Essential facts about water – share with your community.

Water is one of the six essential nutrients the human body needs. In fact, we can live just three-to-five days without water. So why is it so easy to take for granted? Because clear, good-tasting water flows from our faucets every day and we rarely think about where it comes from and what it takes to assure it’s safe.

The water we use in our homes comes from local lakes, streams or underground aquifers. The process to get to a gallon of clean, safe drinking water is more complicated than most people think. It involves chemicals, testing and transporting. And, when you consider that the average American family uses more than 300 gallons of water in the home daily, it may make us rethink water conservation in the home.

Here are the average gallons used to complete normal household tasks per day. You can do your part by taking shorter showers, buying a low-capacity flush toilet, turning off the water when brushing your teeth or hand-washing dishes, pick the short cycle on the dishwasher and washing machine and more. Make it a quest in your household. Could be fun!

• Baths – 30 and 40 gallons
• Toilet flushes – 5 gallons per flush
• Shower – 20 to 40 gallons
• Washing machine load – 25 gallons
• Preparing food/washing dishes in the sink – 20 gallons
• Washing hands, shaving and brushing teeth – 15 gallons per day