Activity 2.2.1 – My daily water use

 1) Actual household water use from bills

My family of four has certain habits, and when I reviewed our water bills for the last three months, I found the following: 

  • Month 1: 5,650 gallons
  • Month 2: 5,950 gallons
  • Month 3: 5,700 gallons

Average household use per month

(5,650 + 5,950 + 5,700) ÷ 3 = 5,766.67 gallons/month

Per person per month

5,766.67 ÷ 4 = 1,441.67 gallons/person/month

Per person per day

1,441.67 ÷ 30 = 48.1 gallons/person/day

How the totals add up in our home

  • Showers (low-flow 2 gpm, 14 short + 4 long): 220 gal/week = 31.4 gal/day
  • Dishwashing by hand (3× per day): 24 gal/day
  • Laundry (4 loads/week): 11.4 gal/day
  • Toilets (modern, ~5 flushes/person): 25.6 gal/day
  • Lawn watering (new sod, nightly): 90 gal/day
  • Miscellaneous (sinks, cooking): 10 gal/day
  • Household total = 192.4 gal/day → 48.1 per person 

2) Online calculators

  • Calculator 1

Name: Home Water Works Calculator

URL: https://home-water-works.org/calculator

Result: 52 gallons/day/person

  • Calculator 2

Name: SWFWMD Water Use Calculator

URL: https://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/conservation/water-use-calculator

Result: 44 gallons/day/person

  • Summary table 

Source 

URL 

Per person Usage 

My bills 

N/A 

48.1 gal/day 

Home Water Works 

https://home-water-works.org/calculator 

52 gal/day 

SWFWMD 

https://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/conservation/water-use-calculator 

44 gal/day 

  • 3) Reflection : My average from our bills came out to about 48 gallons per person per day, which aligns with two online calculators that gave me between 44 and 52. The consistency reassures me that my numbers are realistic. The analysis shows that our largest single use is outdoor watering. My dad has been watering the new grass nightly because he is proud of how it looks, but it uses nearly half of our total household water. Indoor habits, like short showers with a low-flow head and modern toilets, are much more efficient, though they still add up. Dishwashing and laundry contribute too, but their impact is small compared to lawn irrigation. What surprised me most is how dramatically outdoor use skews the totals. Without watering every night, our per person usage would likely fall closer to the national average of about 44 gallons per day, or even lower. Another takeaway is that “little things” like five extra minutes in the shower or an extra load of laundry can quickly turn into hundreds of gallons per month. I also noticed how differently calculators treat outdoor water use, which explains the variation in results. This assignment helped me understand not just our own usage but also how lifestyle choices matter. If we want to lower our totals, reducing lawn watering is the easiest and most effective strategy. Still, I think it’s encouraging that even with the lawn, our per-person use is not extremely high compared to typical households. This balance of indoor efficiency and outdoor caution will guide us in managing water responsibly in the future.

  • Reference: USGS. (n.d.). Water questions and answers: How much water does the average person use at home per day? https://www.usgs.gov/water-science-school/science/water-qa-how-much-water-do-i-use-home-each-day.

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