Estimate direct and embedded water footprint from household use and diet.
Embedded water in food dwarfs direct household use, typically by a factor of ten or more. That is why dietary choices dominate a water footprint while shower length barely registers. Water scarcity is regional, so where the embedded water was used matters as much as how much, which a single total cannot capture.
Water Footprint
Total = direct household use + embedded water in food consumed
Total = direct household use + embedded water in food consumed Embedded water in food dwarfs direct household use, typically by a factor of ten or more. That is why dietary choices dominate a water footprint while shower length barely registers.
Water scarcity is regional, so where the embedded water was used matters as much as how much, which a single total cannot capture.
This calculator takes 5 inputs: Shower minutes per day, Shower flow rate, Other direct household use, Meat servings per week, Household size. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.