Water Facts

• Water is the most common substance found on the earth.
• Of all the earth's water, 97% is salt water located in oceans and seas.  Only 1% of the earth's water is available for drinking.
• There are more than 200,000 individual water systems providing water to the public in the United States.
• Public water suppliers process 34 billion gallons of water per day for domestic and public use.
• Approximately 1 million miles of pipeline and aqueducts carry water in the United States and Canada.  That's enough to circle the earth 40 times.
• Sixty-one percent of Americans rely on lakes, rivers, and streams as their source of drinking water.  The other 39% rely on groundwater - water located underground in aquifers and wells.
• The average daily requirement for fresh water in the United States is about 338 billion gallons per day.
• You can survive about a month without food, but only five to seven days without water.
• Each person uses about 100 gallons of water a day at home.
• The average 5 minute shower takes between 25 and 50 gallons of water.
• The average automatic dishwasher uses 9 to 12 gallons of water, while hand washing dishes can take up to 20 gallons.
• If every household in America had a faucet that dripped once each second, we would waste 928 million gallons per day.
• More than 39,000 gallons of water are used to manufacture a new car, including tires.
• One gallon of gasoline can contaminate approximately 750,000 gallons of water.

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