What do you mean by water footprint?

The water footprint measures the amount of water used to produce each of the goods and services we use. The water footprint can also tell us how much water is being consumed by a particular country – or globally – in a specific river basin or from an aquifer.

Why is water footprint important?

Why does our water footprint matter? Water footprint assumes much more significance as we move towards a model of growth led by water and energy intensive industries, food products and consumer goods that not just put huge pressure on scarce water resources but also contaminate freshwater and take it out of the system.

What is water footprint in geography?

Water footprint is a measure of the direct and indirect freshwater used in producing products and/or services. The water footprint is expressed in terms of the total volume of freshwater that is.

What is a water footprint and how is it calculated?

Your individual water footprint is equal to the water required to produce the goods and services consumed by you.

What is the surface of the water called?

Surface water is any body of water above ground, including streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, reservoirs, and creeks. The ocean, despite being saltwater, is also considered surface water. Water that seeps deep into the ground is called groundwater.

What are the types of water footprint?

We should distinguish three types of water footprints:

• Blue water: Surface or groundwater introduced into products and returned to the environment.
• Green water: Evaporated water which comes from rain and humidity.
• Grey water: Water polluted by the production of goods and services.

What factors affect water footprint?

The four major direct factors determining the water footprint of a country are: volume of consumption (related to the gross national income); consumption pattern (e.g. high versus low meat consumption); climate (growth conditions); and agricultural practice (water use efficiency).

What is water footprint of a product?

The water footprint of a product is the amount of water that is consumed and polluted in all processing stages of its production. The water footprint of a final product, e.g., a pair of jeans, is the summation of the water footprint of each step, or process, required to produce that product.

What is the average water footprint?

2,220 gallons per day
The average American has a “water footprint” of 2,220 gallons per day.

Is rain considered surface water?

Surface water can be measured as annual runoff. This includes the amount of rain and snowmelt drainage left after the uptake of nature, evaporation from land, and transpiration from vegetation.

Why do you mean by surface water?

Surface water is water that has collected at ground level and can be collected by precipitation. This water is naturally open to the atmosphere and may come from: Streams. Rivers.

Why is it important to reduce your water footprint?

Why are water footprints important? Freshwater is a scarce resource; its annual availability is limited and demand is growing. The water footprint of humanity has exceeded sustainable levels at several places and is unequally distributed among people.