A display of 293 gallon milk jugs dangles from a tree at the Bob Jones Nature Center and Preserve near Lake Grapevine. It represents the average amount of water consumed daily last year by Southlake residents.

You’re right; it is a lot of water. But, the city of Southlake is using the display to motivate residents to cut down on excessive use.

“Awareness is the first step to making behavioral changes,” says Christi Upton, Southlake’s environmental coordinator and the creative force behind the exhibit. “Some people survive on less than 10 gallons a day. Water is precious. It’s not something we should take for granted.”

The problem is that many residents, whether in Southlake or elsewhere, don’t have any idea how much water they use every day. Washing clothes, bathing, flushing toilets and watering lawns adds up. This exhibit puts the pieces together in a tangible way.

“The intent of this particular display is to provide a visual impact; to show residents how much water they use,” Upton said. The milk jugs, hanging like Christmas ornaments, will grab your attention. Adding to the experience, Upton plastered the jugs with dozens of facts about water from a local and global perspective.

The six-week spring exhibit, Rock the Green Revolution, is part of a larger project supported by the Smithsonian Institution, which focuses on climate change and global warming. The homegrown “eco-zibit” was put together mostly with recycled, reused or otherwise low impact materials. The emphasis was on inspiring people to “reduce, reuse, recycle, rethink, and react.” Southlake was the first community in the nation to debut this exhibit.

Photo caption:

Do you know how much water you use on a daily basis? Christi Upton, environmental coordinator for the city of Southlake, hangs a cluster of gallon milk jugs from a tree at the Bob Jones Nature Center and Preserve. The display was created to show residents what their average daily water use amounted to in 2009.

[The amount of water depicted in the display was calculated by dividing the total amount of water pumped for potable use by total population. It includes all water use categories: residential, commercial, institutional, industrial, as well system water losses.]