2. What is a Water Footprint?
• Your water footprint is the amount of
water you use in and around your
home, school or office throughout the day.
It includes the water you use directly
(e.g., from a tap). It also includes the
water you use indirectly – this is the water
it took to produce the food you eat, the
products you buy, the energy you
consume and even the water you save
when you recycle.
3. • You may not drink, feel or see this virtual
water, but it makes up the majority of your
water footprint. If you examine your
lifestyle you can evaluate your water
footprint using data that is based on
average water use. In fact, water
footprints can be calculated for
individuals, households, businesses and
countries. You may not drink, feel or see
this virtual water, but it makes up the
majority of your water footprint. If you
examine your lifestyle you can evaluate
your water footprint using data that is
4. Why Do Water Footprints
Matter?
• Freshwater (non-saline water) is an
important and vital resource to ecological
and human life, yet as human populations
and prosperity grow, so too does our use
of freshwater. This is complicated by
climate change and the likelihood of a
changing water cycle that has already led
to periods of "drought and deluge." Water
is already scarce in parts of the United
States and the rest of world, and a
5. • Water footprints help reveal the amount of
water being used at an individual level all
the way to a national level and in the
numerous processes involved in
manufacturing and production of our
goods and services. An accurate water
footprint also takes into account the
amount of water contaminated during
manufacturing and production because
that water is essentially made unusable
and, therefore, taken out of the system.
While there can never be a perfect water
use assessment or audit tool, the water
6. What Makes a Blue, Green or
Grey Water Footprint?
• Blue Water Footprint: Refers to the
volume of surface water and ground water
consumed (i.e. evaporated or incorporated
into the product) during production
processes;
• Green Water Footprint: Refers to the
volume of rainwater consumed (i.e.
evaporated or incorporated into the
product) by the product; and
• Grey Water Footprint: Refers to the
amount of freshwater required to mix
