Water Consumption

[BunnyGo]

So I got my first water bill here in Israel. The way it works here is that up to approximately 2000 liters per person per month you pay one rate, and above that you pay a much steeper rate (not completely rationed, but a huge penalty for going over). I only just found out what the ration was with the bill and compared it to the average US urban per capita usage (farming of course needs more water both in the US and Israel). According to wikipedia, the average US urban per capita usage was over 10,000 liters per capita per month. Where does all that water go?

 

Here are the (very) few changes we've made in our lives which kept us well below this quota:

 

1) Showers are short. We spend a minute or so getting wet, turn the water off and soap up, turn the water on and rinse off. Every so often we allow ourselves a more luxurious shower, but definitely not daily.

 

2) Washing dishes we are careful to use what we need and not needlessly let the water run. We don't have a dishwasher, which would use less water on average than doing the dishes by hand (at least with the newer machines).

 

Besides that, I can't think of anything in particular that's different in our lives here than in Michigan (where water was plentiful). While we don't have a yard or garden here, our friends who do manage to stay within the quota as well. Do people in the US Southwest or Southeast (which I believe are having major droughts) do anything like this? Do they really use 10,000 liters a month per person in non-agricultural water usage?

[PassedOut]

So I got my first water bill here in Israel. The way it works here is that up to approximately 2000 liters per person per month you pay one rate, and above that you pay a much steeper rate (not completely rationed, but a huge penalty for going over). I only just found out what the ration was with the bill and compared it to the average US urban per capita usage (farming of course needs more water both in the US and Israel). According to wikipedia, the average US urban per capita usage was over 10,000 liters per capita per month. Where does all that water go?

 

Here are the (very) few changes we've made in our lives which kept us well below this quota:

 

1) Showers are short. We spend a minute or so getting wet, turn the water off and soap up, turn the water on and rinse off. Every so often we allow ourselves a more luxurious shower, but definitely not daily.

 

2) Washing dishes we are careful to use what we need and not needlessly let the water run. We don't have a dishwasher, which would use less water on average than doing the dishes by hand (at least with the newer machines).

 

Besides that, I can't think of anything in particular that's different in our lives here than in Michigan (where water was plentiful). While we don't have a yard or garden here, our friends who do manage to stay within the quota as well. Do people in the US Southwest or Southeast (which I believe are having major droughts) do anything like this? Do they really use 10,000 liters a month per person in non-agricultural water usage?

We live in Michigan by Lake Superior and have a well, so I'm not sure exactly how much water we use a month. We do have an efficient dishwasher and washing machine and don't take particularly long showers (although not as short as you describe).

 

However the family who lived here before us kept up a large, immaculate (regularly fertilized) lawn that ran all the way down to the beach and they watered the lawn quite a bit. We stopped that and have worked with the DNR to make sure we are protecting the lake from runoff, letting a large portion of the lawn go natural. Our outside watering is confined to some small gardens.

 

I think that some families in the southern US do water their lawns quite a bit.

[phil_20686]

I would imagine that out door usage in the US is pretty significant.

 

Also, you can do a lot with more efficient toilets and that kind of thing. More efficient water heads in your shower and that kind of thing. If there is no need, people tend not to do these things.

[BunnyGo]

I would imagine that out door usage in the US is pretty significant.

 

Also, you can do a lot with more efficient toilets and that kind of thing. More efficient water heads in your shower and that kind of thing. If there is no need, people tend not to do these things.

 

Ah, that's true...I forgot we have a toilet with two levers which must save some water too.

[cherdano]

Salt Lake City has an ordinance that requires home owners to maintain a lawn on their property. (I am pretty sure this is not unusual, I just know it about SLC.)

This is completely insane - SLC climate is a very friendly to humans, but not to a green lawn without a massive amount of watering.

(Of course, probably the city has better things to do than actually enforcing that ordinance. But on the other hand, it doesn't have to, as pretty much everyone does maintain a properly maintained lawn.)

[blackshoe]

Hm. Does the ordinance say "if you have a lawn you must maintain it properly" or "you must have a lawn and properly maintain it"? I know that when I lived in SoCal a lot of places did not have grass lawns, they used gravel or other kinds of flora.

[cherdano]

It says "you must have a lawn". It's a pretty normal part of zoning regulations, I believe.

[BunnyGo]

True, but some friends of ours here have a whole lawn, at least a dozen fruit trees (probably closer to two dozen) a garden of tomatoes, squash and other vegetables, and as there are only 3 people living at the home, they do this all on approximately 6000 liters a month (less than the US average for an individual). Does it just come down to the fact that people in the US don't bother to water their lawns effectively, and Israelis (out of necessity) spend the effort on technology (and gray water) to save water?

