Mon
Oct 22 2007
02:18:pm
Compare water usage
By: R. Neal  shortURL

Assuming I'm reading our water bill correctly (according to Alcoa it's listed in units of 100 gallons, so 48 equals 4800 gallons), here's our consumption:

• Jul: 13,200 gal. (4800 household, 8400 irrigation)
• Aug: 31,000 gal. (3600 household, 27,400 irrigation)
• Sep: 13,800 gal. (4000 household, 9800 irrigation)

I had no idea watering the lawn used so much water. And our sprinklers have been shut off most of the summer due to voluntary and mandatory restrictions. (A year ago in July we used 43,400 gal. for irrigation.)

Our household consumption looks high, too, for only two people. But we work from home so we are here most of the time.

Anyway, how does yours compare? I'm going to start looking for more ways to conserve. I may start by paving the lawn or putting in Astroturf.

Topics:

This is a family of 4, city

Submitted by K.T. on Mon, 10/22/2007 - 16:54.

This is a family of 4, city of Maryville; one line for inside and outside (just a spicket).

July 10,400
August 4600
September 5300

So, last month each member of the family used on average 44 gallons a day. To know that I'm using 44 gallons a day makes me ill...will be working harder this month to get that number down....

Here are some water facts

High water consumption

Submitted by Joe328 on Mon, 10/22/2007 - 19:04.

For just two people it seem high. I work at home and use about 1000 gal per month or less. I put low flow nozzles on one bathroom sink and master shower. Took out the dishwasher, which uses a large amount of water. Dishwashers are useless since you have to rinse the dishes before washing, and inspect for cleanliness after washing.

KUB

Submitted by DanR on Mon, 10/22/2007 - 19:32.

KUB bills list water consumption in CCF units--100 cubic feet--which is 748 gallons per 1 CCF. For two people (with me working at home) our usage is consistently either 3 or 4 CCFs/month. That's kind of a big rounding error, but I suppose it evens out.

2,244-2,992 gallons per month... about 43 gallons per day per person. Nothing to be too proud of, but the bill is only $12-$14 per month (less than a half a penny per gallon!), so there sure isn't any financial incentive to cut back.

We don't water the lawn ever, but do hit the potted flowers and indoor plants with about 20 gallons a week. Personally, I agree with Joe328 on the dishwasher (it's useless), but we only run it once a week anyway.

--DanR
(a.k.a. "Stick Thrower" in Lakemoor/Timberlake area of S. Knoxville)

I've been looking around a

Submitted by bizgrrl on Tue, 10/23/2007 - 08:25.

I've been looking around a little. It appears that the evil dishwasher may not be so evil.

Reference the American Water Works Association.

Also, there is an article by the Univ. of Kentucky on this topic and they also reference the American Water Works Association.

A clothes washer seems to be more of a problem. We do have a water guzzler, I guess. It is about 7 years old. I have been hoping to hold off on replacing it with a more efficient front loader.

In addition to the clothes washer, I believe we (I) waste a lot of water in the kitchen sink. I was saving greywater recently to use on the plants and was surprised how quickly I filled up a bucket of water. I think I'll stop "rinsing" dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, as recommended.

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