![]() In order to produce the pasta, water is required at many steps along the value chain, and when the water used at those steps is added up, it makes up virtual water content for that pasta. To make a bowl of pasta, water is required to boil the dry pasta in the pot – this is direct water use for the person eating that pasta at home. Virtual Water and Direct Water: Examples and Differences Water for Pasta That total can be considered virtual water content. When taken together, all the steps in which direct water is used add up to the total water required to get a finished product to consumers. For instance, a microchip manufacturer who uses highly distilled water in its process, or a beverage bottler that cleans bottles, are both directly using water in their operations. ![]() In other words, at any given point in time in the creation of a product or service, it is the water used in the specific activity that comes directly from a pipe or spigot. Another way to envision direct water use is that it is the water necessary to carry out an operation or activity. Conceptually, both mean the water consumed at every step in a value chain of a given good, service or process.īy contrast, direct water use is the water that is seen, felt and used in a given time and location to produce an item or service (think “tap water”). (This meaning has become common although it differs from the technical and historical definitions, both of which are discussed below in the section called “Virtual Water and Virtual Water Trade.”)įor the purposes of Water Footprint Calculator, virtual water is used interchangeably with indirect water. Although virtual water goes unseen by the end-user of a product or service, that water has been consumed throughout the value chain, which makes creation of that product or service possible. Virtual water, also called “embedded water” or “indirect water,” is the water “hidden” in the products, services and processes people buy and use every day. Virtual water often goes unseen by the end-user of a product or service, but that water has been consumed throughout the value chain, which makes creation of that product or service possible. Virtual water is the water “hidden” in the products, services and processes people buy and use every day.
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