April is water awareness month!

On World Water Day in March I posted some water conservation facts and a link to calculating your "Water Footprint calculator". After reviewing that post, fill out this electronic form.

Since we started learning about watersheds this week, visit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website "Surf Your Watershed" to learn more about your local watershed.  

The documentary Blue Gold: Water Wars was shown on the College Avenue Campus in April 2011 as part of an initiative to raise awareness about water usage.

EPA has a GoogleEarth file (.kmz) you may download for free.  This data layer has a lot of information, including: watershed boundaries, Federally listed "impaired waters" (degraded or polluted sites), stream flow gauges and sampling locations, and much more!

EPA layer in GoogleEarth (New Brunswick, NJ)

Happy World Water Day!

Because of increased demands and changes in climate patters, by 2050 a third of the people on Earth may lack clean, potable water.  

"The average American lifestyle is kept afloat by nearly 2,000 gallons of H2O a day—twice the global average."

What's your water use footprint?   

Take this quiz to find out approximately how much water you use every day.  My total score was 1,278 gallons/day, a bit better than the average American, but there is always room for improvement!

Neat water facts from National Geographic - 

how much water does it take to make....

• Wheat production accounts for 12% of world agricultural water use.
• 1,799 gallons of water are used to produce 1 lb. of beef. 
• 880 gal. water is used to create 1 gal. of cow's milk.
• 468 gal. of water are used to produce 1 lb. of chicken.
• It takes nearly 690 gal. of water to make 1 gal. of beer. 
• Over 1,000 gal. of water are used to make 1 gal. of wine. 
• One cotton t-shirt requires 713 gal. of water.
• 2.6 gal. of water is used to make one sheet of paper. 
• The making of a 0.3 lb hamburger uses over 650 gal. of water. 
• The supply chain for making one slice of bread requires 11 gal. 

Visit this National Geographic website to learn more about water conservation.