 

I'm surprised that in Utah "lawns" are mandated. Does it mandate a lawn of grass, or could you do anything that isn't overgrown weeds?

[Phil]

Many HOA's require a maintained (read: watered) front lawn too, although subdivisions have gone full circle on water consumption, at least in California.

 

Many of you know that I am building a racetrack. The local water utility granted us a ridiculously low water allotment, and getting enough landscaping is challenging. Golf courses face the same issues. You will see more 'target' type courses (for a good example, look here: Badlands GC that have turf only in strategic areas.

[cherdano]

I had heard about it, but I hadn't realize how bad the water shortage out west already is! Golf courses are starting to have problems keeping their greens watered!!!

[y66]

From David Leonhardt's interview of Charles Fishman about the future of water:

 

Fishman: If you could change one thing that would fix almost everything about water — from better environmental stewardship to getting water to people who don’t have it now — it would be price.

 

Leonhardt: Has any place in this country figured out how to use water more efficiently than the rest of us?

 

Fishman: I think there’s good news all over the country that doesn’t get enough attention. U.S. farmers use 15 percent less water than 30 years ago, and grow 70 percent more food. Farmers have doubled their water productivity since 1980.

 

Power plants use less water than 30 years ago and generate more electricity.

 

I went to an I.B.M. semiconductor plant in Burlington, Vt., that has cut water use 29 percent over 10 years, while increasing production 33 percent (and while the chips themselves, of course, double and double again in speed). That one factory has increased water productivity more than 80 percent, and inspired IBM to create a water division as a business.

 

Two communities I found have made dramatic changes. Orange County, Fla., where Orlando is located, started mandating use of purified waste water 25 years ago, in all new construction, for watering lawns, parks, schools and ball fields. That’s a purple-pipe system — Orange County cleans its waste water, and pumps it back to customers. Today, the amount of re-use water Orange County pumps each day is almost equal to the amount of potable water. The county has doubled in size, but it hasn’t had double the amount of potable water it provides. In new developments, in fact, it’s illegal to water your lawn or your park with drinking water, and Orange County residents have come to regard using drinking water to water lawns as silly. It’s a whole change in attitude.

 

And Las Vegas, which gets so much criticism for being a completely unsustainable city in the middle of a desert, Las Vegas has quietly become the most water-smart city in the U.S. By outlawing front lawns in new homes, by paying residents and businesses $40,000 an acre to remove grass, by imposing water budgets on golf courses, Las Vegas has dramatically changed water use patterns. Las Vegas now recycles 94 percent of all water that hits an indoor drain anywhere — cleaning it and sending it back to Lake Mead. No U.S. city matches that. And water use in Las Vegas has fallen 108 gallons per person in two years. Las Vegas today uses almost exactly the same amount of water as 10 years ago — but it has grown 50 percent in population. The fountains, lagoons and topless swimming pools notwithstanding, that’s an incredible achievement — something every U.S. city could learn from.

 

The best news, in fact, is in the biggest picture. The U.S. as a nation uses less water in 2011 than it did in 1980. We use less water to produce an economy of $13 trillion than we did to produce an (inflation-adjusted) economy of $6 trillion.

 

That’s incredible. The country over all has doubled its water productivity — which means that it’s possible to continue to grow and modernize, while actually reducing the amount of water we use.

 

And we did it even though most of us still run the water while we brush our teeth.

[PassedOut]

Thanks for the information! I had not been aware of that.

[babalu1997]

 

 

2) Washing dishes we are careful to use what we need and not needlessly let the water run. We don't have a dishwasher, which would use less water on average than doing the dishes by hand (at least with the newer machines).

 

 

 

you can better the dishwasher by a whole lot.

 

using a double sink, or a second dish pan,

 

set one dish with soapy water

 

set the other with rinsing water

 

-- wash the glasses first

 

-- wipe all the other dishes, soap then rinse

 

-- leave dishes where you used egg or other smelly stuff for last , you might want to add bleach to the soapy water at this stage

[FM75]

Water "conservation" is a pretty funny concept. Water is probably the most "renewable" chemical on the planet. No matter what you do with water, it is very hard to prevent it from returning to the ocean or the atmosphere! Perhaps the term "water consumption" is really a horrible misnomer. Water is much more like beer. It is rented, not consumed.

 

However, it is certainly true that many people have tried to live in areas where it is not naturally plentiful or local. Even the Romans were able to move water fairly significant distances.

[Elianna]

Many people in Israel manage to have gardens by reusing water. At least, that's how my family did that.

