This chart shows how water is used around the home of an average domestic customer.

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Only a tiny part - 3.4% - of the water that comes through your tap is used for drinking and cooking. Almost all the rest ends up down the drain!
Some activities require less water than they used to, for instance toilet flushing.  A new toilet uses only 6 litres per flush whereas an older toilet installed before 2001 uses 7.5 litres and one fitted before 1999 will use 9 litres. A new dishwasher or automatic washing machine uses about 50% less water than one made six or seven years ago and only about one third of the water used by a similar machine 12 or more years old.

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But other factors are increasing water usage significantly. We are a much cleaner society today than we were 15 years ago. While showers use less water than baths, we have many more showers per week than we would have had baths. Many people will have two showers a day, especially in the summer, and manufacturers boast of the power of their shower, which means it uses more water.

Outdoor use has increased too. Water features in the garden are now very common as are pools of various sorts for children and adults.  The increase in car ownership has resulted in increased car washing.
Overall the effect has been dramatic.  This graph shows the amount of water each of us has been using daily since 1977 - an increase of nearly 42%!