FIGURE OUT YOUR WATER FOOTPRINT AND LEARN HOW TO SAVE WATER!
The Water Footprint Calculator is a free online tool that estimates your water
footprint and offers an informative website full of tips and other resources.
Created by GRACE Communications Foundation, the award-winning Water Footprint Calculator is a free onlinetool that estimates your water footprint and helps you learn about the water that goes into producing all theitems in your everyday life.
How the Water Footprint Calculator Works
Through a series of simple questions about daily routines, this innovative and interactive tool accounts for notonly the “direct” water you use from the tap, but also the “virtual” water it takes to produce the food you eat,the energy you use and the products you buy. The calculator’s engaging design functions seamlessly on mobile,tablets and desktop computers. The calculator is also the only online Spanish-language version focused on theUnited States.
For a deeper understanding of water footprints, the website provides in-depth issue pages, materials developedfor educators and students, news and over 100 water-saving tips.
Why Water Footprints Are Important
Many people in the United States take for granted the large quantities of both direct and virtual water they usedaily, which can greatly affect water resources locally and in other places near or far where goods and servicesare produced. Individuals who better understand their water use know that even small changes can have a bigimpact on personal water footprints. This is especially true for the food people eat, which often makes up thebiggest part of their water footprint. A deeper understanding of water footprints can help make people betterstewards of our shared water resources.
How the Water Footprint Calculator Was Built
The estimates that users receive from the Water Footprint Calculator are based on the latest data available atthe time of its creation. In some cases, data came from studies that evaluated personal water use based onindividual behaviors, while in other cases, national data was used to create statistical averages that allowed forcalculations of individual water use. Technical questions about the calculator can be answered with our detailedmethodology.
Water Footprint Calculator and Website Features
- An interactive calculator that estimates visitors’ water footprints and permits them to “play” with their results (available in English and Spanish)
- Over 100 water-saving tips that help people take action to reduce their water footprints (available in English and Spanish).
- Educational content that includes lesson plans, quizzes, a video and more.
- In-depth issue pages that explain the many unexpected ways water is used every day.
- Relevant and timely water-related content.