1-A

I am from Potomac, Maryland, which is apart of Montgomery County. The water supply source for my hometown is the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC). Our water supply comes mainly from the Potomac River at an intake stream near the Great Falls and also reservoirs on the Patuxent River, the Tripdelphia and T. Howard Duckett. These reservoirs together can hold 10.2 billion gallons! The water from all these sources travels to either the Potomac Water Filtration Plant or the Patuxent Water Filtration Plant, which can treat up to 285 and 70 MGD (millions of gallons per day). These water sources bring the untreated water to a series of pressurized pump stations, where some chemicals get added such as carbon, acid, permanganate and coagulant. Then, the chemicals and water get mixed all together. Once the water reaches the sedimentation basin, the sediments and dirt get sorted and filtered out of the water. Afterwards, the water is pumped into water storage while disinfectant chemicals are added, such as chlorine, fluorine, etc. From the water storage, the clean and purified water gets distributed to our homes and fire hydrants where it can be used for our own purposes.

1-B

Water Usage (in gallons): February 7, 2016

1-C

Restricting my water usage to 2 gallons was challenging. According to 1-B, I used 92 gallons/day. I limited my shower to 5 minutes, which was still 25 gallons! Next, I decided to follow the phrase “if it’s yellow, let it mellow” to refrain from flushing. I still brushed my teeth 2 times, however, I turned the faucet off to conserve water. Lastly, I used reusable bottles and soaked my dishes when cleaning instead of leaving the faucet on. I failed using under 2 gallons of water because I showered and washed my hands and face to stay clean. Having the luxury of clean water is definitely taken for granted, but this experiment made me aware of how much water I waste. Compared to part 1-B, I used less water but not under 2 gallons. I learned ways to limit water usage like turning the faucet off or not flushing the toilet. Limiting personal water usage is an individual action; it makes a huge difference because all actions impact the environment. Through taking responsibility of our actions and maintaining sustainability, we can together create a collective action and conserve water. Using collective action, we will find a way to conserve water.