JP

As stated in the episode "Water," Galactica has the ability to recycle almost all of its water supply. However, it must tank off water to ships which cannot recycle as efficiently.

Dr. Baltar uses the term "JP" as a unit of liquid volume for water . However, this unit of measure is not further defined. If Baltar's estimation of water units per week is divided by the population count, the result is:

2500000/45265 = 55.2303

This is the number of JPs needed at minimum per survivor per week. Dividing this number by 7 (assuming that the Colonial week has seven days as it does on Earth, given no other official reference that can be used):

55.2303/7 = 7.9 JPs per colonist per day

A minimum average of 1 gallon, or approximately 4 liters or 8 pints, is needed for a typical human. As water is also used for personal hygiene, cleaning, and shipboard functions related to cooling or heating a spacecraft per person, the unit of JPs, if approximated as pints, means that Dr. Baltar's numbers are realistic: Each Colonial requires 8 or so pints of water per day.

The matter of water consumption for ships that cannot recycle is still a question not answered in the series. Galactica is fortunate to find a planet containing water to refill its stores, and it is logical that the Fleet takes in as much water as it can reasonably carry to all ships. However, waste will still occur. The only way that the Fleet can manage to stay space-borne is to "close the loop," or recycle the water that cannot normally be recycled. When Pegasus was in the Fleet, this process might have been easier if other Fleet ships are able to tank off their waste water to either of the two battlestars, then tank up with potable water as the battlestar's recycling abilities refreshed the waste water.