This document discusses water consumption and conservation. It begins by noting that only 1% of the Earth's water is readily accessible for human use. The document then examines personal and family water usage through tracking activities like showering and laundry. The author was surprised to find they use over 800 liters of water per week personally. Steps to conserve water are outlined, like shorter showers or only running full loads of dishes and laundry. The goal is to raise awareness of individual water footprints and ways to reduce consumption.

1. Comenius Multilateral School Partnership:Comenius Multilateral School Partnership:
WaterborneWaterborne IdentitiesIdentities
Katharina Tancré, Gymnasium am Wall VerdenKatharina Tancré, Gymnasium am Wall Verden

2. Structure
I. Water As A Resource
II. The Problem
III. Conserving Water
IV. Personal Water Consumption
V. Family Water Consumption
VI. Knowledge on Water Consumption
VII. How Can I Conserve Water?
VIII. Sources

3. Water As A Resource
● Although around 70% of planet Earth's surface is covered in
water, 97.5% of this water is salt water not safe for human
consumption
→ only 2.5% of the water found on our
planet is fresh water
● However, most of this fresh water is either groundwater that
cannot be accessed or frozen in icecaps (e.g. in Antarctica or
Greenland) → This leaves only 1% fresh water that we can
directly access

4. Water As A Resource
● For many, water is a scarce resource. Nearly 1 billion people all
around the world do not have access to clean drinkable water
● Especially people in developing countries with physical or
economic water scarcity have to suffer from water shortages on
a daily basis

5. The Problem
● Our planet's population is increasing rapidly → more demand
for water
● Not every country has efficient wastewater treatment plants
which means wastewater can contaminate fresh water
supplies
– A lot of water used in households, agriculture,
factories, etc., is contaminated and can cause
severe illnesses when ingested

6. Conserving Water
● Fortunately many countries in Northern Europe are not
affected by water scarcity, although this adds to the
misconception that we do not need to conserve water since
we seem to have plenty of it
● Saving water in Europe might not be beneficial for those
suffering in Africa, Latin America or Asia, but:
– You can save money in the longterm
– You can help save energy needed to filter
and purify water in wastewater treatment
plants
● Apart from using less water, you can also look into the
amounts of water needed to produce the foods you consume
→ up to 21.000 litres of water are needed to produce one
kilogram of roasted coffee beans

7. Personal Water Comsumption
In order to determine the amount of water I personally use on
a daily basis, I wrote down how many times I washed my
hands, took a shower or generally used water for a couple of
days:
Water used (in litres) Frequency of activity
Showering 100 litres for 10
Minutes
Daily→ 700 litres per
week
Washing hands Up to 2 litres Up to seven times a
day → 98 litres each
week
Brushing teeth 0.5 litres Two times a day → 7
litres each week
Drinking water 2.5 litres each day
(mostly bottled water)
Around 17.5 litres
each week
Washing face Up to 4 litres Two times a day → 56
litres each week

8. Personal Water Consumption
I've always assumed I did not use too much water, however,
my weekly water consumption of at least 878.5 litres proved
me wrong. I am frankly quite shocked and thought about ways
to reduce the amount of water I use.
● I could shower 5 Minutes instead of 10 → reduce the amount
of water needed by half
● Use less water while washing my face

9. Family Water Consumption
I also estimated how much water my family uses for doing
daily chores such as doing the dishes or laundry.
Surprisingly, we would save a lot of water if we used the
dishwasher instead of doing the dishes by hand
Water used (in litres) Frequency of activity
Doing the laundry Around 70 litres At least twice a week →
140 litres each week
Doing the dishes
(manually)
30 litres Once a day → 210 litres
each week
Dishwasher 15 litres 3 times a week → 30 litres

10. Knowledge On Water Consumption
● Where does the water I consume come from?
Most of the water in Verden is groundwater that has been extracted from an aquifer.
● What happens with my wastewater?
Wastewater travels through sewage lines to a wastewater treatment plant where
the water is purified and sterilized.

11. How Can I Conserve Water?
● Turn off your faucet while brushing your teeth, washing food
or doing the dishes
● Install water-efficient shower heads and faucets
● Take shorter showers
● Use the dishwasher and washing machine only for full loads

12. Sources
 http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/scarcity.shtml
 http://sustainability.about.com/od/Sustainability/a/Why-Save-Water
 http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures
 http://thewaterproject.org/
 http://www.tag-des-wassers.com/vier-mythen---wasserverbrauch/in
(German source)
 http://www.zeit.de/wirtschaft/2012-04/wassersparen-verbrauch-rep
(German source)
 http://www.ifad.org/english/water/key.htm
 http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/FIELD/Ve
nice/pdf/special_events/bozza_scheda_DOW04_1.0.pdf