Water footprint

global rain drop

“We shall not finally defeat AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, or any of the other infectious diseases that plague the developing world until we have also won the battle for safe drinking-water, sanitation and basic health care.”
Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General

Water is the most essential requirement for all living things – including humans – as it makes up 60 to 70% by weight of all living organisms. It is no exaggeration to say that “water is life”.

Yet, despite being so vital to life, water it is one of the most unevenly shared out resources of all. For example, in Britain, the average person uses 160 litres of clean water each day; in rural Ethiopia, people use on average around 5 -10 litres a day per person. That means that the average person in the UK has a water footprint 16 to 32 times larger than the average person in rural Ethiopia!

So what is your water footprint?

Put simply, this is the amount of water you use, e.g. drinking, cooking, washing, cleaning, leisure activities such as swimming, and flushing down the toilet. But your water footprint also includes the resources, land, space and energy involved in supplying this water.

Why not try to measure how many litres of water you use every day?

The water footprint: how it measures up

One child dies every eight seconds because of unclean water or poor sanitation
At least 1 in every 6 people in the world does not have access to clean drinking water.
An estimated 1.6 million lives could be saved annually by providing access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene.
Agriculture and farming is responsible for about 80% of all freshwater used.
Households in rural Africa spend about a quarter of their working day collecting water
Pakistan spends 47 times more on the military than on water and sanitation – it is not alone; many countries spend more on guns than on water taps
Just 1 flush of a toilet uses more water than most Africans have to use in a dayFor more fascinating facts and figures on water visit the WaterAid website

Printer Friendly Water section Includes all menu sections:Saviour and killer, Disastrous footprint, Human right, MDG, Equal water? Put your foot down & Glossary

Download the Water Leaflet Includes activities, resources, case studies, and websites