Fans of George's page ought to be a step ahead of the news media. Here's today's step.

If we got one inch of rain today, that equals 27,000 gallons of water per acre. A 10-acre reservoir got 270,000 gallons, a small fraction of what the city uses per day.

When washing dishes it will use much less water to use a dishwasher than to do them by hand unless you completely change normal hand washing habits.

And more WATER TRIVIA FACTS from EPA 810-F-95-001

1. How much water does it take to process a quarter pound of hamburger? Approximately one gallon.

2. How much water does it take to make four new tires? 2,072 gallons

3. What is the total amount of water used to manufacture a new car, including new tires? 39,090 gallons per car

4. How many households use private wells for their water supply? 17,000,000 households

5. Water is the only substance found on earth naturally in the three forms. True (solid, liquid, and gas)

6. Does water regulate the earth's temperature? Yes (it is a natural insulator)

7. How long can a person live without food? More than a month. How long can a person live without water? Approximately one week, depending upon conditions.

8. How much water must a person consume per day to maintain health? 2.5 quarts from all sources (i.e. water, food)

9. How much water does a birch tree give off per day in evaporation? 70 gallons

10. How much water does an acre of corn give off per day in evaporation? 4,000 gallons

11. How many miles of pipeline and aqueducts are in the US and Canada? Approximately one million miles, or enough to circle the earth 40 times

12. What were the first water pipes made from in the US? Fire charred bored logs

13. How much water is used to flush an old standard US toilet? 2-7 gallons

14. How much water is used in the average five-minute shower? 25-50 gallons

15. How much water is used to brush your teeth? 2 gallons

16. How much water is used on the average for an automatic dishwasher? 9-12 gallons

17. On the average, how much water is used to hand wash dishes? 20 gallons

18. How many community public water systems are there in the United States? 56,000

19. How much water do these utilities process daily? 34 billion gallons

20. Of the nation's community water supplies, how many are investor-owned? 32,500

21. How much water does the average residence use during a year? 107,000 gallons

22. How much water does an individual typically use daily? 50 gallons

23. What does a person pay for water on a daily basis? National average is 25 cents

24. How much of the earth's surface is water? 80%

25. Of all the earth's water, how much is ocean or seas? 97%

26. How much of the world's water is frozen and therefore unusable? 2%

27. How much of the earth's water is suitable for drinking water? 1%

28. Is it possible for me to drink water that was part of the dinosaur era? Yes

29. If all community water systems had to be replaced, what would it cost? In excess of $175 billion

30. What does it cost to operate the water systems throughout the country annually? Over $3.5 billion

31. How much does one gallon of water weigh? 8.34 pounds

32. How many gallons of water would it take to cover one square mile with one foot of water? 219 million gallons

33. How much water is in one cubic foot? 7.48 gallons

34. How many gallons of water do you get per acre, when it rains one inch? 27,000 gallons per acre

35. At what temperature does water freeze? 32 degrees F, 0 degrees C

36. At what temperature does water vaporize? 212 degree F, 100 degrees C

37. What is the most common substance found on earth? Water

38. How much of the human body is water? 66%

39. How much of a chicken is water? 75%

40. How much of a pineapple is water? 80%

41. How much of a tomato is water? 95%

42. How much of an elephant is water? 70%

43. How much of an ear of corn is water? 80%

44. How much water does it take to process one chicken? 11.6 gallons

Pretend you're on a friend's boat.

On board a small boat, every drop from the tap does something. It is drunk, it washes, or it rinses. On a boat no water goes from the tap to the drain without doing something. When we had a sailboat, a party of 8 living aboard for two days and a night used about 20 gallons including preparation and clean-up of 5 meals. That included all three sinks but excluded the sea water toilets. Pretend your house is a boat.

Rey Barry (electronic mail, September 26, 2002)