Water Tracking of Petersburg and Usage by Megan Shrout

Part 1-A

In a rural setting, most people living in Petersburg, Pennsylvania, have private wells to access their fresh water supply. For those few within the town itself receive their water through Mather Water Company who sources largely from Standing Stone Creek. From their treatment plant, the water is contained in a reservoir until transported through water mains to reach consumers. After being used, the water is transported to a wastewater treatment center where it is cleaned, purified, and acclimated before its release into the Little Juniata River, which is the largest water source in the area. When not connected to a water main, septic tanks are used and trucks pump out the waste which is then transported to wastewater treatment centers.

 

Part 1-B

Water Usage of Friday, February 5th, 2016
Time Activity Gallons
9:15-9:30 am Brushing Teeth 1
Toilet 3
9:45-9:55 am Drinking Hot Tea .125 (16 oz.)
2:30-2:45 pm Drinking Water .0625 (8 oz.)
5:35-5:40 pm Toilet 3
10:00-10:15 pm Brushing Teeth 1
Shower 30 (15 minutes)
Total 38.1875

 

Part 1-C

Based upon my daily activities, my water usage stems mostly from personal sanitation (38 out of 38.1875 gallons). Otherwise it comes from consumption. In a situation in which I was only allotted two gallons of water a day, I would prioritize consumption to maintain health and cut back on sanitation usage. Showering would be only every three to four days in which water would only be used when soaking and rinsing (roughly about two gallons). To offset the shower’s water usage, any water not used out of the other four days would be used for consumption during the day of the shower. Brushing teeth can use minimal water in which the discharge could be thrown away instead of rinsed down a sink. However, even after these reduction strategies, my water usage would not fit within the restriction, as toilet usage is fairly mandatory as a social norm and from a sanitation standpoint. With our toilets using generally 3 gallons each flush, even only using it once a day would still use more water than allowed.

2 thoughts on “Water Tracking of Petersburg and Usage by Megan Shrout

  1. Hi Megan, my name is Nick Gasparovich. Your post caught my eye because you described your hometown as “rural”. Since I live so close to NYC, rural towns are almost non existent. I found it interesting how you used a lot less water than myself. Your low consumption made me think that I might be a wasteful water user, and I am going to try to watch how I use my water from now on. I also found your 2 gallon conversation strategies very interesting. Check out my post at– http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/07/nick-gasparovich-module-4/

  2. Hello Megan, from your post I learned about the water usage in Petersburg, PA. I think Petersburg is a typical town in PA on the way of water management, which water treatment facility functions as a crucial role in water circulation in a town. I also learned the way to treat waste water when there is no main pipeline available. In my post, I made a short introduction to Beijing’s water management. I also talked about my daily water usage in my post.
    Here is the link.
    http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/06/43614/

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