Water Data

An average person can go
nearly two months without eating. 
But less than a week without water
could kill you.

Yet, important as water is, most of us know little about it.

Take this test and see
how much you know about water.

1. What percentage of the Earth
   is covered by water?

2. What percentage of the Earth's water
   is readily available for humans to use?

3. How much water is contained
   in the human body?

4. Which contains more water
   as a percentage of body weight,
   a woman's or a man's body?

5. Why do male and female bodies
   tend to have different amounts of water?

6. How much water does the human body
   lose in a typical day?

7. Why is water especially good
   for people on a diet?

8. What is the largest use of water...
indoors?   outdoors?

9. What percentage of treated drinking water is consumed    by people?

10. How much of a chicken is water?

11. How much of a pineapple is water?

12. How much of a tomato is water?

13. How much of an elephant is water?

14. How much of an ear of corn is water?

15. How much does a gallon of water weight?




 Answers: 1.  Some 80% of the Earth is covered by water or ice.  Only about 20% is dry land.

2.  97% of the water on earth is salty ocean and 2% is frozen.
   The remaining 1% is available to meet human needs.

3.  If you're an adult, your body contains about 40 quarts
    or 10 gallons of water.

4.  A man's body is 60-65% water.
   A woman's is 50-60% water.
    The human brain is about 75% water.

5.  Muscle tissue contains a large amount of water.
   Fat tissues contain virtually no water.
   Men tend to have more muscle as a percentage
   of body weight while women have more fat.

6.  You lose 2.5 to 3 quarts of water per day
   through normal elimination, sweating and breathing.
   If you exercise or live in a humid climate,
   you may lose another quarter.

7.  It has zero calories and zero sugar,
   but a good drink of water can reduce hunger.
   Water also helps your body metabolize stored fats,
   helps maintain proper muscle tone,
    and helps rid the body of wastes.

8.  Lawn sprinkling uses the most water outdoors.
   Inside, toilets use the most, with an average of
   27 gallons per person per day.
   Laundry averages 17 gallons per person per day and
   showers 14 gallons.

9.  Typically, less than 1% of the treated
drinking water, produced by utilities
is actually consumed by people.
Most goes for lawns, showers
and tubs, toilets, etc.

10. 75%

11. 80%

12. 95%

13. 76%

14. 80%

15. 1 liter of water weighs 1 kg
     1 gallon = 3.78 liter
     1 gallon of water = 3.78 kg
     1 kg = 1000 gram
     1 European pound = 500 gram
     1 American pound = 453 gram
     1 European ton = 1000 kg
     1 American ton = 906 kg



How much water does a human need?

Every day a human loses water through your breath, perspiration, urine and bowel movements. For a human body to function properly, humans must replenish their water supply by consuming beverages and foods that contain water.

There are different ways to calculate humans water needs.
A) Replacement: The average urine output for adults is about 1.5 liters (6.3 cups) a day. You lose close to an additional liter of water a day through breathing, sweating and bowel movements. Food usually accounts for 20 percent of your total fluid intake, so if you consume 2 liters of water or other beverages a day (a little more than 8 cups) along with your normal diet, you will typically replace the lost fluids.

8 8-ounce glasses of water a day. Another way to water intake is the "8 x 8 rule" — drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day (about 1.9 liters). The rule could also be stated, "drink eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid a day," as all fluids count toward the daily total. Though the approach isn't supported by scientific evidence, many people use this basic rule as a guideline for how much water and other fluids to drink.

Recommendation: Men consume roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day and women consume 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day.

You should drink enough fluid so that you rarely feel thirsty and produce 1.5 liters (6.3 cups) or more of colorless or slightly yellow urine a day.

The amount of water a human needs
can vary:
Human need to modify their total fluid intake depending on how active they are, the climate they live in, their health status, and if they are pregnant or breast-feeding.

Work outs: If humans exercise or engage in any activity that makes them sweat, they need to drink extra water to compensate for the fluid loss.
An extra 400 to 600 milliliters (about 1.5 to 2.5 cups) of water should suffice for short bouts of exercise, but intense exercise lasting more than an hour (for example, running a marathon) requires more fluid intake.
How much additional fluid humans need depends on how much they sweat during exercise, how long they exercise and the type of activity they are engaged in.
During long bouts of intense exercise, it's best to use a sports drink that contains sodium, as this will help replace sodium lost in sweat and reduce the chances of developing hyponatremia, which can be life-threatening.
Additionally, humans need to continue to replace fluids after they are finished exercising.

Weather changes water need:
Hot or humid weather can make humans sweat and require additional intake of fluid. Heated indoor air also can cause human skin to lose moisture during wintertime. Further, altitudes greater than 8,200 feet (2,500 meters) may trigger increased urination and more rapid breathing, which use up more of a humans's fluid reserves.

