1. A) My hometown is Lititz, Pennsylvania. It is a small town in Lancaster County that is located in south-central Pennsylvania. The source of our drinking water in Lititz includes rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, and springs all of which feed wells. From what I’ve read, our water travels through the ground or over the surface of our land, it dissolves naturally occurring minerals and even some radioactive materials. The water is then treated at The Lititz Borough Treatment plant before being pumped to my home. Our Lititz Run Watershed has been tested as having a medium to high-risk of significant contamination, which can be understood because northern Lancaster County has many farms and businesses that probably cause unwanted pollutants. From the sink to drain to sewer pipes, which is connected to approximately 560 miles of pipeline, the wastewater then goes through 1 of 38 pumping stations. Once processed through the station, the wastewater makes it’s way to the treatment facility. The wastewater treatment sight is called the Susquehanna Water Pollution Control Facility. It was designed to treat over 15 million gallons of wastewater per day. Our sewer and disposal sight is owned and operated by The Lancaster Area Sewer Authority (LASA). It is a municipal authority that was started in 1965. LASA currently owns, operates, and maintains a sanitary sewer system that serves approximately 37,000 customer, 100,000 citizens, and 1,300 businesses located in Lancaster.

1. B) Monday: TOTAL: 45 GALLONS

Shower: 5 gallon x 5 minutes=25 gallons

Toilet: 3 gallons x 6 times=18 gallons

Hand/face washing: 1 gallon

Teeth Brushing: .5 gallons

Water drank: 72 oz approximately .5 gallon

1. C) The areas that I directly used water in were the shower, toilet and for drinking water. I made it a priority to drink water because our body cannot function without it. The most water that I used was for taking my shower. I made it a priority to use my water while showering, because I am so used to showering everyday that if I were to go the day without it, I would feel very uncomfortable. I took a much quicker shower, though, than I typically do on an everyday basis in order to conserve water, but it was difficult to shampoo and condition my hair in such a short period of time. I also decided to use my water for the toilet. This is not something that I did/did not want to do; it was a necessity. I might have had an easier time if I was in the wild or a poorer country, like Haiti or most countries in Africa, because it would be socially acceptable to use the restroom in the wild, but since I was in State College, I had to use a toilet. I had a fairly easy time not washing my hands, face, or teeth in order to save water; this seemed like the most unnecessary of my water habits. Although I did not successfully complete the water challenge, I definitely cut down on my water usage. There was no way that I would have been able to effectively complete it with having to use a toilet and shower. I definitely cut down on my water footprint in comparison to my usual lifestyle, but I could not complete it.  I think that the biggest effect that this assignment had on me was that it made me aware of my “water footprint,” and alerted me to the fact that I should think twice before doing an extra load of wash or taking a second shower after I work out.   I also got to thinking about how lucky we are here in central Pennsylvania where the geography allows us to have a plentiful supply of water. Many years we get 25-30 inches of rain (that doesn’t include water in the form of snow), which is a luxury compared to the 5 inch average of rain that, for example, Kenya gets yearly.  The water use habits that I follow in central Pennsylvania are definitely very relaxed compared to habits that I’d have to adopt in areas of the world where precipitation is much less plentiful.