How much water do you use per day?
How much water does a person use on average per day, what does that cost and how can you save on it? We looked it up for you.
Dutchman uses 128 liters of water per day
In the Netherlands we use an average of 128.1 liters of drinking water per person per day, but we only drink 2% of that! This was calculated by CBS on behalf of Vewin. Showering (46.2 liters per person per day) and flushing the toilet (30.2 liters) require the most water.
Because the figures over the years have not been measured in exactly the same way, it is difficult to draw conclusions. However, it seems that after an earlier decline, we have started to use more water again, possibly also because of the droughts. On average, 0.9 liters per day would be for outdoor use.
What does water cost?
Water in the Netherlands sometimes feels free, but it is not. We pay an average of € 1.21 per 1000 liters of water. Based on 128.1 liters per person per day, that is almost 57 euros per person per year.
A household of three people therefore spends 121 euros on water per year, but there is an additional amount of around 70 euros in standing charges.
The costs for hot water are much higher: a nine-minute shower costs an average of 65 liters of hot water. You pay 0.72 euros for a gas boiler and 0.84 euros for an electric boiler, calculated the National Institute for Budget Information (Nibud) based on July 2022 prices.
What does saving water give you?
Suppose you structurally use 20% less water, then that will unfortunately only yield 3 cents per day or 11 euros per year.
Converted, however, a minute shorter shower already yields about 8 cents. That doesn’t seem like much, but if an entire family of five people does this for a whole year, it still adds up to more than 140 euros per year. If everyone takes a shower for a maximum of five minutes instead of an average of nine minutes, you will earn more than 500 euros per year as a family.
In 2022 we saw that many families manage to save an average of 20 to 25% gas savings. This is mainly due to the thermostat that is one degree lower, because hot water normally accounts for about 20% of the gas bill according to Milieu Centraal.
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It is a trend among young people to take a cold shower, that is also possible. Or wash at a sink.
Puk van Meegeren, energy expert Milieu Centraal, on Nu.nl
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Is saving water necessary?
If saving on water yields so little, except for hot water, why should we do it? Don’t we have enough water?
The joint Dutch water companies warn us: also In the Netherlands, water is becoming increasingly expensive and ultimately scarce due to pollution, salinization and droughts.
So every reason to be careful with our water! What would it be like if not everyone in the Netherlands had access to safe drinking water all year round? This is a normal situation in many developing countries.
20 liters of water per day?
Access to clean drinking water is self-evident for us. For 771 million people on Earth – about the same as the entire European population – however, this is not the case. They have a day job fetching water. Water that is often still polluted, with many diseases as a result.
According to the standard of the United Nations, a minimum of 20 liters of water per day is necessary for a healthy life. Would you manage with 20 liters a day?
Water for all
We have a mission: clean drinking water for everyone!
You can help us, not only by donating, but also by shopping.
Look at what you can do to contribute.
Water in hospitality
If you go out to eat, you may like to drink a glass of wine, but alcohol dries out and therefore requires more water to stay in balance. So opt for water with the wine and order a bottle of water, still or sparkling.
Unfortunately, in many cases this is spring water and that is not very sustainable because of the transport and waste. So go for restaurants with locally bottled water in reusable glass bottles!
Ambassadors of Made Blue serve sustainable water: deliciously filtered, cooled and sparkling in beautiful bottles. Each bottle provides 1000 times the content of clean drinking water in developing countries. Check out our map where you can order Made Blue.
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 that 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?
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