U.S. Household Water Use Continues to Decline

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U.S. Household Water Use Continues to Decline

Continuing a trend that began in the early 1990s with tighter federal plumbing standards, U.S. household water use dropped again in 2015.

by Brett Walton

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Source: Pixabay

When assessing national figures, there are two main ways to gauge water use at home: the amount used per person and total water use, which incorporates changes in population. By both measures, water use is declining, according to the latest report from the U.S. Geological Survey, the agency that gathers national data every five years.

For people served by public and private utilities, water use for cooking, drinking, showering, lawn watering, car washing, and other household tasks dropped to an average of 83 gallons per person per day in 2015, down seven percent compared to 2010. Household use was 105 gallons per person per day in 1990.

Total household use declined as well, even as the number of people supplied by utilities increased by 14 million. Household water use in the country dropped by 381 million gallons per day, or two percent. Savings are evident across all utility operations.

Total water withdrawals for public supply, a category that includes household use as well as water provided by utilities for commercial and industrial purposes, are the lowest since 1995.

Read full article: Circle of Blue

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