Investigating Water Usage

By Adam Overmoe, Emily Facemyer, and

Michael Delgado

U of U Math 1030
Introduction

It’s estimated that the total water usage in the United States is 408 billion gallons per day, this

includes drinking water and salt water. Our overall objective was to discover how much water

the average person uses on a daily basis. With that, we also needed to find the average person’s

water usage from a yearly perspective as well as how much water it takes to maintain lawns with

specific types of grass. To solve for these amounts, we’d need to use a few unit conversions and

some basic algebra. Our group would soon discover that the there are ways to use our water more

efficiently than we do now if we learn to stop using it unnecessarily.

Work/Procedure

Step One

- The first step was to solve for the average number of gallons that flow from faucets per

minute in a house or apartment. The total use of water in the US is estimated to be 408

billion gallons per day. There are 325.7 million people in the US. We then found that

each person in the US uses about 1,253 gallons per day. Using this information we found

the average number of water that flows from faucets per minute is .87 gallons per minute.

Math

408, 000, 000, 000 gallons of water ÷ 325, 700, 000 million people = 1, 253 gallons of water/person

1253/1 day × 1 day/24 hrs × 1hr/60min = 0.87gal/min

Step Two

- The second step was to solve for the average number of minutes per day that one uses

faucets in their house or apartment for purposes other than washing dishes,

bathing/showering. The water drawn from faucets other than the purposes stated above is

about 13.4% of total water in a household used by a person daily. We found that each

person uses 168 gallons of water a day for purposes other than washing dishes, and

bathing. We found this by taking 13.4% of the total amount of water each person uses

daily, which is 1,253 gallons. We then found that .117 gallons of water are used per min

for purposes other than dish washing and bathing.

Math

1, 253 gal/person × 13.4% = 168 gallons of water drawn f rom f aucets f or drinking

168 gal/day × 1 day/24hrs × 1hr/60min

- We also needed to find out how many minutes out of the day that we as individuals use

the faucet for purposes other than washing dishes or bathing/showering. To do so, each of

us would keep track of these amounts for three consecutive days, and average the totals.

Math

Michael’s water usage: Uses faucet 8 minutes per day for other purposes

Adam’s water usage: Uses faucet 6 minutes per day for other purposes

Emily’s water usage: Uses faucet 7 minutes per day for other purposes

8 + 6 + 7 = 21

= 21 / 3 = 7 minutes per day is average number of minutes each of us spend using water

for something other than dish washing or bathing.

Step Three

- The third step was to estimate the average number of gallons of in-house water a person

uses each year for purposes other than dish washing and bathing. The average number a

person uses a day other than those purposes was 168 gallons. So we multiplied that by

365 days and found each person uses 61,320 gallons of water per year.

Math

168 gallons of water × 365 days in a year = 61, 320 gallons of water used per year

Step Four

- Our next objective was to find the dimensions

of a square floor if the room was 13 ft tall and

we had to fill the room with the average amount

of water a person uses in year. We found that 1

gallon is equal to .134 cubic feet. So to find the

volume of the room we took the amount of

water used per year, 61,320 gallons, and multiplied it by .134 cubic feet. The volume was

8216.88 ft cubed. Then to find the dimensions of the floor we divided away the height of

the room, 13 ft, and found the surface area of the floor was 632.07 ft squared. Since the

floor had to be a square we square rooted the surface area and found that each side had to

be 25.1 ft.
 Math
3
.134 f t
1 gal = .134 f t 3 so 61, 320 gal * 1 gal
= 8216.88 f t 3

8216.88 f t3 /13 f t = 632.07 f t2

√634.07 f t 2
= 25.1 f t

Step Five

- Next we needed to estimate the percentage of a family’s water usage that goes towards

watering their lawn. With the family’s lawn being 3200 square feet of Kentucky

Bluegrass (requiring about 30 inches of water per year) we would need to discover the

absolute and relative amounts of water used to maintain the grass. We would then need to

compare the amounts required to care for the Kentucky Bluegrass and compare it to other

kinds of grass.

Table

Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

f t3 600 700 700 1300 3500 50000 56000 54000 30000 700 600 700

The table above represents the amount of water used by a family per month in cubic feet to

maintain their lawn.

