Water Consumption on the Household Level Essay

Literature Review

Over the past few years, the issue of water consumption has gained impressive significance. Because of the lack of focus on the seemingly renewable source and the scale to which it is used, major overuse of the specified resource has been detected. According to the existing evidence, the sphere of public utilities could use a major improvement in terms of instructing people on the wise use of water (Makki, Stewart, Panuwatwanic, & Beal, 2013).

A closer analysis of the problem will reveal that, on the household level, overconsumption of water occurs during taking a shower most of the time (Russel & Fielding, 2010). The specified phenomenon can be explained by the fact that controlling the use of water in the course of taking a shower is quite complicated for most people.

Moreover, it is a tradition for a range of people to leave the tap running while they are busy performing other actions, such as soaping their hands, shampooing their hair, etc.: “Residential water consumption has been found to be influenced by the use of efficient water appliances” (Makki et al., 2013, p. 132), which means that showering is the procedure that leads to massive waste of water.

Water conservation, in its turn, may solve the issues described above. Although the present-day strategies for proper water use seem quite legitimate, the fact that most people tend to overuse water resources cannot be doubted.

According to recent research, the rates of water overuse have increased from 80 to 111 l/day per person (Makki et al., 2013, p. 138), which is beyond deplorable. Nevertheless, water conservation, as one of the key strategies for addressing water overuse, especially during shower time, is a legitimate solution to the existing situation.

The solution to the problem is quite simple and just as obvious, yet admittedly costly and painstaking, as it will require a massive campaign for raising awareness regarding the issue of water overuse. In other words, the issues of water overuse and the idea of sustainable consumption must be spread across the state so that the U.S. citizens could be invested into the issue and concern themselves with locating the solutions to the problem.

The problem is quite challenging not only because of the wide range of target demographics that need to be embraced but also because the people’s mind frame needs to be altered. Water is the substance that people are used to taking for granted; therefore, it rarely occurs to average citizens that they contribute to the development of a major catastrophe. Thus, the campaign to be held needs to use, especially persuasive arguments.

Apart from the attempts at convincing the citizens of the U.S. that there is an urgent necessity to save water or, at the very least, stop its consistent overuse, the incorporation of technological advances allowing for controlling the usage of water must be suggested. The recent technological breakthrough has opened a plethora of opportunities for improving the present-day system of public services in general and the provision of water in particular.

For instance, the incorporation of water-saving showerheads in the design of showers can be viewed as a possibility and a chance for altering the current water consumption rates: “Efficiency behaviors refer to one‐off behaviors such as installing water-saving showerheads or rainwater tanks that facilitate ongoing water savings” (Russel & Fielding, 2010, p. 2).

Individual Case Study

In order to prove that careful and economical use of water is possible without installing valves on taps or using any other technology, our group carried out a series of experiments. The first experiment to be held concerned the evaluation of the amounts of water used in the course of daily showering, as well as the study of the techniques that could possibly reduce the rates of individual water consumption.

For the necessary calculations to be carried out, certain preparations have been made. In order to measure the water flow of the tap that was used for showering, the researcher installed a bowl under the water tap. After leaving the tap running on its average speed for half a minute, the researcher collected the water from the tap in the above-mentioned bowl and measured the volume of the water in it. Originally, it was planned that the tap should be left running for a minute, yet it was not possible to find a suitable bowl.

It should be noted that the water collected in the course of the experiment was later on used for washing dishes and, therefore, was not wasted. According to the results of this part of the experiment, approximately eight liters of water is used per minute.

Seeing that I spend 15 minutes in the shower on average, the daily consumption of water makes approximately 120 l, which is obviously beyond admissible. Therefore, the next stage of the experiment included a search for the means of reducing the amount of water used in the process of showering.

The third stage of the experiment, which was carried out during Week 5, included the implementation of the key strategy for reducing the amount of water consumed during shower time. Specifically, the time spent on showering was reduced by three minutes. As a result of the given change, it became possible to save around 24 l of water on a daily basis. While the specified change could be viewed as a major improvement, it was still far too minor to have any effect on the overall water consumption rates that I displayed.

For the fourth stage of the experiment, the approach known as “Navy showering” (How to save water at home, 2014) was used. By definition, the specified strategy helps cut the volume of water used for daily showering to an average of 11 l (How to save water at home, 2014). According to the existing descriptions of the technique, the concept of Navy showering involves turning off the water when performing any action that does not require rinsing or using water in any other way (e.g., the process of soaping, shampooing, etc.).

The effects of the use of the Navy showering technique were beyond impressive; not only did I reduce the amount of water used per minute of showering, but it also made the time used for the procedure drop by 12 solid minutes. Consequently, only 24 l of water were wasted in the process.

However, the experience was overall unpleasant; moreover, the process of showering was not as efficient as it used to be with the traditional methods used. It seems that the Navy shower technique might work in a specific environment, where water scarcity dictates specific rules for water use; however, as far as the traditional everyday environment was concerned, it did not seem to be either efficient or recommendable. Herein the necessity to resort to a different approach lied.

Despite being barely applicable for everyday use, the Navy shower technique served as the basis for developing another strategy, which was tested during Week 6 of the case study. Specifically, the habits to turn off the tap when the water was not needed, to avoid turning the water on so that it operated on its full capacity, and to avoid spending much time under the shower were developed. As a result, the total amount of minutes spent under the shower dropped to seven.

Moreover, the volume of water used for showering was cut by nearly half, which is obviously a major accomplishment in terms of saving water resources. When viewed on a larger scale (e.g., the use of water city- or statewide), the idea of saving water during shower time seems quite promising.

It is assumed that the technique specified above will allow for reducing the amount of water used in the course of showering by 23,360 l per year. The drop in water consumption that was demonstrated with the help of the experiment described above is very impressive; it shows that the problem of water scarcity may be partially resolved once people comply with the approach provided above and consider reducing the time and water spent on their daily showering procedures.

Moreover, the specified approach may spark the concept of sustainable use of water in the household. The strategy incorporating the analysis of water used for daily showering and the approach for reducing both the amount of water used and the time spent in the shower may lead to a grand improvement in the current water consumption rates, therefore, triggering an opportunity for supplying more water to the regions with the scarcity of the above-mentioned resource.

Reference List

How to save water at home. (2014). A Dawn Journal. Web.

Makki, A. A., Stewart, R. A., Panuwatwanic, K., & Beal, C. (2013). Revealing the determinants of shower water end use consumption: enabling better targeted urban water conservation strategies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 60(1), 129–146.

Russel, S. & Fielding, K. (2010). Water demand management research: A psychological perspective. Water Resources Research, 46(5), 1–12.