OWASA Water Use Calculator

Understanding where and how much water we use is the first step in beginning to conserve one of our most precious resources. This simple home water use calculator will allow you to better understand your household consumption, both indoor and outdoors. After calculating your water use patterns, you can begin conserving in ways that work best with your lifestyle. By conserving, your water and sewer bills will be lower, and you can save money on your hot water heating costs. Also, you are helping to protect our environment.

Please enter the requested information into the form below and press the "Calculate" button to calculate your daily, monthly, and yearly water use in gallons. You do not need to answer every question if they do not apply.

GENERAL QUESTIONS
1. How many people are there in your household? (Required)

INDOOR WATER USE
BATHROOM
1. How many showers are taken each day in your household?
2. What is the average length (in minutes) of a shower? Enter 6.3 if you are unsure.
3. What is the flow rate (gallons per minute) of your showerhead? Enter 3.8 for standard showerhead; 1.6 for low flow. If you are unsure, enter: 2.5 if your showerhead was made after 1994 3.5 if your showerhead was made between 1980 and 1994 6.5 if your showerhead was made before 1980
4. Total number of baths taken each week by members of your household.
TOILETS
1. Average number of times each person flushes a toilet in your house per day. Enter 4 if you are unsure.
2. How many gallons does your toilet use per flush? Enter 5 if you have a standard toilet; 1.6 if you have a low volume toilet. If you are unsure, enter: 1.6 if your toilet was made after 1994 3.5 if your toilet was made between 1980 and 1994 6.25 if your toilet was made before 1980
FAUCETS
1. Average number of times a day each person uses facuets to shave, brush teeth, wash hands and face?
2. How many minutes on average does the water run during each use?
WASHING DISHES
1. How many times are dishes washed by hand each day?
2. On average, how many minutes does the water run when you hand-wash the dishes?
3. If you have a dishwasher, how many times is it used each week?
4. How much water does your dishwasher use per load? Enter one of the numbers below: 9 if your dishwasher was made after 1994 11 if your dishwasher was made between 1980 and 1994 14 if your dishwasher was made before 1980
LAUNDRY
1. How many loads of laundry are washed in your household each week?
2. How much water does your washing machine use per load? Enter one of the numbers below: 40 if your washer was made after 1994 27 if your washer was made after 1994 and is a front-loader 51 if your washer was made between 1980 and 1994 56 if your washer was made before 1980

OUTDOOR WATER USE
LAWN WATERING & OTHER USES
1. How many times is your lawn and/or the landscaping watered or irrigated each week?
2. How long (in minutes) does each watering last?
3. Water is also used outdoors to wash cars, fill pools, rinse outdoor furniture and clean equipment. Estimate the average number of minutes that water is used outdoors for these types of uses in a typical week.

Press the Calculate button to compute your overall water use.

RESULTS
WATER USE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD GALLONS PER PERSON PER DAY
INDOOR WATER USE		OUTDOOR WATER USE
Bathroom		Lawn Watering
Toilets		Other Outdoor Uses
Faucets		Click HERE for Water Conservation Tips
Laundry
Dishwasher
Hand Washing Dishes

COMPARISON BETWEEN YOUR HOUSEHOLD AND
THE AVERAGE USE FOR THE TYPICAL HOUSEHOLD IN THE OWASA SERVICE AREA

Your House Community
Average

Interior per capita gallons per day 65

Exterior per capita gallons per day 12

Gallons of Water Each Person Uses in and Around the House

Per Day Per Month Per Year

Your Household

Community Average

Comments:

*Source: Billed water use records for OWASA's single family residential customers