Water Facts from the Heifer Project

The Heifer Project puts out a very good magazine, called World Ark. The May/June issue just arrived and I read a large part of it... more than I read of most magazines I see.

Water was one of the focus points of the issue, so here are a few facts that caught my attention.

Average amount of water used by each person in China, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. (the vast majority of which is used to raise the food we eat).


Average number of miles walked by women and girls worldwide to haul water for family use: 4 (carrying 5 gallons on average)

Percentage of sewage that is dumped untreated into surface water in developing countries: 90
Percentage of industrial waste that is dumped in the same countries: 70

And one final water fact that has stuck with me since I read it long ago (this was not from the World Ark issue):

Amount of water needed to raise one pound of beef: approximately 2,500 gallons (source). Versus the amount of water needed to raise one pound of potatoes, corn, soybeans, etc.: 60 to 240 gallons (source).