Per capita usage
The number to the right is arrived at by computing the Water Plant Daily Production, adding the daily change (+ or - )  in reservoir storage totals and dividing by the number of residents served by Lake Oswego (approximately 33,300) and not other special water service districts.  This gives us the per person usage for all uses per day. 

This does not mean that every person uses that much.  All users are included, as well as all uses such as irrigation, fire protection, street cleaning, etc.   This provides a useful tool for the Water Treatment Plant staff to forecast water needs for different times of the year and varying weather conditions.

Where Does all the Water Go?

Below is a list of common water uses and the average amount used for each.

On the average nationwide, 183 gallons of water is treated for each person every day.

Below is a breakdown of how that water is used.

Summer Water Report 

You may notice a musty or earthy taste in the drinking water in the late Summer and early Fall.  Due to low river and reservoir levels, warm water, and high nutrient content certain types of algae are in higher concentration in the river at the end of the summer.  Some algae produce harmless compounds such as geosmin and methylisoborneal (MIB) that cause the water to have a musty/earthy odor.  Although these compounds are completely harmless, the human sense of smell and taste is very sensitive to them and can detect these compounds at extremely low concentrations.  The water treatment plant staff has adjusted the treatment process to include powdered activated carbon that will absorb some of the odor causing compounds.  This treatment process should improve the taste and odor of the water in a few days.  If you have questions or concerns about the water, please contact the Water Treatment Plant at (503) 635-0394.

December 2011

Average Water Use

For Lake Oswego:

97

Gallons per person

(per capita)

daily

Normal Range:

100 to 450 gpcd