Water Footprint

Defining the Invisible Water

The Water Footprint is the measure of all the water used to produce the goods and services we consume.

This water is primarily used for growing crops, raising animals, manufacturing products, and generating power.

The Three Colors of Water

Blue Water: Surface water (rivers, lakes) and groundwater (aquifers).
Green Water: Rainwater stored in the soil, primarily used for growing agricultural crops.
Grey Water: The amount of clean water needed to dilute pollutants back down to safe quality standards.

From the farm to your plate, everyday items consume surprisingly large volumes of water during production.

One Beef Hamburger (150 g): Requires approximately 634 gallons of water.
- Over 90% is Green Water used to grow the feed consumed by the cow over its lifetime.
Producing one simple cotton T-shirt: Requires about 713 gallons of water.
- It takes massive amounts of Blue and Green Water to grow the cotton plant needed for one shirt.

Virtual Water is this large, hidden consumption—water embedded inside the product.

Here are some interesting facts about the water footprint:

A single cup of coffee requires about 37 gallons of water to grow, process, and brew the beans.
The average American’s daily water footprint is nearly 2,000 gallons, with most of that volume coming from the food they choose.
Replacing beef with chicken for just one meal can save hundreds of gallons of water.
Recycling 1 pound of paper can save up to 5 gallons of water compared to using new wood pulp.

Let’s quickly recap what we learned about the water footprint:

What is rainwater stored in the soil, used by plants, called? Green Water
What color of water is used specifically to dilute pollutants back to a safe level? Grey
What livestock product has one of the highest water footprints per serving? Beef
What term describes the water consumed during production that you don’t directly see? Virtual