On an average day I use about 63 gallons of water according to usgs.gov. One shower, two times brushing my teeth, washing the dishes twice, doing the laundry once (which I obviously don’t do everyday), but it all builds up.

I do try to keep my usage to a minimum, but a few days ago I was watching the news when they were causally discussing a water main that broke on the 300 block of Mount Washington Avenue here in Eau Claire. I couldn’t help but think with situations like that occurring, does it really matter if I leave the faucet on while I brush my teeth?

Then on Jan. 2, a water main burst in downtown Duluth and the loss of water is unbelievable. Stated in a CBS news article, it is estimated that three million gallons of water rushed out of the broken pipe in over 90 minutes.

What?! That is so much water!! That is 47,619 days of mypersonal water usage.

In a WEAU article about the break in Eau Claire, Jeff Pippenger, who is the city’s utilities administrator, said “The older pipe that we have in the ground is cast iron pipe. That is less forgiving as far as when the ground starts shifting.

The new type of pipe that we’re putting in the ground is ductal iron and that has a little bit more forgiveness and we don’t see that type of pipe break that often.’”

Also from the same article, the pipe that burst is from 1946 but there are pipes in Eau Claire dating back to the 1900s. In the next five years, the city plans on dedicating $7 million to updating the infrastructure.

I completely understand and agree that the little things do count. Shutting off your faucet while you brush your teeth is a habit that will save water over the long haul and making sure your faucets aren’t dripping may not do anything for your water bill but those drops will add up. As a human you should respect the fact that there are people in this world who would love those drops of water.

But, in order to make these little things hold some importance we also need to take a look at these big issues.

That is so much money to spend on one project, but I think it is completely worth it. When the frost gets deep enough, it shifts the ground and causes the pipes to break.

The new materials are more ductile, making them more efficient for the situation.

The point that I am trying to get across is that people should really be concerned about water and understand the importance of it.

According to usgs.gov, one pound of meat uses about 500 gallons of water; producing one egg uses about 400 gallons of water; growing one pound of corn uses about 100 gallons
of water.

These are all estimates and include raising the animal or plant, but seriously, 2.5 percent of the water on this earth is freshwater. And most of that isn’t even accessible for
consumption.

I’m not saying no more showering and everyone become activists for water, but just become aware of the current situation and respect our limited supply.