Water waste is a hugely important issue that is often overlooked. In many places, certainly more wealthy countries like the US, water is commonly taken for granted. For example, a leaky faucet may seem like no big deal, however in the long run it can be extremely wasteful. “One faucet leaking one drip per minute adds up to 34 gallons of water per year” (Washington Post). This is just for one leaky faucet; imagine how many gallons of water would be wasted with multiple leaky faucets across the United States and even in the world. Household leaks, including toilets and irrigation systems, can waste about 900 billion gallons of water annually which is a significant statistic. On average, each United States citizen wastes about 10 gallons of water a day due to leaks, most often without realizing it.
Some solutions to prevent this kind of water waste would be to make sure there is a proper irrigation system in place. If a system is installed correctly and managed properly, water waste can be reduced by 15%, or 7,600 gallons of water a year. This would make a major difference. However, there are some socioeconomic issues that come into play with the ability to reduce water waste. Some individuals that are less wealthy may not be able to afford proper irrigation system installment and certainly may not be able to keep up with management of the system if installed. There are things that can still be done regardless of socioeconomic status, such as taking shorter showers, only running full loads of laundry or dishes, and by turning off the faucet all the way after use. Also, all individuals are capable of looking for leaks in their pipes and even in their toilets to be aware if there is a problem and then take the necessary steps to reduce the leak or to fully fix it.
Works Cited
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/03/17/the-incredibly-stupid-way-that-america-wastes-1-trillion-gallons-of-water-each-year/
https://www.epa.gov/watersense/statistics-and-facts#:~:text=Water%20Stats,gallons%20of%20water%20annually%20nationwide.
34 gallons a year is way more than I was expecting! Our shower leaks at home sometimes and now I want to make sure we get it fixed.
Leaks in pipes are crucial ways of leakage that probably less than 10% of Americans even care about or notice.
Interesting to see this in more context especially after we went over water usage in US households in class. There are so many ways to cut back on water usage!
I find it amazing that something so small can add up such as, “One faucet leaking one drip per minute adds up to 34 gallons of water per year”. This can compare that an individual fixing a faucet can make a huge difference.
I thought your mentioning of proper/improved irrigation was spot on. The leaks and other problems with old and improper irrigation lines are just so problematic as you have pointed out.