Where does water go?

Here is how the different sectors of human activities have an impact on water consumption.

Agriculture: 70%. Only 17% of all farmed lands is irrigated yet the latter produce 40% of all food we consume and absorb up to 2,500 km3 of water a year.
Industry: 22%. Improvements in current technology allow to save more water in comparison to technologies applied in past years. For example, in the Thirties, to produce a ton of steel occurred between 60 and 100 tons of water, today 6 are sufficient. Aluminium, which today is often used as a substitute for steel, requires even less. We shouldn’t neglect the fact that, in powerhouses, cooling water is recycled.
Civil uses: 8%. In some industrialized countries consumption of water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene is lowering. Before 1994, for example, WCs in US were using, in general, about 20 litres of water per flush, in comparison to 6 litres used today. Also washing machines today, those with front loading, consume 39% less water in comparison to old top loading washing machines.

 
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