1-a – Hometown Water Supply Chain

In my hometown of Ronkonkoma, NY, water is sourced from groundwater. The water is then gathered in wells present in aquifers and from there it moves to a filtration station. After the water is filtered, it is then sent to a holding tank where it stays until it is needed for use. Next when it is needed for use, it gets sent to a main distribution pipe where the pipe then branches off into more pipes to distribute water to homes. After the water is used, it goes down the drain and then sent to an underground sewage system.

1-b – Computing Daily Usage

Shower for 10 minutes = 40 gallons

Toilet = 20 gallons

Sink = 20 gallons

Hand washing dishes = 40 gallons

Dish washer = 10 gallons

Drinking = 1 gallon

Cooking = .5 gallon

Total = 131.5 gallons

1-c – Living on Two Gallons of Water

Compared to people in countries such as Mozambique and Haiti who can survive on two gallons of water a day, I would not survive on this amount of water. Water is used for many reasons ranging from cooking, to bathing, and drinking and compared to what I currently consume, I would not be able to drastically decrease my intake of water to survive. I tried to decrease the amount of water I use in a day and I failed miserably. Even trying to shorten my shower was a hard task. Since showering and washing the dishes use the most water, it made sense for me to try and cut down on these activities, but I failed once I finished my shower as there was no way for me to take a shower and use less than two gallons. Compared to the daily usage described in part 1-b, I did use fewer gallons of water but it still does not compare to those who live daily on two gallons of water. Although I live in an area where water is readily available, water shouldn’t be consumed at such a high rate. I do think there is a connection between geography and water use. For example in places where there are droughts and water is not as readily available, people have to restrict their water usage so that there is water for everyone. In addition, there are places where water is not clean or sanitary to use or consume and in these places, people have to rely on other sources of water or drastically change their use of water so that they can use water and not harm themselves.