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Water is essential. We drink it, cook with it, bathe in it and use it to grow food and produce the goods that sustain our daily lives. Yet many people underestimate just how much water goes into everything we rely on, and how much work behind the scenes to keep it safe, clean, and reliable.

That’s the goal behind Imagine a Day Without Water, a campaign that was designed to educate and inform people about the essential role that water plays in our lives. Launched 11 years ago by the U.S. Water Alliance, the campaign prompts us to consider what our lives would be like if water were suddenly unavailable for even one day: no showers, no drinking water, no toilets, no cooking. What kind of impact would a day—or days—without access to water have on you, your family, and your community?

At American Water, we are committed to providing safe, clean, reliable, and affordable water to our customers. But maintaining these essential services requires both personal and collective responsibility. We can all help protect our water resources by being aware of daily water-saving habits. Some basic conservation tips include:

• Watch for leaky faucets. One every 2 seconds from a leaky faucet wastes 2 gallons of water every day. That’s water, and money, down the drain.
• Don’t run the faucet while brushing teeth, doing dishes, or shaving. Just turning off the faucet while you brush can save 200 gallons a month.
• Run washing machines only when full or select the properly sized wash cycle for the current load.
• Take shorter showers. Bathrooms account for the largest water consumption percentage inside homes. Showers alone use 5 gallons of water per minute.

Outside the home, adopting wise water habits is especially important. Many people aren’t aware when they are wasting water by unintentionally watering their yards at peak evaporation hours or using more water than necessary to keep their lawns healthy. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 50% of outdoor water use is wasted.

Considering that every year trillions of gallons of treated drinking water are lost to leaking pipelines, the most impactful way to safeguard our water systems is to collectively support and advocate for proactively investing in water and wastewater system upgrades. Across the nation, water infrastructure is aging and in need of investment, and given America’s fragmented water systems, it could hinder the ability for some systems to deliver safe, clean water.

Over the next 10 years, American Water will invest $40-$42 billion in our water and wastewater systems across the country, with investments in system repairs, replacements, and resiliency along with regulated acquisitions.

This commitment to our customers across the U.S. underscores that water is more than a utility; it is the foundation of healthy, thriving communities.

Together, we can help ensure that water continues to flow for generations to come and that a day without water never becomes a reality.