Sickness or health conditions:
Signs of illnesses, such as fever, vomiting and diarrhea, cause a human body to lose additional fluids. In these cases humans should drink more water and may even need oral rehydration solutions, such as Gatorade, Powerade or CeraLyte. More fluid is needed if a human has a bladder infections or urinary tract stones.
Heart failure and some types of kidney, liver and adrenal diseases may impair human excretion of water and even require that a human limits its fluid intake.

If you are pregnant or breast-feeding:
Women who are expecting or breast-feeding need additional fluids to stay hydrated. Large amounts of fluid are used especially when nursing.
Pregnant women should drink 2/3 gallon of fluids daily and women who breast-feed consume 3/4 gallon of fluids a day.


Water Conservation: Every Drop Counts
Water is a precious resource in our environment.
Growing populations and ongoing droughts are squeezing
our water resources dry, causing natural habitat degredation
and impacting our everyday use of water.
We have no choice but to pay more attention
to how we are using water, and how we may be wasting it.
We must bridge the gap between our understanding of
how important water is to our survival
and what we can do to ensure that we have an adequate
supply of clean water for years to come.
Below is Handy's list of the many simple ways
you can take action and conserve water,
both inside and outside our homes.

You're In Control
* Try to do one thing each day to save water.
Don't worry if the savings are minimal. Every drop counts,
and every person can make a difference.
* Be aware of and follow all water conservation and
water shortage rules and restrictions
that may be in effect in your area.
* Make sure your children are aware
of the need to conserve water.

Watching Water Wasters in the Kitchen and Bathroom
* The Toilet
* The Shower/Bath
* The Kitchen
* Washing Dishes

Other Water Wasters in Your Home
* Appliances
* Divert From the Drain
* Maintenance

Outdoor Water Wasters to Watch
* Watering the Lawn
* Lawn Care
* Landscaping
* Other Outdoor Water Wasters


There are different ways to collect water:

Surficial "Aquifer" water
Aquifer water
Desalination
Fresh Water Surface Reservoirs
Rainwater catchment
Surface groundwater

Bear Springs Blossom Nature Conservation volunteers work hard to protect public health and safety by minimizing contamination of shallow / surficial aquifers and preserving and protecting existing and potential sources of drinking water supplies. Our intent is to accomplish this through both public education and public cooperation.

Many aquifers are depleted, because
water is pumped up faster,
than rainwater can seep in and refill our aquifers.

Looking for additional water supply:

Here comes the word * Surficial Aquifer *
- its not really an aquifer,
we would name it surface water reservoir.

The use of surficial water brings different problems in water treatment:

A)Cleaning water with membranes will be different
B)Production rates are low
A large number of wells are required
C)Land acquisition is needed
for of large number of well sites
D)Because of shallowness of the well fields protection of these areas is very important contamination effects immediately
E)The quality of surficial water varies
F) High maintenance for all the wells and pipelines
G)and there is a potential
impact on adjacent homeowner wells
- Wouldn't it be easier to lower our water consumption?

The use of water saving washing machines
The use of water saving toilets
Avoid planting water loving plants in deserts
The use of native plants with adapted water needs
The use of native grasses that do not require a sprinkler system

We all need CLEAN water
Water is essential for all life on earth and plays a vital role in the proper functioning of the Earth’s ecosystems.
The pollution of water has a serious impact on all living creatures, and negatively affects the use of water for drinking, household needs, fishing, transportation, and commerce.
Water can easily be contaminated
for example: one gallon of motor oil can contaminate one million gallons of water,
which will affect not only water we drink, but water that comes into our houses and the natural water sources we need to water our food plants, our vegetables and water we swim in.
YOU can keep our water clean by:
making responsible choices. Think before you throw unwanted materials away.
using less toxic cleaning products
Never flush medications down the toilet. Take unused medications back to pharmacy for proper disposal
Recycle household paints at local PRODUCT CARE locations.
NEVER burn plastics - low temperature burning produces DIOXINs
1 millionth of a gram can kill a human
Recycle motor oil and oil filters. Never pour oil down storm drains.

We need to conserve water
Use water wisely:
*Replace your shower-head with an ultra low-flow version, saving up to 25 gallons in 10 minutes

*Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap for cold drinks

*Wash your produce in a pan that is filled with water instead of running water. Then use the water in your garden

*Use porous materials for walkways and patios to keep water in your yard and prevent wasteful runoff

*Direct downspouts and gutters towards shrubs and trees.

*Don't use foreign grasses in your lawn, use native grasses, they need much less water

*Use a layer of organic mulch around plants to reduce evaporation and save hundreds of gallons of water a year

*Avoid unnecessary flushing. Dispose of tissues, insects and other waste in trash

*Reuse fish tank water on plants – it makes nice fertilizer

*Turn off tap when shaving, washing face or brushing teeth

*Water deeply
but less frequently to create healthier and stronger landscapes