How much water do you use per day?
How much water to you consume a day?
You may wonder how much water you typically use on a daily basis, and how this holds up against national and international averages. Maybe you’re interested in what water costs, how it shows up on your monthly bills, or perhaps even how to reduce your water use. Well, good news, because we’ve looked into it for you.
Average EUROPEAN uses 144 litres of water a day
The western part of the world has enjoyed easy access to clean and safe drinking water via (multiple) household taps for centuries. This complete accessibility makes it easy to just let the water flow, despite it being a finite source with costs attached.
The most recent data shows that European citizens (including those living in the UK) use 144 litres of water per person on average every day. This figure is much higher in the United States, where just one person averages 310 litres every day.
In the Netherlands, where the Made Blue Foundation is based, we use an average of 129 litres of drinking water per person per day. Consider this: only 2% of these litres are used as drinking water. Showering (46.2 litres per person per day) and flushing the toilet (30.2 litres) require the most water in the Netherlands. Even though the Dutch seem to be more conservative with their water use compared to Americans, they take much longer showers compared to USA citizens (36% of water use in NL vs 20% in the USA).
What does water cost?
Unless there’s been a construction mishap nearby or you’ve not been fully on top of your admin, water flows freely into your home from multiple taps every single day. This can create the illusion of water being gratis. Of course, this is not the case. We’ve looked into the average cost per m³ (1,000 litres) of water:
- Netherlands: €1,21
- Europe: €3,50
- United Kingdom: €3,03
- United States: €0,73
It should be noted that prices of water in Europe vary wildly per country. In Oslo, Norway, tap water costs about €5.51 per cubic meter, making it one of the most expensive cities to take a shower. In cities like Naples, Italy, water is much cheaper at €1.29 per cubic meter. The same goes for the United States, a vast country with many different water prices across the continent.
It should also be taken into account that the price increases when using hot water. Unless you are into a cold plunge every morning, you’ll use a gas or electric boiler or other heating source to warm up your shower water. In the Netherlands this amounts to 0,74 euros on average for a eight-minute shower (which uses 65 litres of water – more than you need to drink to stay hydrated every day for a month!) Of course these prices vary based on the costs of energy, which go up and down frequently.
Clean drinking water for all
More than 700 million people still don’t have access to safe water.
We are the Made Blue Foundation and our mission is clean drinking water for all.
Will you help us achieve our mission? There are more ways to do this than you might think.
Is saving water worth it?
Perhaps you live in one of the areas of Europe where water prices are high, or your country experiences frequent droughts. What can reducing your water consumption yield financially? This calculation depends on your location and personal situation and your ability to look at the big picture.
Suppose you live in the UK; average shower time on the island is 8 minutes per day. Depending on the type of shower head, you’ll use an average of 65 litres per shower per person. Without taking the extra costs for heating the water into account, this will cost €0,24 per soak.
This doesn’t sound like much – but considering the average household size in the UK, this tallies up to a little over €190 a year on your water bill just for showering. By reducing your shower time from 8 to 5 minutes you save €71,37 euros on your household shower spending annually. This isn’t just great for your finances, but your skin too.
“
Keep showers active. Don’t stand under water for minutes at a time.
Dr. Lauren Ploch, board-certified dermatologist with the American Academy of Dermatology
”
Need more convincing?
Sure, there seems plenty to be gained from taking a shorter shower or ‘letting it mellow‘. But it seems like an awful lot of work for little result. Right?
False! We may think we’re so cosy and safe in our western haven, close to thousands of fresh water lakes, rivers and underground water sources. But population growth, urbanisation, pollution and the effects of climate change, such as persistent droughts, are putting a huge strain on our water supplies and on its quality. In fact, water stress is a problem that affects millions around the world, including over 100 million people in Europe.
According to the European Enviroment Agency: “about 88.2% of Europe’s freshwater use comes from rivers and groundwater, while the rest comes from reservoirs and lakes, which makes these sources extremely vulnerable to threats posed by over-exploitation, pollution and climate change.”
Effects of water scarcity
Clean and safe drinking water is such a given in our daily lives, we may forget this is an incredible luxury to most. 703 million people on earth – about the same amount of people living in Europe – lack access to clean drinking water.
For these people, fetching water is often a full time job. Long walks on rough terrain to water sources with considerate risks to their safety takes up most of their days. The result is usually a small amount of polluted water, which needs to be boiled over open fire, and still causes many diseases.
According to the standard of the United Nations, a minimum of 20 litres of water per day is necessary for a healthy life. No more daily 8 minute showers – if you’d spend over one minute showering a day with access to that amount, you’d have blown through half of it already.
Horeca water
You may want to enjoy a glass of wine with your dinner in a fancy restaurant. Alcohol has a dehydrating effect, causing headaches and other ailments that will make you feel regretful the next day. Ordering a glass of water alongside your favourite merlot is a smart move.
In many cases you’ll be served spring water, which is not very sustainable. The transport and materials needed to present this at your table have a significant impact on the environment. That’s why we are big champions of serving locally bottled water in reusable glass bottles.
Made Blue ambassadors serve sustainable water: filtered and chilled in beautiful bottles. Each bottle provides 1,000 times its contents of clean drinking water in developing countries. Check our map to see where you can order Made Blue water.
Offset your water consumption
More and more companies are opting to compensate for their water consumption or to mirror the water savings of their product or service with the same amount of clean drinking water in developing countries.
We call this One Litre for One Litre. In this program you will come across companies such as Quooker, CWS, La Trappe and MAAS, but also various cleaning companies or office organizations. Will you join us?
Contribute to our mission too
You can do so in more ways than you might think.
