Part 1-a:

The first part of this activity is to describe the water supply chain in my hometown, as it moves from its source to the tap and from the drain to its disposal. I actually had a rather good idea of how the water lines worked because over the summer I worked for the local sewage authority and I learned a lot. Despite the gross sounding job, the on-site job experience was actually amazing. You would be surprised what you don’t know about your water and sewage lines around you. I first contacted my local municipal water company and found out that the name of the company was North Fayette Municipal Water. The water is actually from the Yough dam. I am about an hour south of Pittsburgh and that river, the Yough, is actually one of the three rivers that meet in Pittsburgh. They add chlorine and ammonia to my water. After the water comes to my house from the municipal water, it is then flows to a sewage pump on route 21 that filters it and returns the water back into the river.

Part 1-b:

Water Activity                        Quantity                         Amount of Water Used (Gallons)

Teeth Brushings                        x2                                              4 gallons

Hand/Face Washings               x12                                            12 gallons

Showers (5-min)                        x2                                              50 gallons

Toilet Flushes                           x10                                             30 gallons

Water you drank (8 oz.)              x5                                             .31 gallons

Dishwashing by Hand                 x1                                             13 gallons

Total           109.31 gallons of Water

Part 1-c:

If I were to live in an area where the water was restricted, I would learn very quickly how far a gallon of water goes. In the experiment, the most amount of water I used was in the bathroom. I used around 50 gallons of water in the shower. Two, five-minute showers were a total of 50 gallons. I never would have expected that. I would absolutely provide priorities for things such as showering and washing my hands/face. I could manage to immediately eliminate 30 gallons out of my day. My flushes are high because I drink a lot of water. I would say the experiment on two gallons most definitely failed. I would need water for drinking, washing my hands/face, showers, and washing dishes. There is no chance that I would be able to survive on that. If I had a river near by, I could bathe in there instead of showering. That might save a lot of water, but still might not be enough. This would be less water than in part-b, however. Geography plays a huge role in water use. By understanding the amount of water used in the world, we may be able to address issues that countries have with the absence of water. By examining how we use and even waste water, we can make improvements on our day-by-day water usage.