Kandalynn Naidl

Allison Chun

Geography 101

4/18/2020

Assignment #3 Water Footprint

1. What is your water footprint in both cubic meters and gallons?

My water footprint is 783 m³ or 206,712 gallons per year. (264 gallons per cubic meter).

2. What contributed the most to your footprint?

Food contributed to most of my foot print (485); Meat contributed to majority of the food (277).

3. Do you feel anything was left out of this equation?

I do feel there are gaps in the equation. No one knows exactly how much water they use. There
wasn’t an option about washing your dog, or amount of water consumed every day. We are
answering these questions to the best of our ability taking an average of our day with the
questions provided. On average, I usually take 1 shower a day but some days when I get super
dirty or it’s a fancy occasion, I might take 3 showers. I am using approximate water readings
from my house; if I go somewhere else I might use more/less.

4. How do you think you might be able to reduce your footprint?

In order to reduce my footprint I need to do everything I can to save water. Never take the
resource for granted and promote water saving tips. My family and I have a high efficiency low
water toilet, we repair/stop/redirect leaks when we see them, and we use water efficient faucets. I
never leave the water running; we don’t wash off our concrete, and we don’t water before/after it
rains. We wash our cars very rarely maybe 2 times a year. I can reduce my water footprint by
collecting rain water (creating a rain bucket) and create a gray water system that runs off of used
water from appliances & sink.

5. How does your footprint compare to the average U.S. per capita footprint?

The global average water foot print is 1243 m³. U.S. average water usage per day is 1,800-2200
gallons of water per day. I use on average 1000 gallons per day. My footprint is less than the
global average however it was still a lot higher than I expected and what I want it to be.

6. Are you surprised by these results? Why or why not?

I am totally stunned/ surprised by these results. I never realized how much water was wasted
until now. I can’t believe how cheap water is for how scare the resource is! I can’t believe how
much water I use and how high the US average is. I never want to live in a world where our
resources are taken for granted and not taken care of. We need to take only what we need and
restore the rest!

7. Who is the creator of the water footprint concept and where is WFN located?

The water footprint concept was created by Arjen Hoekstra in 2002. WFN is located in Delft,
Netherlands. His mission was to use the water footprint concept to promote the transition toward
sustainable, fair and efficient use of fresh water resources worldwide. To promote a world in
which we share clean fresh water fairly amongst all people to sustain thriving communities and
nature’s diversity.

8. What is Virtual Water and how does it meet the world’s demand for water?

Virtual water is all the hidden water you can’t see but it is required to produce, pack, and
ship/deliver the food or material products to you.

9. What other interesting information did you find on this web page? List at least 3.

I really liked this webpage, all the informational statistics/reports and how easy the sight was to
use. I found the National water foot print explorer, the water footprint assessment tool, and all
the water stats (water statistics from virtual water, to water used for agricultures, to water
scarcity and pollution) super interesting. Reading about statistics is one thing, when you can
visually see on a map who is affected and the color change of severity, you can start to see, feel,
and understand the information at hand.

10. What is the environmental source of your household water (aquifer, stream or ditch,
catchment, etc.). How is the water treated before it gets to your house? Be specific and
include your reference source

According to County of Maui (https://www.mauicounty.gov/Faq.aspx?QID=112), the

environmental source of my household’s water is ground water from an underground aquifer in
Iao valley, Hale Mahina, the West Maui Mountains. This water is pumped to a water treatment
plant in Kahului where they add chlorine and distribute across the rest of Central Maui, Kahului,
Wailuku, Waihee, Maalaea, Kihei, and Paia.