If you have an eye on water use, start here.
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Boston Water Conservation Success
It’s hardly in a water-short region, so it may come as a surprise that Boston, Massachusetts, stands out as one of the biggest success stories in urban water conservation in the U.S.
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Water News
From dams in Patagonia and drought in Pakistan to the business of bottled water and the H20 footprint of a beer, visit National Geographic News' special series on the world's water challenges.
Test Your Water IQ
Change the Course Infographic
Check out this infographic and learn how you can conserve water and save the Colorado River, as well as other freshwater ecosystems. |
NG's Freshwater Advocates
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Sandra Postel
Sandra is a leading authority on international freshwater issues and is spearheading our global freshwater efforts.
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Jonathan Waterman
He's paddled the Colorado River from its headwaters to the delta, in an effort to bring awareness to this mighty river at risk.
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Osvel Hinojosa Huerta
For more than 15 years, Osvel Hinojosa Huerta has been resurrecting Mexico's Colorado River Delta wetlands.
