Abstract
We use water for a variety of purposes in our daily lives: for drinking, bathing, washing our clothes, watering our gardens, and more. These direct uses of water, however, are only part of the story. Water is also required to produce nearly everything we use and consume, from the food we eat and the clothes we wear to the technological devices that are integral to our modern society. Because this indirect water isn’t visible in the product, it is also often referred to as “embedded,” “embodied,” or “virtual” water. A full measure, therefore, of the water footprint of an individual, industrial sector, or society is the combination of direct water use and the water used indirectly to provide the goods and services consumed.
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Notes
- 1.
This figure does not include the water used to wash the product over its life.
- 2.
Not to be confused with wastewater that is reused directly on a site, often also called grey water or greywater.
- 3.
One acre-foot is the amount of water that would fill one acre to a depth of one foot and is approximately 325,851 gallons, or 1,233,482 liters.
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Fulton, J., Cooley, H., Gleick, P.H. (2014). Water Footprint. In: Gleick, P.H. (eds) The World’s Water. The World’s Water. Island Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-483-3_5
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