Water Facts:

• According to the Groundwater Foundation, about 80% of Virginians use groundwater for all or part of their everyday water needs. In our area the figure would tend to be on the high side. Continuing to pump water from depleted aquifers may cause collapse from the settling of overlying lands, and may cause a permanent reduction in the capacity to recharge and hold water.
• Approximately 20% of the rain that falls becomes groundwater. In some places we are using groundwater about 100 times faster than rainfall replaces it. (The Groundwater Foundation, 2000)
• Of all the water on earth only .003% is available fresh water that is not polluted, trapped in soil or too far underground (to tap).
• On average, 30% of water in streams comes from groundwater (water running in underground streams and aquifers). In times of drought, groundwater may be the only source for streams. (DEQ Drought Fact Sheet)
• Why Conserve Water? The water cycle moves pretty slowly, so that evaporation from oceans, precipitation and melting of polar ice caps only makes about 1% of the Earth's water fresh and available for drinking, growing food and manufacturing things. Piping the water from one place to another changes the environment and often causes arguments between people. Using lots of water takes lots of energy to clean, pump, distribute and heat it. And, the more fresh water we use, the more wastewater will end up in treatment plants and septic tanks.

• 50-70% of household water is used outdoors for watering lawns and gardens. (at the rate of 400-600 gallons/hour). (Blue Thumb campaign)
• An "average" family in India uses 6.75 gallons of water/day. In Nigeria, that family would use 32.4 gallons. In the USA, that family would use 144 gallons/day (of which 3 are for basic survival). Groundwater Foundation, 2000