Portal:Water/Did you know

Water use has been growing at more than the rate twice of population increase in the last century, according to the United Nations agency UN Water. How much water do we waste in our daily activities?

1. Americans now use 127 percent more water than we did in 1950.

2. About 95 percent of the water entering our homes goes down the drain.

3. Running the tap while brushing your teeth can waste 4 gallons of water.

4. Older toilets can use 3 gallons of clean water with every flush, while new toilets use as little as 1 gallon.

5. Leaky faucets that drip at the rate of one drop per second can waste up to 2,700 gallons of water each year.

6. A garden hose or sprinkler can use almost as much water in an hour as an average family of four uses in one day.

7. A water-efficient dishwasher will use as little a 4 gallons per wash cycle, whereas some older models use up to 13 gallons per cycle.

8. Some experts estimate that more than 50 percent of landscape water use goes to waste due to evaporation or runoff caused by over-watering.

9. Many people in the world exist on 3 gallons of water per day or less. We can use that amount in one flush of the toilet.

10. Over a quarter of all the clean, drinkable water you use in your home is used to flush the toilets. 

Golf Greens May Not Be Green: The UN estimates that golf courses use about 2.5 billion gallons/9.5 billion liters of water daily. Desiree D’Alessandro has created a "Political Remix" video addressing the role of golf courses in contributing to worldwide water shortage.