Math

Family uses 27, 800 f t. 3 of water to water their lawn every year.

3200 × 2.5 f t. = 8, 000 f t. 3 is total amount of water the lawn needs per year to survive.

27, 800 − 8, 000 = 19, 800 f t. 3 is the absolute error.

27, 800 / 8, 000 = 139 / 40 × 1.0 = 3.475

= 3.475 - 1.000 = 2.475 % is the relative error.

 Varieties of Grass:

Zoysia grass

Flexible. Loves sun and shade. Slow growing. Tolerates traffic. Produces lush carpet. El Toro,
Empire, Jamur, and Palisades most drought-resistant.

Bermuda grass
Loves the sun, responds well to watering, good traffic tolerance, but needs lots of mowing. Many
varieties are drought-tolerant. Best in sub-tropical southern zones.
St. Augustine grass
Floratam is most drought-tolerant variety but generally it prefers dappled shade. Got trees? Ask
your local municipality if it's giving them away. LA gives up to seven but palms don't count.
Water-wise arbors here are crape myrtle, London plane and silk tree.
Buffalo grass
Midwest prairie native needs full sun but so-so with traffic. Warm season but tolerates cold. Low
rainfall and slow grower. Most are drought-tolerant.
Bahia grass
Decent choice for infertile soil. Needs full sun. Course but thick covering.
Fescues
Cool season grasses for more northern climates. Absorbs water well after drought.
Water Conservation Practices recommended by, ​Love Your Landscape.org:​

1. Install an automatic-rain-shut off device​. This is an inexpensive device you can install
on your irrigation system controller that tells it to shut off when a specified amount of
rain has fallen.
2. Update your irrigation system with a smart controller. ​A slightly larger investment
($300 to several thousand dollars) will buy you a weather-based irrigation controller
capable of improving your watering efficiency by up to 40%. If your water bill has been
large it will probably pay itself back within a couple of years.
3. Upgrade to water-efficient emitters.
4. Eliminate leaks. ​According to the EPA, a single 1/32” diameter leak on a hose, emitter
or outdoor faucet can waste more than 6,000 gallons of water in a year.
5. Install a rain barrel.​ It’s good for plants because it’s free of many of the salts and
chemicals that are present in most groundwater or city-water sources.
6. Choose drought-tolerant plants. ​Careful plant selection can make a huge difference in
your water use.
7. A thick layer of mulch​ helps keep the root zone cool and moisture in the soil.
8. Water the soil, not the leaves.​ Water at the root zone to keep evaporation to a minimum.
9. Mow high. ​Keeping your grass at the upper recommended limit​ ​(about 2 inches for most
species) will help shade the soil and prevent excessive evaporation.
10. Don’t overwater.

Conclusion
 While we’ve been able to discover the average amount of water the average individual in

the U.S. uses on a daily and a yearly basis, we have also determined that water conservation is a

real and serious issue in the United States. It’s evident with families such as the one that

excessively waters their Kentucky Bluegrass lawn that isn’t in need of that much water to stay

alive. Many leave their showers on to warm the water up before actually using any of it to wash.

People do the same when it comes to washing their hands or filling up a cup of water. If we can

remain mindful of how much water we really need to use on a day to day basis then we can begin

to find a solution for the rapid water loss we experience everyday.

 Works Cited

“Water Use in the United States.” ​Adhesion and Cohesion Water Properties, USGS Water

Science School​, water.usgs.gov/watuse/.

Cruger, Roberta. “6 Grasses for Low-Maintenance Drought-Resistant Lawns.” ​TreeHugger,​

Treehugger, 11 Oct. 2018,

www.treehugger.com/clean-water/6-grasses-for-low-maintenance-drought-resistant-lawns.html.

“Home.” ​Utah Department of Environmental Quality​, deq.utah.gov/.

Sustainability​, www.slc.gov/.

“Utah Water Conservation.” ​Utah Water Conservation​, conservewater.utah.gov/.

“10 EASY WAYS TO SAVE WATER IN YOUR YARD AND GARDEN.” ​Love Your

Landscape.org,​

www.loveyourlandscape.org/expert-advice/water-smart-landscaping/water-saving-tips/10-easy-

ways-to-save-water-in-your-yard-and-garden/.