My hometown, Bucks County, PA uses the same water water system that Northeast Philadelphia does due to its location. The water is first taken out from the Delaware River in Torresdale Philadelphia and brought to the Baxter Water Treatment Plant. At the plant, the water is taken out and filtered to make sure all of the debris that were in the water are gone. Chlorine is then added to make sure it is safe for distribution. The system takes about 190 million gallons of water a day and serves close to 750,000 people in Philadelphia and Bucks County areas. After being treated at the Baxter Water Treatment Plant, some of the water is sent to the Bucks County Sewer and Water Authority as well as other distribution plants. After being sent out to residences and the rest of the community, the water then comes back to the Bucks County Sewer and Water Authority where the sewage is properly disposed of.
Monday February 8th Water log:
Shower (10 minutes): 5 gallons per minute = 50 gallons
Teeth Brushing (2 times a day): = <2 gallons
Hands/face washing (6 times a day): = 6 gallons
Dishwashing (2 times a day, totaling 8 minutes): 2 gallons per minute = 16 gallons
Drinking water (10 glasses): = 0.625 gallons
Toilet flushing (5 times): = 15 gallons
Total: = 89.625 gallons
For my experiment to try and only use 2 gallons of water for a day, I wanted to prioritize my hygiene, cooking, and drinking. The first thing I cut down was my shower to 2 minutes. I saved 40 gallons by just doing this. I cut down washing my dishes because I used paper plates and plastic forks so I only had to wash one pan and a spatula which took less than a minute to clean. I also cut my drinking water down to 7 glasses for the day which totaled 0.5 gallons of water. I turned the sink off while I was brushing my teeth in the morning and night. Instead of washing my face in the sink like I normally do, I used my makeup remover wipes. Although I did not achieve only using only 2 gallons of water in a day, I was able to cut it down to about 31 gallons which is much better than my average 90 gallons per day. Geography matters in water use because it ultimately determines the amount of access that people have to water in their daily lives. Less developed countries have stricter access to water that highly developed areas, thus not allowing them to develop as much as they should.
My name is Joshua Wilkins, and my blog post is at http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/10/joshua-wilkins-module-4-post/. I really like how well you were able to cut your water consumption. I could not have cut down my showers to that quick. Also, it was smart by using wipes for your makeup instead of water.
Hello, my name is Ranee. It is very impressive how much of a reduction in water you achieved. I had used some of the same methods to reduce my water usages as well. It seems like an ethical dilemma as to whether it is worth the reduction of water for the use of disposable products.
Check out my post: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/10/44156/
https://wp.me/p3RCAy-bl5
Hey Jacqueline, my name is Shelby Epstein! I am also from the Bucks County area, specifically in Doylestown! It was interesting to see where your water comes from because in Doylestown, different suppliers supply water throughout Doylestown and the Buckingham area! One of the suppliers is surface water from the Forest Park Treatment Plant. Another supplier is ground water pumped from thirteen wells! However, I noticed that all of our water is transported into the same sewers!! We both prioritized in the same elements during the experiment! I like your ideas about using makeup wipes instead of washing your face. I never thought of that idea. Great job!
https://wp.me/p3RCAy-bl5
Hey Jacqueline, my name is Shelby Epstein! I am also from the Bucks County area, specifically in Doylestown! It was interesting to see where your water comes from because in Doylestown, different suppliers supply water throughout Doylestown and the Buckingham area! One of the suppliers is surface water from the Forest Park Treatment Plant. Another supplier is ground water pumped from thirteen wells! However, I noticed that all of our water is transported into the same sewers!! We both prioritized in the same elements during the experiment! I like your ideas about using makeup wipes instead of washing your face. I never thought of that idea. Great job!
Hi Jacqueline, my name is Amir and I’m mainly interested on the fact that your water comes from a river. From my environmental engineering courses, we learned about treatment plants but not about the ones on rivers, it’s crazy that it supplies water to 750,000 people!! I got similar results when I conducted my water usage (86 gallons)
Check out my post!
http://sites.psu.edu/geog30/2016/02/10/water-tracking-usage-4/