During the fiscal year 2022, approximately 0.33 megaliters of water were consumed per household in the Northern Territory, the highest per household consumption in Australia. In the same year, households in Victoria consumed around 0.16 megaliters of water on average. 

Household spend on water services

The expenditure on water per kiloliter in Australia remained fairly stable between 2015 and 2022. The household expenditure on distributed water and wastewater services was relatively evenly split. While per household consumption was highest in the Northern Territory, the overall household expenditure on water services was the greatest in New South Wales, likely due to the size of its population.

Sources and usage

The leading water source in Australia is surface water, followed by groundwater, with just a small portion sourced from desalination plants. Water is a limited resource in most of Australia, due to its dry climate and the fact that the largest part of the country is desert or semi-arid. While household consumption of water is an important consideration, when looking at the distribution of water usage in Australia, the majority is used by the agriculture industry.

A single member household uses an average of 54 cubic meters of water annually in the United Kingdom. This figure almost doubled when there were two members per household and increased to approximately 191 cubic meters within a household of five. In terms of daily use, a single person household used an estimated 149 liters per day, with water usage amounting to 276 liters per day when two people lived at home. Baths consume the most water There are many household appliances that use water, such as dishwashers, washing machines or toilets, and each uses varying amounts. However, it is baths that use the largest quantity. On average, a bath consumes 80 liters of water per use. In comparison, a shower uses 46 liters per use. Household water bills The average household water bill in the UK differs from company to company. In 2018, customers of water supply and sewerage utility Wessex Water paid on average 245 British pounds for their water bill. This was the most expensive in the UK. Water bills were on average cheapest for customers of Southern Water, at an estimated 158 British pounds. Southern Water covers areas of East Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

This statistic displays an estimation of the average per capita household water use in the United States in 2014 with a breakdown by select city. As of this time, single-family households used approximately 61 gallons of water per capita per day.

This dataset provides the average (annual, winter, summer) residential metered water consumption (2016) within residential neighbourhoods provided in m3/month for the City of Edmonton. Average monthly residential winter water consumption is the average consumption of the following months: January, February, March, April, October, November and December. Average monthly residential summer water consumption is the average consumption of the following months: May, June, July, August and September.

Only those residential neighbourhoods with at least ten accounts are illustrated to ensure customer privacy.

Residential consumption refers to water used primarily for domestic purposes, where no more than four separate dwelling units are metered by a single water meter.

Thematic mapping is based on the following ranges:

0-10 m3/month – orange 10-20 m3/month – green 20-30 m3/month – purple 30-35 m3/month – blue 35-60 m3/month – red 60 m3/month and up – maroon

This statistic displays the average volume of water consumed per day in the average household in California in 2011. During this year, the average household in California used 31 gallons daily for laundry.

Portsmouth Water customers consumed the most water per person per day in England and Wales in financial year 2024, at 154.4 liters. This was higher than their three-year rolling average of 149.3 liters per person per day. Nevertheless, Affinity Water is still the company with the highest three-year rolling average at 154 liters per person per day.

China Water Consumption: City: Daily per Capita: Residential data was reported at 188.799 l in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 184.732 l for 2022. China Water Consumption: City: Daily per Capita: Residential data is updated yearly, averaging 178.638 l from Dec 1978 (Median) to 2023, with 46 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 220.240 l in 2000 and a record low of 120.600 l in 1978. China Water Consumption: City: Daily per Capita: Residential data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Utility Sector – Table CN.RCA: Water Consumption: Daily per Capita: Residential.

The average person in England and Wales used roughly 140 liters of water per day as of 2024. This means that a household of four could potentially use more than 550 liters of water a day. Portsmouth Water customers had the highest daily water usage in England and Wales in 2023, at 157 liters per person. Metered and un-metered water usage The amount of water consumed by households can vary depending on whether the customer has a water meter installed. On average, households in England and Wales with a water meter consumed around 40 liters less per person than those without a water meter. While most homes have traditional water meters, smart water meters have been rolled out since 2016. These allow customers to track water usage, save money, and allow water companies to detect leaks. What uses the most water in UK homes? The average water consumption of household appliances varies greatly, with some using significantly more than others. A full bath uses the largest amount of water by far, at approximately 80 liters. This is 30 liters more than the average washing machine cycle. Meanwhile, a dishwasher on an eco-setting can noticeably reduce water consumption when compared with a regular cycle.

