While our population has more than doubled since 1950, public demand for water has more than tripled, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We each now use 100 gallons of water (about 1,600 drinking glasses) every day.

How do we do this? Another federal authority, the Dept. of Energy, estimates that we use 20 gallons each time we take a shower or a bath. Shaving adds another two gallons. And we average four gallons for each hair shampoo, hand dishwashing, or hands and face washing. Not to mention clothes washing – 26 gallons for each wringer washer load or 32 gallons for each automatic washer load. And so it goes – plus commercial, institutional and municipal (such as firefighting) usage.

Along with other examples we could cite, this increasing demand on domestic water supplies and distribution systems threatens human health and the environment not to mention

the energy required to run the whole infrastructure. (Also consider that power plants use 136 billion gallons of fresh water a day. agriculture uses 142 billion gallons daily, and industrial and mining usage averages 20 billion gallons a day.) At least 36 states are expecting local, regional or statewide water shortages by 2013.

The average household spends as much as $500 a year on water and sewer bills – and could save as much as $170 a year directly by taking a few simple steps to use water more efficiently. And save indirectly by delaying needs for more water supply and wastewater infrastructure. (Did you know that letting a faucet run for five minutes uses about as much energy as a 60-watt light bulb burning for 14 hours?)

For professional advice on how to make sure that the water in your home is being used efficiently and safely, contact your licensed professional plumbing contractor or visit www.PAMCANI.org for more information.