A Water Conservation Statistic
I saw an interesting statistic about water conservation recently. Water conservation is not a new topic or one that has just become fashionable as part of the recent embracing by the media of everything green. Low flow shower heads and toilets have been part of building codes for many years. We are often told the best method, and time of day, to water our lawns and gardens. Have you ever been asked if you turn off the water when you brush your teeth?
Typing "water conservation" into a Google search field returns almost 4 million results. Some, sites, like Water - Use It Wisely are 100% devoted to water conservation. There are dire predictions that in some parts of the world, in the not too distant future, wars will be fought over water. Even in the U.S. the water problems that may be faced by some cities, especially in the west, make for scary reading.
So what is the statistic that I mentioned in the first sentence? Just this: "Over 80% of the water use in the U.S. is by industry and agriculture. I imagine it is not as high in other parts of the world, but I don’t know for sure. Still, this is obviously where solutions will need to be targeted.
Even if residential water use in the U.S is cut by another, probably unrealistic, 25%, this will only reduce overall usage by, at most, 5%. If we are to cut water use by the 10 or 15% some experts say will be needed to assure water plentiful enough for our still growing population, industry and agriculture will need to change how they do business.
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