Mister Car Wash® is proud to partner with Project WET to inspire our communities to be responsible water users and take action to protect their watershed.
A watershed is an area of land that drains into a specific body of water like a river, stream, or lake. It includes everything within its borders: all the land, air, plants and animals, mountains, deserts, cities and farms, even people! Every body of water has a watershed. Within a large watershed, there are many small watersheds that drain into it.
Surface Water
Water above the surface of the land, including lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, floodwater and runoff.
Ground Water
Water found in spaces between soil particles underground.
Total Water Usage in the United States
We all know that water is important to our everyday life, from drinking water, to taking showers, and flushing the toilet. Did you know that the amount of water used in our homes is actually a small portion of the total water use in the United States?
Explore the water drop below by clicking or tapping each segment to see where water is used.
Livestock
Livestock water use is used for livestock watering, feedlots, dairy operations and other on-farm needs.
Domestic Wells
Domestic (private) wells can provide water for both indoor and outdoor household water uses such as lawn irrigation, laundry, and showers, to name a few.
Mining
Mining water use is water used for the extraction of natural resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas.
Aquaculture
Aquaculture water use is water associated with raising organisms that live in water; for food, restoration, conservation or sport.
Industrial
Industrial water use includes water used in the manufacturing and production processes such as washing, cooling, transporting products and sanitation needs in a manufacturing facility.
Public Supply
Public water supply systems regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provide drinking water to 90 percent of Americans. Public water supply systems draw water from lakes, rivers, reservoirs and wells for domestic, commercial, and industrial uses. Mister Car Wash draws its water from public supply just like other businesses you see every day.
Irrigation
Irrigation is the agricultural process of applying controlled amounts of water to land for agricultural purposes and growing crops. Estimates vary, but about 70 percent of the world's freshwater withdrawals go towards irrigation uses.
Thermoelectric
Much of the electricity used in the U.S. comes from thermoelectric power plants. Water is used for generating electricity in steam-driven turbine generators. It is also used to cool the power-producing equipment.
Water on Earth is constantly moving. For example, surface water in a lake may seep into the soil and become groundwater, which can later emerge from a spring. The water cycle consists of the many paths that water takes as it moves on, under, and above the earth’s surface.
Click on the labels of the water cycle below for a refresher on how water moves.
Precipitation
Water falling, in a liquid or solid state, from the atmosphere to Earth (e.g., rain, snow).
Condensation
The process by which a vapor becomes a liquid; the opposite of evaporation.
Evaporation
The conversion of a liquid (e.g., water) into a vapor (a gaseous state) usually through the application of heat energy; the opposite of condensation.
Surface Water
Water above the surface of the land, including lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, floodwater and runoff.
Percolation
The movement of ground water down through open pores in the soil and underlying rock by the forces of gravity.
Ground Water
Water found in spaces between soil particles underground.
The urban water cycle helps supply water to many locations within a city, including Mister Car Wash! Water is first taken from a source, such as a river or groundwater, and treated for safety. Then, miles of pipes carry water to different buildings. After water is used, other pipes carry it to a wastewater treatment plant, where it is cleaned before being reused or returned to the source.
Mister Car Wash's science of cleaning helps us reduce freshwater usage by an average of 11% and recycle 33% of water, on average, during the wash process and reduce usage by optimizing water flows and storage. When water can’t be reused, it goes through a process that removes grit and heavy sediments, balances pH, and is oxygenated to help breakdown bacteria and reduce odor, before being sent back into the city system.
When wastewater arrives at your city's wastewater treatment plant, it is typically treated through five major steps. The first four steps are all designed to filter waste from water in various ways. The fifth and final step uses disinfection to kill anything that might still remain.
Filtration
Wastewater flows through screens to remove large objects, waste particles and grit.
Settling Tanks
Wastewater flows into settling tanks where it sits still so more waste either settles to the bottom or floats to the top to be removed.
Sludge Removal
Naturally occurring microorganisms eat or consume organic material (like scraps of food or human waste). Once they consume organic material, they are heavy enough to sink to the bottom of the tank and form sludge, which is removed.
Fine Filtration
More filtration through finer and finer filters ensures that almost no contaminants remain in the wastewater.
UV Treatment
The final step is the use of chemicals or ultraviolet (UV) light to kill any organisms that might be remaining in the water before it is returned to the environment.