 

Also, many Americans seem to use water indiscriminately.

 

I had a roommate and we had the funniest fight. He asked the three of us (I had a third roommate) to be sure to wash out the little laundry detergent measuring device before we put it on the detergent bottle (because it would leak and be sticky). I was doing laundry, and he went off on me about not washing out the cup. I kept insisting that I did, and he was getting angrier and angrier. I finally stepped back and asked him why he thought I didn't, and he said that I didn't walk over to the sink. I was flabbergasted, because it NEVER occurred to me to waste sink water doing that task, I had used the running water in the washing machine to was out that cup. He had never thought of doing that.

 

I have a constant fight with my husband about water, because I can't stand it when he leaves the water running when he's washing dishes, and he hates how I just randomly turn off the water on him. I can't help it.

[Gerben42]

I find it interesting to see publications like 15 cubic metres of water for 1 kg beef. Now that does sound like a lot of water, especially if you realize how much beef equals one animal. But the real question is: Where does the water go after it was used for making beef? Many irrigations take water from reservoirs, and when the water is "used" it is simply the same water in some lower place (for example a river). From there you can use it in a power plant, after which you have the same water again but a bit more downstream and warmer. Unless of course in between you use the water from the plant for shrimp farm first...

 

Here in Southern Germany, there is enough water. There is no real point in buying a water-saving dishwasher. You would have to wash dishes for a century to make up for the saved cost in water.

 

Perhaps it will be interesting to compare global water prices? Around here, 1000 litres (1 m³) of water costs about 3 USD.

[mike777]

Interesting that most of the water cost is for construction and personnel,chemicals, maintenance and service.

 

 

Water and Sewer Rates and Fees

Effective July 1, 2011 the water rate charges will impact each customer differently based on their water usage. For most residential customers, the impact of the new rate structure and tier rates will lead to an increase from between $.37 to $8.99 per month, with most seeing increases between $4 and $4.59 per month.

 

For the typical customer who uses 8 Ccf of water each month, the total monthly bill increase will be $4.59. Of this $4.59, $2.85 will pay back construction loans. The remaining $1.74 pays for increases for personnel,

chemicals, maintenance and 311/customer service.

 

A very small percentage of customers will see their total bill decrease because of the reduction in the sewer cap.

Residential Water Rates

 

Before July 1 July 1, 2011

Tier 1 (1-4 ccf) $1.45 $0.98

Tier 2 (5-8 ccf) $1.64 $1.96

Tier 3 (9-16 ccf) $2.69 $3.41

Tier 4 (over 16 ccf) $5.32 $5.32

Sewer Charges $4.31 $4.14

 

Ccf: An abbreviation representing 100 cubic feet. This is a unit of measure which equals 748 gallons.

 

so the first 1000 liters costs around 35 cents usd.

[BunnyGo]

In Israel there is also tiered billing. I do not know what the second tier is (but people have warned me I don't want to find out). The first tier is approximately $2-$3 per m^3 of water.

[gwnn]

Ccf: An abbreviation representing 100 cubic feet. This is a unit of measure which equals 748 gallons.

 

so the first 1000 liters costs around 35 cents usd.

100 cubic feet=2.38 cubic meters (the 35 cents is correct, just wanted to add this).

[phil_20686]

I find it interesting to see publications like 15 cubic metres of water for 1 kg beef. Now that does sound like a lot of water, especially if you realize how much beef equals one animal. But the real question is: Where does the water go after it was used for making beef?

 

The vast majority of that water is used for irrigation, either of the feed for the cattle or directly as drinking water for the cattle. In either case the water (probably) ends up being mostly evaporated. On the other hand, it depends hugely on how you count it. In general, you only irrigate when there is a lack of water, so its hot and mostly gets evaporated, that is my assumption. If I irrigated equally through the year in a temperate country like the UK then often there would be a huge amount of ground water anyway into which my irrigation water would go and most of it would end up in rivers/ground water flow from which I could in theory recover it.

 

It seems almost ironic that the times when you need water you cant get any of it back, but when you don't need it you can get almost all of it back. :)

 

To put water use in perspective, I was once told that a fully grown oak tree in direct summer sun in the UK will transpiration about 1000 gallons (4.5 metric tons) of water per day. That seems like a lot, but then in the UK with an average rainfall in my region of about 2m, every acre receives 8000 metric tons of rain per year. Obviously, in the UK we get very few such days, and very few such trees are in direct sunlight, (normally in a copse) and transpiration of a tree is close to zero in the winter once the leaves have gone. But still, its nice to get a perspective on what is a "big number" in this context.