Water Factoids

• As Valentine's Day romantics refresh their bouquets of roses throughout the United States, more than 7 million gallons of water will be used. That's equivalent to the amount needed to supply a week's worth of water to 2,857 American households.

• It takes about 1 gallon of water to process a quarter pound of hamburger

• It takes 1,500 gallons of water to process 1 barrel of beer

• It takes 39,000 gallons of water to manufacture a new car, including tires

• It takes about 800,000 gallons of water to grow an acre of cotton

• Ten gallons of water are needed to refine one gallon of gasoline

• Cutting one minute off your shower time can save about 700 gallons of water per month

• A faucet that drips 60 times in one minute would waste over 3 gallons a day, 1,225 gallons per year

• Humans require about 2 1/2 quarts of water a day

• A human can live more than a month without food but only as much as one week without water

• 80 percent of the earth's surface is water

• 97 percent of the earth's water is seawater

• 2 percent of the earth's water supply is locked in icecaps and glaciers

• 1 percent of the earth's water is available for drinking

• About 60 percent of the weight of the human body is water

• An elephant is 70 percent water

• A tomato is 95 percent water

• An egg is about 74 percent water

• A watermelon is about 92 percent water

• A piece of lean meat is about 70 percent water

• Fresh, uncompacted snow is usually 90-95 percent trapped air

• Once evaporated, a water molecule spends ten days in the air

• Every 24 hours about 250 cubic miles of water evaporates from the sea and the land

• Of all the earth's water, 97 percent is salt water found in oceans and seas.

• About two thirds of the human body is water. Some parts of the body contain more water than others. For example, 70 percent of your skin is water.

• There are more than 56,000 community water systems providing water to the public in the United States.

• There are approximately 1 million miles of pipelines and aqueducts that carry water in the United States and Canada. That's enough to circle the earth 40 times.

• Typically, households consume at least 50 percent of their water by lawn watering. Inside, toilets use the most water, with an average of 27 gallons per person per day.

• You can survive about a month without food, but only 5 to 7 days without water.

• Each person uses about 100 gallons of water a day at home.

• The average five-minute shower takes between 15 to 25 gallons of water.

• You can refill an 8 oz glass of water approximately 15,000 times for the same cost as a six-pack of soda.

• An automatic dishwasher uses approximately 9 to 12 gallons of water while hand washing dishes can use up to 20 gallons.

• 300 million gallons of water are needed to produce a single day's supply of U.S. newsprint.

• A person should consume 2 1/2 quarts of water per day (from all sources of water, food, etc.) to maintain health.

• A new man-made fountain opposite the Gateway Arch in St. Louis is now the world's highest geyser, at 600 feet. The geyser's is powered by three 800 hp pumps and discharges water at up to 200 feet per second. The geyser will keep 1,100 gallons of water, weighing 9,200 pounds, in the air when in operation.

• Water covers nearly three-fourths of the earth's surface.

• The overall amount of water on our planet has remained the same for two billion years.

• The five Great Lakes form the largest fresh surface water system in the world.

• If all the water in the Great Lakes were spread evenly across the continental US, the ground would be covered with almost 10 feet of water.

• Most of the earth's surface water is permanently frozen or salty.

• About 6,800 gallons of water are required to grow a day's food for a family of four.

• Eighty percent of the fresh water we use in the US is for irrigating crops and generating thermoelectric-power.

• The human brain is composed of 95% water; blood is 82% water; the lungs are nearly 90% water.

• It takes about 6 gallons of water to grow a single serving of lettuce. More than 2,600 gallons are required to produce a single serving of steak.

• Angel Falls in Venezuela is the highest waterfall in the world. The falls drops 3,212 feet. The drop is taller than 2.5 Empire State Buildings stacked one on top of the other.

• The world's rainiest place is Mt. Wai'ale'ale, Kauai, Hawaii. During an average year, there are only 15 dry days.

• You can drink more than 4,000 glasses of tap water for the price of a six-pack of soda.

• The first water pipes in the US were made of hollowed-out logs.

• Over 90% of the world's supply of fresh water is located in Antarctica.

• A person can live without food for about a month, but only about a week without water.

• Lake Tahoe is the second deepest lake in the U.S. - it has a maximum depth of 1,645 feet. It holds 40 trillion gallons of water - enough to cover the state of California to a depth of 14 inches!

• There are billions of water molecules in a single water drop.

• At room temperature water is a liquid.

• When heated to 100 degrees Celsius it becomes a gas. (Steam).

• When cooled below zero degrees Celsius it becomes a solid (ice).

• Water is heavier as a liquid than as a solid which is why ice floats.

• Pure water has no color. Most water has tiny particles and gas bubbles in it. These reflect the colors that surround the water. Under a blue sky it looks blue. At night there is no reflection so a lake or river or the sea looks black.

• Pure water has no smell or taste. When water has a taste or smell it has impurities in it. Impurities come from minerals in the ground, from pipes the water passes through and from the air rain falls through.