Happy Valentine's Day from the Groundwater Foundation!

On this special day we wanted to take the time to thank you, our donors, supporters, and volunteers for everything you do. We wouldn't be around without your support, and we are so thankful for you! Happy Valentine's Day!

To celebrate the day, we thought we would share a few fun Valentine's facts:

• An estimated 145 million units of cards (not including classroom Valentine's) will be sold today.
• About 233 million roses were grown for today.
• 58 million pounds of chocolate are expected to be sold today.

That's a lot of cards, roses, and chocolate! But what does that mean for groundwater?

• 1 sheet of paper has a water footprint of 2.6 gallons. With 145 million units of cards estimated to be sold that's 377 million gallons of water.
• 1 rose flower has a water footprint of 1.8-3.4 gallons. That's around 419 to 792 million gallons of water to produce 233 million roses.
• 1 pound of chocolate has a virtual water footprint of 2,876 gallons. With 58 million pounds of chocolate candy expected to be sold that's more than 166 billion gallons of water!

That's a lot of water to produce our favorite love-day gifts! Maybe you are wondering how you can choose groundwater-friendly options this Valentine's Day. Here are some ideas we came up with, let us know if you have more!

• Send an E-Card in place of a paper version.
• If E-Cards just aren't your thing, give a card made from recycled materials.
• Give native flowers. Flowers native to your region take less water to grow and are often more affordable as they don't require importation.
• Buy local, non-processed food items to help reduce your water footprint. Think local candy stores, fruit producers, etc.