Part 1-a:

I live in New Columbia, Pennsylvania at 700ft. of elevation. My hometown’s climate is humid continental, which creates a relatively stable water supply. The average annual precipitation is 36 inches. My home’s water supply relies on a private residential well. Our well’s depth is 72 ft. Water enters our well from groundwater above layers of sandstone and limestone/shale. As precipitation occurs, water infiltrates the surface and permeates through soil layers into the groundwater supply. Although I live on a hill, our water table is relatively close to the surface. Water enters my home through the well pipes transport it into my home’s pressure storage tank in our basement. When I need water, it is readily available via tap. The water travels through pipes to 12 locations in my house (sinks, toilets, washer, and outside spigots). When I turn on a faucet, flush a toilet, and wash my laundry the used water exits my home into a septic tank. Waters goes through the septic and into a drain field where the soil absorbs it, purifies it and it permeates back into the ground water. This hydrologic cycle repeats until our groundwater storage is depleted.

Part 1-b:

Water log for Fri., Feb. 5, 2015 with laundry and food accounted for. Without laundry and food my total usage was 107.5 gallons.

Purpose                       Total Gal. Used    

Brush Teeth (2x)                       8

Wash Face (2x)                       16

Flush Home Toilet                     4

Flush Public Toilet                   16

Wash Hands                            10

Shower (Every other day)      32

Bottled Water                             1

Coffee/Tea                              .25

Cooking                                   .25

Washing Dishes                      20

Laundry (Bi-Weekly) (2x)       20    

Water Agriculture                    500(+/-)           

Total Water Used                   672.5 gal.

Part 1-c:

Sustaining on two gallons of water a day is a challenge. I am water conscious, but I realized long ago taking shorter showers and turning off the water while doing dishes or brushing my teeth will not cut it. In my daily life, I consider my water footprint and account for it in the foods I eat. From this experiment, I noticed that most of my water footprint other than food is from hygiene. On Saturday, I decided not to shower or cook with water. I stayed in my house where I already apply the yellow-mellow rule, this saved a considerable amount of water. My water usage came down to brushing my teeth, rinsing my face without the tap on and drinking my regular amount of water. So I can survive on two gallons if I stay in my house and eat already made food. Geography is the significant factor in the disbursement of water. I think of the women and children in Haiti who not only drink less water than me they need to carry it miles to their house, and the water is not even pure. This experiment shows how privileged I am based on my geographic location.