Potable water use by sector and average daily use for Canada, provinces and territories.

Tunisia Water Consumption: Household data was reported at 340.600 Cub m mn in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 333.000 Cub m mn for 2015. Tunisia Water Consumption: Household data is updated yearly, averaging 231.550 Cub m mn from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2016, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 340.600 Cub m mn in 2016 and a record low of 154.600 Cub m mn in 1995. Tunisia Water Consumption: Household data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Statistics Institute. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Tunisia – Table TN.RB010: Water Statistics.

MWC01 - Average and Median Domestic Metered Public Water Consumption. Published by Central Statistics Office. Available under the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0).Average and Median Domestic Metered Public Water Consumption...

Water usage per person in Scotland is the highest in the United Kingdom on average, at 165 liters. This is noticeably more than in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, where less than 150 liters is used per person per day on average.

This table presents the water accounts, being part of the environmental accounts compiled by Statistics Netherlands annually. This Water Accounting table includes the (physical) water use by the Dutch economy. A distinction is made between the use of tap water, use and abstraction (withdrawal) of groundwater and of surface water. The water used is allocated to the industries and households. Alternatively, tables selections can be made that show break down by economic activity (including households), by water type and annual use. Values are shown in million cubic meters of water (mln m3).

With tap water, a distinction is made between tap water of drinking water quality and industrial water. Industrial water is tap water with a less quality than drinking water, or sometimes with a better quality, like demineralized water. This industrial water is mainly used by the industry and electricity producers. For surface water a distinction is made between fresh surface water and seawater. Within all water types (except drinking water) a distinction is made between use for cooling and use for other purposes. The data are derived from a diverse set of sources, more about those sources can be found in chapter 4.

Data in the environmental accounts directly correspond to the economic data in the national accounts, that allows assessment of the impact of the economic activities of the Netherlands for the use of water taken from the natural environment in quantitative terms. From the water accounts bills, environmental indicators can be derived. As an example the water use intensity for the different types can be determined for the Netherlands as a whole or for the break down by industry.

Data available from: 2003

Status of the figures: The data for the respective years in the full time series in this table are final and the last three years are provisional. The entire time series from 2003 onwards, if necessary, is to be adjusted to reflect the updated source information.

Changes as of September 2024: In the update for the year 2022, the detail of the water use has been changed. Industrial water, fresh surface water and salt surface water, have now been seperated into use for cooling and other use. Part of the tapwater (drinking water and industrial water) data is not yet available for the year 2022. The missing values are specified as dots and will be updated in the next year.

When will new figures be published? The next publication will be in August 2025.

​Monthly residential water consumption grouped by zip code and customer class.

Household water consumption varies greatly from appliance to appliance, with baths and washing machines consuming by far the most. A full bath in the United Kingdom uses an average of 80 liters of water, while showers are far less demanding. An electric shower uses just five liters per minute, with power showers slightly less efficient at 13 liters per minute.

Household water usage in the UK

The average water usage per person in England and Wales was 145 liters per day in financial year 2022, with a three-year rolling average of 146 liters per day. Water consumption varies depending on whether the customer has metered or un-metered water, with metered water consumption far lower than customers without a water meter.

Water bills

Combined household water and sewerage bills in England and Wales averaged 417 British pounds for the year ended March 2023. On average, customers of South West Water had the most expensive water and sewerage bills in the UK , at 506 British pounds. It is forecasted that bills from this utility will decrease for the year ending March 2022.

This dataset provides the average (annual, winter, summer) residential metered water consumption (by year) within 400 m x 400m hexagons (approximately two city blocks) provided in m3/month for the City of Edmonton.

Average monthly residential winter water consumption is the average consumption of the following months: January, February, March, April, October, November and December.

Average monthly residential summer water consumption is the average consumption of the following months: May, June, July, August and September.

Only those hexagons that contain at least ten accounts are illustrated to ensure customer privacy.

Residential consumption refers to water used primarily for domestic purposes, where no more than four separate dwelling units are metered by a single water meter.

