Unlike many of my classmates, a majority of my home town, including my family, relies on well water for their household needs. Our well goes down to the aquifer running under our home. We have the Muncy Creek, a branch of water splitting from the Susquehanna River running near our home and are fortunate to sit near a high water table and yet away from the flood zone. Our well was drilled in the 1980s and needs regular testing for bacteria and other contaminants. We must be careful with pesticides and fertilizer so that they do not infiltrate the well. We have a filtering system inside of the house but it is unlike the commercial systems most towns have for their residents. When this water is flushed, it goes into a septic system in our backyard. We have yet to have it pumped but according to West Branch Regional Authority, most of the sewage ends up in a water treatment plant. This waste water eventually ends up in the Susquehanna River after the treatment.
| Activity | Number of Times | Water Used |
| Water animals | 2 | 15 gallons |
| Shower | 1 | 40 gallons |
| Toilet Flush | 8 | 13 gallons |
| Tea | 3 | 3 gallons |
| Hand washes | 11 | 11 gallons |
| Teeth washing | 2 | 2 washing |
| Dishwasher | 1 | 6 gallons |
| Clothes washer | 1 | 25 gallons |
| Total | 115 gallons |
I did not even know where to start trying to live on two gallons a day. I had used 115 gallons the day before and I had eaten out all day so did not even use water for cooking. Looking into a life of a Haitian, it appears as though animals are brought to a water source which I could not imagine doing with three dogs, four cats, 10+ rabbits, 30+ chickens, and several flocks of ducks. To make up for using 15 gallons to give water to everyone, I decided to apply deodorant heavily and forgo the daily shower, thereby saving 40 gallons. My husband and I then got lax on the toilet flushing and forewent the dish and clothes washer. Unfortunately one pot of tea plus the hand washing and teeth washing was non-negotiable. Obviously the experiment of living on two gallons failed. If I had to redo the experiment, I may have attempted to re-use the water. For example, the water that is used to boil things may be then used to shower with and then used to flush the toilet. I still think I would have had a hard time going down to anywhere near two gallons. It is no wonder that United States uses so much more water than they have freshwater availability – it is far too easy for Americans to use water without any thought or planning. If developed countries had to plan out their water usage like many other areas of the world do, our water usage could be better controlled.
Hi Karolina,
In my hometown I also use a well pump to get water to my house. Sometimes the pump can give you a lot of trouble when it stops working. I found it was very interesting how you brought up the idea about reusing the water in your experiment! When I was doing the experiment this was the first thing I thought of, and I have to say it made the two gallon experiment so much easier. I feel that you definitely would have saw a difference if you reused the water too, well minus the fact you have three dogs, four cats, 10+ rabbits, 30+ chickens, and several flocks of ducks. If you care to see how I went about this experiment please visit my post http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/09/module-4-water-and-its-usage-2/
Hi Karolina, my name is Kelsey! Your chart caught my attention because we basically use the same amount of water a day. I use 114 gallons of water. I also had no idea where to begin with only using 2 gallons of water. It was something to seriously think about. I agree with you that we all don’t plan out how much water we’re going to use. We really don’t have think about how much we use. This experiment was definitely something to think about.
Here’s the link to my post if you would like to look at it!
https://wp.me/p3RCAy-bpw
I liked your explanation of how the water system works for your well/septic system. I lived at a house for an ephemeral time that had a well system, but never sat down to look at how it actually functions. Your explanation was quite insightful. The two gallon of water per day experiment really puts into perspective as to how much water we use in a day. It really puts things into perspective, that is for certain. Nice job!
Karolina,
I found it very interesting to hear how you draw all of your water from a well. I have always lived in areas which have municipal water systems. You “water needs” are certainly influencing by the amount of non-human animals you have around you.
I agree with you that Americans, all of us, use water without giving much thought or planning to where it comes from and what the implications of using it are.
Maybe we can all try this restricted-water usage experiment again some time, with a little more insight into what it means int he context of the global community.
Mike Evangelista
We can read my post at: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/10/module-4-learning-activity-water-tracking-usage-mae26/