Quality of Life
Did You Know?
Only 3 percent of the tap water we use on a typical day is used for drinking. The rest goes for outdoor watering, bathroom uses, clothes washing, etc.
Hurricane Katrina underscores value of water
A reliable water supply contributes to our quality of life in so many ways that it is difficult to fully measure. However, it is possible to get a sense by examining what can happen when disaster strikes.
- When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, more than 1,220 drinking water systems and 200 wastewater treatment facilities were damaged.
- With water service out, urban fires could not be extinguished.
- While bottled water provided emergency drinking water relief, people needed tap water service to clean out homes. Businesses could not return to normal operations until water service was restored.
Tap water is more than a convenience; it is central to our everyday lives.
- Any measure of a successful society - low mortality rates, economic diversity, productivity, public safety - is in some way related to access to safe water.
- Tap water is so intricately part of our lives that we can hardly imagine a day without it. Without tap water...
- ... How would we rinse our produce, clean dishes and clothes, water plants and landscapes and wash our cars?
- ... Where would we shower?
- ... How many businesses would have to suspend operations or relocate entirely?
- ... How would our institutions – from hospitals to firehouses to schools – function?
- Americans tap into about 341 billion gallons of tap water every day. Total water use (both indoor and outdoor) in a typical single-family home is 101 gallons per capita per day.
The Authoritative Resource on Safe Water