1.A) How do we get our tap water today? Hello I’m Lucas Skiba. I’m from State College, Pennsylvania I was born and raised here and I’ve always wondered where our water comes from. Our tap water comes from the State College Borough Water Authority (SCBWA). They supply the water distribution and quality of our water for the State College borough residents. SCBWA has seven authority board members and thirty five members on staff dedicated to building one of the best water treatment facilities in Pennsylvania. The SCBWA consists of a water reservoir, twenty-three water wells, and water treatment facility. The SCBWA is also permitted to provide about 9 million gallons of water per day. It also supplies water to five different townships including ours which are Benner, College, Ferguson, Harris, and Patton townships. Around 1900’s the gallon per capita were at 5 gallons. Today it is 62 gallons per capita on average which is a drastic change in water usage over the years. It is important to know where your water comes from and to always be thinking about how much water you use on a daily basis.
cites:
http://www.scbwa.org/water-quality-report.php
http://www.statecollegepa.us/DocumentCenter/Home/View/2962
1.B) Water Consumption For A Day Chart
| Activity Using Water | Amount of Water Used (Gallons) |
| Brushing Teeth (2X) | 5 Gallons |
| Shower (1X) | 50 Gallons (5 gal. per minute. 10 min. Total) |
| Washing Hands (8X) | 10 Gallons(15 sec.per wash=120 sec=2min) |
| Clothes Washer (2X) | 20 Gallons (10 gallons per load) |
| Bottles of Water (7-8X) | 1 Gallon (500 mL per bottle) |
| Flushing Toilet (5X) | 5 Gallons (1 gallon per flush) |
| Total= | 91 Gallons per day |
1.C) To begin the 2 Gallon Challenge I knew right from the start I was going to have to give up some of life’s many luxuries. I first started at my water consumption chart I made for part b. I looked at everything i could cut back on. Such as shorter showers, not running water when brushing teeth, and cutting back on washing my clothes. So I begin in the morning brushing my teeth I tried to use less water by not running it in between rinses. I then proceeded to take a shower. I normally take a 10 min shower but I cut it down to 3 minutes by not washing my hair. Which cut it back to 15 gallons instead of 50 gallons which is a huge difference. I didn’t wash any clothes that day so that usually accounts for 20 gallons of water. I only flushed the toilet for number 2 so that accounted for 1 gallon instead of my average of 5 gallons per day. I still consumed the same amount of water for drinking, and still washed my hands normally. Hydration and sanitation I still think are things you cannot live without. So in all I used 40 gallons during the 2 Gallon Challenge. Which sounds bad but in reality I cut my average water consumption in half. In all I did not realize how much water I really was using and where the water I use comes from. It is good to be aware of these facts and makes me want to cut back on my water usage.
Hey Lucas, my name is Alyssa! Here’s the link to my blog post: http://sites.psu.edu/geog30/2016/02/10/module-4-alyssa-massaro/
I thought your strategies for cutting back on water usage were really great. Also, good for you for completing the challenge! I didn’t make it past noon before I realized this would be impossible for me (I take long showers). Just like you, I am trying to cut back every day now that I know more about where the water is coming from and how it isn’t as unlimited as we think. I hope you continue to cut down your water usage and that this can move from individual action to collective action!
Hi Lucas,
Your post was very interesting. I thought that the amount of water per day that is permitted was low compared to how much water a day my water supplies. I give you props on how you were able to improve from the amount you used in part b. It is so difficult to try running off of 2 gallons because I find that extremely hard to accomplish since we are so used to unlimited water. I also have to agree with you that it is important to know where our water comes from because to be honest before this I did not know how much water I would actually use in a day. Although this learning activity has been a real eye-opener for me.
If you get a chance check my post out!
http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/09/module-4-water-usage-3/
Hey Lucas,
I did not realize how large the SCBWA is! I’m actually baffled by it. My hometown is very small, and we only have 5 wells. One thing that I’d like to know is how drastic the water usage changes when the majority of students leave the area for breaks. Good job on cutting back on your consumption. I found the challenge really difficult too.
Hannah
http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/09/hannah-levine-module-4/