At my home in Asbury, NJ, I have submersible deep water well. When you turn the faucet on in the house, there is a pressure switch that “calls for water” which activates the pump down in the well. It pulls water out from the natural water reservoir, the aquifer. The water enters the holding tank in my basement. In this holding tank, know as the bladder water pressure tank, there is a pocket full of air that maintains the water pressure allowing the water to flow out from the faucets. When the tank is signaled that there is low water pressure, it then “calls for water” again from the pump down in the 400-foot well. After the water is flushed or goes down the drain it enters the septic system in the back yard. The water leaves the house through pipes and enters a 500-gallon cement basin. In this basin, the solids sink to the bottom and the liquids are allowed to pass through a set of pipes into a leech field. These pipes, known as laterals, have holes in them that allow the liquids to drain into the sand and filter out back into the earth where the cycle can being again.

Going a day with two gallons of water truly limited my activities. Looking at my typical day of water use, I realized that doing the dishes and taking a shower was not possible. I decided to only drink 64 ounces that day. I couldn’t go without brushing my teeth but made sure to turn the water off while I brushed. To conserve that water that gets flushed, I suggested to my roommates to only flush the toilet 2 times a day. My roommates could not support this strategy. Overall, I believed this experiment to be unsuccessful. I eventually showered and flushed the toilet, which pushed me well above 2 galloons. I realized just how privileged I am through this experiment. Before this activity, I didn’t even realize how much I use and waste water throughout the day. Knowing that I typically use over 100-gallons of water a day makes 2 gallons a day seem miniscule. Geography matters to water use because to maintain and support the human population, we need to keep the supply of water clean and available. Depending on the country, water use is a luxury and to others water is a privilege. Thinking about how I get water into my home, its important to understand that the earth and the water cycle are connected.