Part 1a) In Thousand Oaks, California our water supply chain is a result of the State Water Project approved in 1960. It begins at the Oroville Dam on the Feather river and ends at Lake Perris. Giant pumps in the Tehachapi Mountains lift the water from the California aqueduct into southern California. This is operated by the California Department of Water Resources. I believe Thousand Oaks does not use any type of ground water system, however other cities in Southern California do like Simi Valley. Some of the disposed water is recycled. 48 percent of the recycled water goes into agricultural irrigation, 20 percent into landscape irrigation, and 12 percent into groundwater recharge.
Part 1b) Water Usage Activities
Shower: 16 gallons
Flushing Toilet x5: 25 gallons
Brushing teeth x2: 1 gallon
Washing Hands x5: 2.5 gallons
Washing Dishes: 5 gallons
Drinking: 0.5 gallon
Total: 50 gallons
Part 1c) Using 2 Gallons in one day
I decided that it was important to drink water to stay healthy which is 0.5 gallons and to use the bathroom. However, since flushing the toilet uses around 5 gallons of water I realized it is almost impossible to only use 2 gallons of water in California. I know in some places you can just use a bucket of water and pour it down the toilet to flush it which saves a lot of water. Then I realized when you are only able to use 2 gallons of water, your hygiene becomes a problem because it takes a lot of water to take a shower, wash your hands and brush your teeth. So instead, staying hydrated becomes the priority. I definitely failed to only use 2 gallons of water since I used the toilet, but I am familiar with water restrictions since I am from southern California. One example is that we are only allowed to use our sprinklers on certain days at certain times in order to save water and you can be fined if you do not follow these restrictions.
Hi Adrianna! my name is Alexis Jacuzzi. I noticed that in your blog post you mentioned that you were from California. California as you probably know has been in a really bad drought and it makes me wonder about how disasters like that can effect our water supply so greatly. I also noticed that in your chart you only use about 16 gallons of water to shower. I wish I was able to only use that much. In my chart I used about 50 gallons as it usually takes me ten minutes to shower. My hometown also unlike yours disposes our water back into a septic tank which is purified at a facility and then flows back into our tap. It is a cycle that has been used in my town for years. Check out my results and more about my hometown water supply at https://wp.me/p3RCAy-bnW
Hi Adrianna my name is Cassie and this is the link to my blog post: http://sites.psu.edu/geog30/2016/02/07/cassie-hess-module-4/. Your post caught my attention because of the fact that you live in California, a much different climate than me. It’s interesting that the way your water is sourced is because of legislation passed so many years ago. Like you, I also designated about a half a gallon of water just for drinking in the experiment. Staying hydrated was also a priority for me because it is what keeps you healthy. I find it interesting that California limits when you can use your sprinklers. We’ve never had that in New Jersey but I think that would be very difficult, especially in the Summer.