Water Department

Facts About Water Use

Every day, thousands of residents throughout the City of Jackson use the water in their homes, offices, stores and factories, unaware of just how much water they’re actually using. To give you some perspective, the Water Department has put together a number of facts that go along with common uses of our water system, as well as some tips for conserving your water usage. Visit our leak prevention page to learn more about how you can stop wasting water unnecessarily.

Showers/Baths

• Showers make up to 32% of home water use
• A ten-minute shower uses, on average, 55 gallons of water
• Taking a five-minute shower daily uses 10,000 gallons of water per year
• A standard showerhead uses five to ten gallons of water per minute
• Low-flow showerheads can reduce water use by 50%
• Baths are even less efficient, using up to twice the amount of water used in a shower

Toilets

• Today, the oldest toilets use an average of three to five gallons of water with each flush
• Low-flow toilets cut that usage in half, ringing in at 1.6 to 2 gallons per flush
• The average toilet is flushed eight times each day
• Displacing water in the tank can save one to two gallons per flush, or 5,800 gallons per year. Use a displacement bag or plastic bottle
• Leaky toilets can waste up to 22,000 gallons of water per year

Faucets

• Normal faucets flow at three to five gallons per minute
• A low-flow faucet aerator reduces flow by up to 50%
• Low-flow faucets can save a family of four up to 280 gallons per month
• Most people use two to three gallons of water to brush their teeth
• A leaky faucet can waste up to 100 gallons of water per day

Outdoors

• In some states, 50% of the water is used on lawns and gardens
• Most people water too much—lawns only need, on average, about one inch of water per week
• To measure, catch sprinkler water in an open can. Determine how long it takes for one inch to accumulate in the can. That is the length of time you should be watering your grass each week
• Keep your grass one to three inches long—longer grass has stronger roots to hold more water
• Mulch conserves water by retaining moisture and eliminating weeds
• Use short on/off sprinkler cycles to give the lawn time to absorb the water (at least one hour off in between cycles)
• Water in the early morning or evening to reduce evaporation