The pie charts below show the proportion of water used for different purposes in households in 1980 and 2008. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The two pie charts illustrate the way in which domestic water consumption was divided among five everyday activities in 1980 and, almost three decades later, in 2008.

Overall

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, it is clear from the data that washing clothes and bathing remained the largest uses in both years,

although

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their combined share fell considerably. Garden watering,

by contrast

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, grew into a major category,

whereas

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drinking and cooking formed a small and stable fraction throughout. In 1980, laundry accounted for the biggest slice at 35 per cent, closely followed by baths and showers at 30. Toilet flushing took a

further

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20, so these three activities together represented 85 per cent of the total. The remaining categories were minor, with gardens receiving only 10, and drinking and cooking making up a mere 5. By 2008, the picture had altered noticeably. Laundry dropped to 25 and personal washing to 24, which meant that neither dominated as it once had. Toilet use,

however

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, held steady at 20,

while

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the garden share tripled to 26 per cent and became the single largest purpose, probably because larger homes and hotter summers increased outdoor demand. Kitchen needs stayed unchanged at 5.

Consequently

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, if

this

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trend continued, outdoor consumption would soon exceed every indoor use combined.