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CONSERVATION CORNER: Twenty interesting facts about water
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1. Only 3% of Earth’s water is fresh water. 97% of the water on Earth is salt water.

2. The water found at the Earth’s surface in lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, and swamps makes up only 0.3% of the world’s fresh water.

3. 68.7% of the fresh water on Earth is trapped in glaciers.

4. 30% of fresh water is in the ground.

5. 1.7% of the world’s water is frozen and therefore unusable.

6. Water covers 70.9% of the Earth’s surface.

7. Water can dissolve more substances than any other liquid including sulfuric acid.

8. More than 25% of bottled water comes from a municipal water supply, the same place that tap water comes from.

9. If you drink your daily recommended 8 glasses of water per day from the tap, it will cost you about 50 cents per year. If you choose to drink it from water bottles, it can cost you up to $1,400 dollars.

10. Approximately 5 to 10 percent of American homes have water leaks that drip away 90 gallons a day or more! Many of these leaks reside in old fixtures such as leaky toilets and faucets. In fact, water lost by these leaky residences could be reduced by more than 30,000 gallons if new, efficient fixtures were installed. If the 5 percent of American homes that leak the most corrected those leaks—it could save more than 177 billion gallons of water annually!

11. At 50 gallons per day, residential Europeans use about half of the water that residential Americans use.

12. Residents of sub-Saharan Africa use only 2-5 gallons of water per day.

13. Taking a bath requires up to 70 gallons of water. A five-minute shower uses only 10 to 25 gallons.

14. A running toilet can waste up to 200 gallons of water per day.

15. Over 713 gallons of water go into the production of one cotton T-shirt

16. 1000 gallons of water are required to produce 1 gallon of milk.

17. Roughly 634 gallons of water go into the production of one hamburger.

18. Water is the only substance found on earth naturally in three forms: solid, liquid and gas.

19. At 1 drip per second, a faucet can leak 3,000 gallons per year.

20. In one year, the average American residence uses over 100,000 gallons (indoors and outside).

Data was acquired from the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s website: http://water.epa.gov/learn/kids/drinkingwater/water_trivia_facts.cfm

— Brought to you by the City of Turlock Municipal Services Department

 

WATER CONSERVATION TIP #8

Re-circulating pumps:  Swimming pools, fountains and ponds should be equipped with re-circulating pumps. These water features should also be checked annually for hidden leaks or other problems. Avoid installation of ornamental water features (such as fountains) unless the water is recycled. Locate where there are minimal losses due to evaporation and wind drift.