ABSTRACT
The first step in addressing water-related environmental issues is to reduce the amount of water used, which will subsequently reduce the amount of wastewater produced. Each country uses water in different ways and in some countries agriculture accounts for much of the total use, so interventions in respect of irrigation methods are a priority. In the UK, the main water users are households and virtually all the water is used indoors, with a small percentage used to water the garden, clean cars, and other external activities (see 6.1.1 and 6.1.4). In hotter affluent countries, including Australia and the US, the percentage of domestic water used outdoors is far higher. In Australia, up to 60 per cent of water is used outdoors and in the US, this figure is between 50–70 per cent. Irrigation of landscaping and lawns throughout the US uses 30 billion litres of water each day and the standard lawn uses 38,000 litres of water in a summer (Worldwatch 2004). Use of treated water in the UK https://www.niso.org/standards/z39-96/ns/oasis-exchange/table">
Agriculture
4%
Commerce and services
12%
Industry
20%
Households
64%
(Stauffer 1996)
Domestic water useThe typical African family uses approximately 23 litres a day compared to more than 450 litres per person in the US. (Vidal 2003) Estimates of typical domestic water use https://www.niso.org/standards/z39-96/ns/oasis-exchange/table">
litres per capita per day
Uganda
60
Denmark
130
UK
145
Singapore
170
Australia
250
USA indoor
262
USA all
300–800+
(Worldwatch 2004)