Thematic mapping is based on the following ranges:

0-10 m3/month – orange 10-20 m3/month – green 20-30 m3/month – purple 30-35 m3/month – blue 35-60 m3/month – red 60 m3/month and up – maroon

Peru Retail Price: Goods and Services: Domestic: Water Consumption 30 Cubic Meter data was reported at 97.570 PEN/kWh in Jun 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 91.570 PEN/kWh for May 2018. Peru Retail Price: Goods and Services: Domestic: Water Consumption 30 Cubic Meter data is updated monthly, averaging 46.500 PEN/kWh from Jan 1995 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 282 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 97.570 PEN/kWh in Jun 2018 and a record low of 14.990 PEN/kWh in Jan 1995. Peru Retail Price: Goods and Services: Domestic: Water Consumption 30 Cubic Meter data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Institute of Statistics and Information Science. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Peru – Table PE.P001: Retail Price.

Water Consumption: City: Daily per Capita: Residential: Beijing data was reported at 167.264 l in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 163.221 l for 2022. Water Consumption: City: Daily per Capita: Residential: Beijing data is updated yearly, averaging 187.520 l from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2023, with 29 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 281.840 l in 1998 and a record low of 152.910 l in 2005. Water Consumption: City: Daily per Capita: Residential: Beijing data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Utility Sector – Table CN.RCA: Water Consumption: Daily per Capita: Residential.

Water Consumption: City: Daily per Capita: Residential: Shanghai data was reported at 210.898 l in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 207.038 l for 2022. Water Consumption: City: Daily per Capita: Residential: Shanghai data is updated yearly, averaging 210.898 l from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2023, with 29 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 361.680 l in 2004 and a record low of 174.830 l in 2010. Water Consumption: City: Daily per Capita: Residential: Shanghai data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Utility Sector – Table CN.RCA: Water Consumption: Daily per Capita: Residential.

This data release contains the input-data files and R scripts associated with the analysis presented in [citation of manuscript]. The spatial extent of the data is the contiguous U.S. The input-data files include one comma separated value (csv) file of county-level data, and one csv file of city-level data. The county-level csv (“county_data.csv”) contains data for 3,109 counties. This data includes two measures of water use, descriptive information about each county, three grouping variables (climate region, urban class, and economic dependency), and contains 18 explanatory variables: proportion of population growth from 2000-2010, fraction of withdrawals from surface water, average daily water yield, mean annual maximum temperature from 1970-2010, 2005-2010 maximum temperature departure from the 40-year maximum, mean annual precipitation from 1970-2010, 2005-2010 mean precipitation departure from the 40-year mean, Gini income disparity index, percent of county population with at least some college education, Cook Partisan Voting Index, housing density, median household income, average number of people per household, median age of structures, percent of renters, percent of single family homes, percent apartments, and a numeric version of urban class. The city-level csv (city_data.csv) contains data for 83 cities. This data includes descriptive information for each city, water-use measures, one grouping variable (climate region), and 6 explanatory variables: type of water bill (increasing block rate, decreasing block rate, or uniform), average price of water bill, number of requirement-oriented water conservation policies, number of rebate-oriented water conservation policies, aridity index, and regional price parity. The R scripts construct fixed-effects and Bayesian Hierarchical regression models. The primary difference between these models relates to how they handle possible clustering in the observations that define unique water-use settings. Fixed-effects models address possible clustering in one of two ways. In a "fully pooled" fixed-effects model, any clustering by group is ignored, and a single, fixed estimate of the coefficient for each covariate is developed using all of the observations. Conversely, in an unpooled fixed-effects model, separate coefficient estimates are developed only using the observations in each group. A hierarchical model provides a compromise between these two extremes. Hierarchical models extend single-level regression to data with a nested structure, whereby the model parameters vary at different levels in the model, including a lower level that describes the actual data and an upper level that influences the values taken by parameters in the lower level. The county-level models were compared using the Watanabe-Akaike information criterion (WAIC) which is derived from the log pointwise predictive density of the models and can be shown to approximate out-of-sample predictive performance. All script files are intended to be used with R statistical software (R Core Team (2017). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. URL https://www.R-project.org) and Stan probabilistic modeling software (Stan Development Team. 2017. RStan: the R interface to Stan. R package version 2.16.2. http://mc-stan.org).