Can You Use <50 Litres of Water in a Day?

WATER CHALLENGE

Can you use less than or an equal amount of water as the average person in a developing country?

March: Find your water use “baseline”!

1. During a typical day in March keep track of the amount of time (e.g., use a stopwatch, count or estimate) water is running for:
   - brushing your teeth
   - showering
   - washing your hands
   - washing your dishes by hand
2. Find and write down the capacity of your toilet, dishwasher and clothes washer (if you don’t know, don’t worry)
3. Go to the following online water use calculator* and fill in the blanks: http://www.tampagov.net/dept_water/conservation_education/Customers/Water_use_calculator.asp (1 US gallon = 3.785 litres)
4. Send an e-mail to spanconnects@shaw.ca to share your results and observations.

* We’re using Tampa’s as the best English on-line calculator we’ve found so far. Know of a better Canadian one?

April 20: Can you use less than 50 litres?

The average person in a developing country uses 50 litres/day, some use as little as 10 litres/day. How low can you go??

1. Fill your bottle with water and apply a stick-on label. The bottle is your portable supply for the day.
2. Use the water from your bottle for all your water needs, except toilet flushing of course.
3. Mark a label on your bottle each time you refill it.
4. Determine your water use.**
5. Send an e-mail to spanconnects@shaw.ca to share your results and observations.

**If you choose to use your:

- Shower, add 9.5 or 15 litres/minute***

- Dishwasher, add 22 or 40 litres per use

- Clothes washer, add 90 or 170 litres per load

***first number is for efficient fixtures, second number is average

As for your toilet… count the number of times you flush and multiply by 6, 13 or more if it’s a really old one! Some toilets include a marking indicating volume per flush.

Find a list of links and resources, and challenge updates at www.cawst.org. Follow the “get involved” and “water challenge” links.