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r~~ o, Easter Sunday is April 12, 2009, and for many people it's a time for a huge Easter dinner. Ham, turkey, roast beef or whatever, the main vari- ance in the menu of such a dinner being that of the meat. Twenty-seven. years ago, I wrote a Passwords column titled "Water for a Christmas Dinner." At that time, the average of several computations from several sources resulted in the total water needed to place a full TURKEY dinner FOR EIGHT people on the table was enough to fill a 30x50-foot swimming pool--42,674 gallons. At that time, I priced water at 1 cent per gallon-so the cost of water for the dinner was $426.74. That Christmas column has been repeated many times across the country to demonstrate the amount of water needed-and the cost of it-for just that DINNER FOR EIGHT. Both the quantity and cost of such a volume of water have been questioned-but never disputed. Now, 27 years later, costs of most food and drink have changed so an update is in order. The volume of water needed to produce these foods and drinks remains essentially the same, but the prices have risen, in part because the cost of the water needed to produce the items has risen. In 1980, the National Geographic Magazine interviewed the staff of the Freshwater Society regarding water in general, and the statement was printed "Water is Cheaper Than Dirt." Water delivered to industry and agriculture has most of the base costs of water used sub- sidized by government, while the water you and I use in and around our houses costs a few dollars per month for the treatment and delivery of water-but the WATER itself is essentially FREE. If you have your own well, the cost of water is in the drilling and equipment spread over the years plus the electricity used to pump the liquid-the WATER is FREE. Water is Life, and all forms of life- including plants and animals-exist because of water. The volume of water required to sustain, maintain and pro- duce items for our way of life is untie- lievable. For instance: 100,000 gallons per automobile; 280 gallons per Sunday newspaper (more for the New York Times!); 1,000 gallons per pound of alu- minum; 150 gallons per loaf. of bread; 375 gallons per 5 pounds of flour; 3,000 gallons .per pound of beef; 100 gallons for:EACH EGG; 1,300 gallonsper. pound of cotton; and 1,800 gallons :per pound of grapes. The above water needed is :.from seed to table-raw material to fin- fished goods-from start to finish. Most of the water needed is hidden within the process, but consider this: my son owned a Mexican restaurant with 250 seats in Minnetonka, Minn. For 12 years, he tracked the water used by the restaurant. The average amount of water needed per customer per meal per day was 22 gallons. Water used in a restau- rant is more than just a glass of water! In 1982, I priced the water needed for a turkey dinner for eight at 1 cent per gallon. Twenty-seven years later, I am increasing that base cost of water for an Easter dinner for eight to 2 cent per gal- lon, a 100% increase. Too much? Not when you compare it to what we pay for a gallon of other liquids we consume: ~ -- - IL_-__-_ _.__-_. ______-.- __ Regular milk $1.91. $2.80* Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper $2.19 $4 to $6 Apple cider $3.49 $3.64** Beer $4.80 $9.76 Perrier water $4.90 $8.65 Johnny Walker Scotch $78.05 $128.67 *Organic-$6 **organic-$9.48 Compared to the prices listed above, 2 cents a gallon is a fantastic bargain- almost "cheaper than dirt." What if water cost 5 cents per gallon-still almost "cheaper than dirt." Then, the 3,000 gal- lons of water needed for a pound of beef would be $150. If the cost of that gallon- age of water was only one-tenth of a Diclc Gray, founder of the Freshwater Society, has evritten the Passwords column since 1968. The columns are ~ - based on Gray's belief thatwe must use our vast Imowledge to work toward the ~' preservation of water. -- -- penny, it would still cost $3 per pound, just for the water. How cheap can you get? With a cheap cost established for the water, how much water is needed for the various items on the Easter dinner list? From averages arrived at from several sources, the amount of water required to plant, grow, pick, transport and process plants and animals are as follows (these gallonages are those listed in 1982-and a 20 pound turkey required the same amount. of water as 20 pounds of ham): 20-pound ham 16,300 Potatoes 72 Scalloped corn 1,824 Green beans 1,000 Carrots 1,000 Waldorf salad 580 Fresh fruit salad 2,000 Bread 300 Margarine for cooking/ spreading 2,212 Pumpkin pie 1,240 Ice cream 1,142 Milk for four people 1,000 Wine for four people 8,000 Total 36,670 The water required for this dinner does not include stuffing that was part of the 1982 Christmas dinner, nor does it include water used in making and dis- tributing the candles, knives and forks, napkins, the plates or centerpiece. We're going to have to accept the truth: The day is coming-if it hasri t already arrived-when a true value must be placed upon the water we use. When that happens, we'll all be financially shocked-much worse than the recent $3.50 per gallon gasoline. Senator Daniel Moynihan of New York has said: "One can live without oil-one can even live without love- BUT one cannot live without water." "And that's the truth." FACETS March 2009