Personal Water Use Survey Over7 days (start today or tomorrow)

Note that 1 L = 0.26 gallons or 1 gallon = 3.78 L. Helpful Hint: Use a 2 Liter soda bottle cut off to half size (about 1 L) or a 0.5 liter water bottle to measure amounts of water used for some of the smaller tasks. Find the flow rate of your shower head, capacity of your bathtub, etc. by researching online. Number of people in your Home:______Number of Pets in your Home:______

Dates of Water Use Survey:______

Domestic Water Use (measure ONLY water used at home)

Activity / Flow Rate (may need to research) or Amount in Liters
(measured) / Minutes or
Number of Uses per Person / Multiplier Use Factor (by number
of people using) / Estimated Liters of Water Used per week
Washing Hands
Washing Face
Showering
Taking a Bath
Brushing Teeth
Washing Food
Cooking
Drinking (Tap)
Drinking (Bottled)
Juices
Coffee, Tea, Cocoa
Flushing Toilet / 22.8 L/Flush
Washing Clothes
(by hand)
Washing Clothes
(machine) / 228 L/Large load
Washing Dishes
(by hand)
Washing Dishes
(machine) / 38 L/Load
Cleaning the house
(mopping, wet rags)
Washing the Car
Watering the Lawn/Garden
Watering Indoor
Plants
Pets – drinking water, bathing
Swimming Pool or Jacuzzi
Other Uses ______
TOTAL LITERS OF WATER USED by Family over 7 days

Follow Up Questions to Personal Water Use Survey

  1. Had you conducted the survey for another 23 days, how much water would your family use in one month? Hint: divide your total weekly use by 7, then multiply by 30 days. In one year? Show each calculation with units.
  2. How much water would your family use for non-daily activities in one week? Note that you may have to add some additional activities here.
  3. How many liters were used for your personal activities in one day?
  4. Is the household water usage for all months the same? What activities may change the amount of water consumed by your household?
  5. Which activities consume the most water?
  6. Which activities require water of drinking quality? Why?
  7. Which activities could use water that has been cleaned but not sanitized (no chlorination or ozonation or UV treatment)?
  8. Does your family re-use water in any way? Explain.
  9. Where can you make changes to use water more efficiently? How difficult would it be for you and for the rest of your family? Explain.
  10. Besides domestic use (homes, restaurants, schools), how else is water used in Cobb County? Can any of this water be re-used?
  11. Do you think people use more water per person today in the United States than they did 50 years ago? Explain.
  12. Is Cobb in danger of running out of clean, usable water? Why or why not?
  13. How do your daily activities affect the quality of the water supply for people downstream?
  14. Make a list of ALL of the substances your household puts down the drain. Do you think that these substances affect the wildlife in the Chattahoochee River? How about the wildlife in the Atlantic Ocean?
  15. What could you do to better protect the quality of the water supply? Of these, which step will you realistically take? Why?
  16. How is water used by industries? How is water used by agriculture?
  17. List some ways that industry and agriculture could recycle some of their water.
  18. Having done this report, will the way (the amount) that you use water change? Why or why not?
  19. Obtain a utility bill for 1 month (or ask your parents) to find out the cost of water of that bill and how much was used. How much water did your household use in one month? What was the cost of water per liter? What was the total cost of water for one month? Show your calculations.