Household Water Consumption Investigation

This activity encourages students to consider their own water consumption and the water consumption of their household.

Water is scarce!

This activity is designed to help learners find out how much water they consume in a day and how they could minimise water use if necessary.

Using the information in the table below, calculate:

1. How much water you need?

2. How much water does your family need?

Activity	Number of litres
Have a shower	30
Have a bath	110
Wash vegetables in a bowl	9
Wash vegetables under a running tap	150
Hand wash clothes in a bucket	40
Wash a full load in a washing machine	130
Wash half load in a washing machine	30
Use rainwater for washing a car or watering the garden	30
Use treated water	230
Wash your car using a bucket of water	18
Wash your car using a hose	300
When brushing your teeth fill a mug with water	0.5
Leave the tap running	45

All figures are approximate and the table might need to be modified to make it more locally appropriate.

Using the list above:

1. Can you spot alternative ways of doing the same tasks that use less water?

2. Which methods do you use at home?

3. How could you help to conserve water in your house?