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  • An average person can go nearly two months without eating. Less than a week without water could kill you.
  • 80 percent of the world is covered by water or ice. Only about 20 percent is dry land. 
  • 97 percent of the water on earth is salty ocean, and 2 percent is frozen. The remaining 1 percent is available to meet human needs. 
  • If you are an adult, your body contains about 40 quarts, or 10 gallons of water. A man's body is 60 to 65 percent water. A woman's body is 50 to 60 percent water. The human brain is about 75 percent water. 
  • A human loses 2 1/2 to 3 quarts of water per day through normal elimination, sweating and breathing. If you exercise or live in a humid climate, you may lose another quart. 
  • Water has zero calories and zero sugar, but a good drink of water can reduce hunger. Water also helps your body metabolize stored fats, helps maintain proper muscle tone and helps rid the body of waste.
  • Typically, less than 1 percent of the treated drinking water produced by utilities is actually consumed by people. Most goes for lawns, showers and tubs, toilets, etc. 
  • Each person uses about 100 gallons of water a day at home.

Water Cost as of March 1, 2009

  • $2.55 per 1,000 gallons (0 to 6000 gallons of use)
  • $4.60 per 1,000 gallons (above 6000 to 10,000 gallons of use)
  • $4.94 per 1,000 gallons (above 10,000 gallons of use)


Water Consumption   Cost * One Dollar Buys *
Cost per ton 2,000 pounds divided by 8.34 pounds per gallon
$0.532 per ton 1.88 tons
Clothes washer 30 gallons per wash $0.067 per wash 15.02 washloads
Tub bath 30 gallons per bath $0.067 per wash 15.02 tub baths
Shower (5 min) 15 gallons per shower $0.033 per shower 30.03 showers
Dishwasher 12 gallons per load
$0.027 per load 37.54 dishwashes
Toilet flush 5 gallons per flush $0.011 per flush 90.09 flushes

* Does not include the cost of wastewater or state tax.

Last updated: 1/7/2013 12:02:59 PM