According to the U.S. Geological Survey’s 2010 Water Census daily per capita water use in the U.S. is 88 gallons for domestic use. This includes both indoor and outdoor use.
Average daily U.S. domestic water use (including outdoor) is 27.4 billion gallons. 87% (23.8 bgd) of this water is provided via public water suppliers. The remaining 13% (3.6 bgd) is self-supplied through wells and other infrastructure.
Average daily U.S. total water use is 355 billion gallons. Other than domestic use, this water is used for thermoelectric power, industrial, mining, aquaculture, livestock and irrigation purposes.
For additional information about how that water is used, please visit the USGS Q&A on typical water use at home.
By installing more efficient water fixtures and regularly checking for leaks, households can reduce daily indoor per capita water use to about 45.2 gallons per day. Here’s how it breaks down for households using conservation measures:
| Type of Use | Gallons per Capita | Percentage of Total Daily Use | |||||||
| Showers | 8.8 | 19.5% | |||||||
| Clothes Washers | 10.0 | 22.1% | |||||||
| Toilets | 8.2 | 18.0% | |||||||
| Dishwashers | 0.7 | 1.5% | |||||||
| Baths | 1.2 | 2.7% | |||||||
| Leaks | 4.0 | 8.8% | |||||||
| Faucets | 10.8 | 23.9% | |||||||
| Other Domestic Uses | 1.6 | 3.4% | |||||||
| Source: Handbook of Water Use and Conservation, Amy Vickers | |||||||||
If all U.S. households installed water-saving features, water use would decrease by 30 percent, saving an estimated 5.4 billion gallons per day. This would result in dollar-volume savings of $11.3 million per day or more than $4 billion per year.
Water-conserving fixtures installed in U.S. households in 1998 alone have saved 44 million gallons of water every day, resulting in total dollar-value savings of more than $33.6 million per year.
