How Much Municipal Water Am I Using?

Recently, the ecological movement to "Go Green" has been all over the news. Americans have really come to realize our impact on the environment in new ways, and have started taking steps to help preserve our natural resources, and to limit pollution and make the world a healthier place to be. The first step in becoming more environmentally friendly is understanding just how much of the resources we're using. One of the most important natural resources we need to consider is water.

How much municipal water am I using?
Most of us receive a water bill each month and pay it without really taking the time to understand how much water we've truly been using. These steps will help you calculate the amount of water you're using at any given time, and help you see the great benefits of using various water-conservation tactics.

• Gather your municipal water bills for the past year.
• Water is generally measured in CCF. The first "C" stands for the Roman numeral meaning 100. The "CF" stands for Cubic Feet.
• One CCF represents 100 cubic feet of water, which equals 748 gallons, therefore:
• If you used a total of 100 CCF for the year, 100 CCF x 748 (gallons) = 74,800 gallons of water that year.

You can also estimate a big part of your indoor water use by simply using a gallon pitcher.

• Turn your shower or faucet on and catch the water in a pitcher. Time how long it takes to fill up the pitcher. If it takes 45 seconds, you know you're using about 1.25 gallons of water per minute. Now estimate how long the shower or faucet is run each day/week to get an idea of how much water is being used.
• Turn off the water valve on your toilet and flush it. Use a full gallon pitcher to refill your toilet. Depending on how many gallons it takes to fill your tank back up, you'll know how many gallons you drain with each flush.

These steps offer a great way to help you understand and start to control your impact on the world around you. For some great water-conservation techniques, see our section on community water conservation.