Understanding our water use

Water is one of our most precious natural resources. It’s also a substance we take a bit for granted in the United States.

The latest US water usage numbers estimate that as a country we use around 397,000,000 acre-feet of water per year. An acre-foot of water is how much water it takes to fill an acre of land with a foot of water. At 325,851 gallons per acre-foot, that’s 129,362,847,000,000 gallons per year, or 129.4 trillion gallons per year. That’s a lot of commas and a lot of water. But what does it cost for residential users?

Water prices vary dramatically across the country, and the highest prices aren’t always where you think (like California). According to Circle of Blue, in 2015, Atlanta and Seattle had some of the highest water prices in the country, where average monthly water bills can be in excess of $300. Water may be all around us, but making it drinkable, clean, and on demand can be challenging. Alternatively, reducing water usage by municipalities can also have negative ramifications for communities, as most communities and cities rely on revenue from water usage as part of annual budgets, and revenue is based on overall water usage.

Even if you want to change your water habits, it can feel overwhelming. Do you take shorter showers? Not flush the toilet? Wash your dishes less often? These are hard habits to change and sustain, and frankly, in most cases they are likely to fail. We like taking our showers, having a bath every once in a while, letting the water run while brushing our teeth, and for most communities, water prices are still quite cheap.

The one area where most households can dramatically impact water usage is outside of the home, in the yard.

As we’ve discussed over this past Smart Irrigation month, there are many techniques and tricks that you can use to keep your landscape looking great, while reducing overall water usage. From understanding evapotranspiration, to incorporating management allowable depletion as well as cycle and soak, landscape irrigation is ripe for improvement for most homes. Most folks don’t realize that on average, 59% of a household’s overall water use is outside the home, on things exactly like irrigation.

Understanding your water use is the first step in making a lasting impact on your water consumption, and there is a wealth of knowledge out there to improve your irrigation beyond the techniques we’ve discussed this past month. Keep checking on this blog for other tips and tricks, and enjoy your landscape!