Part 1-a: I live in Pittsburgh, Pa which is a big city. The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority currently serves 113,000 sewage connections and 83,000 drinking water connections. The water treatment plant produces 70 million gallons of water per day. The PWSA also has four booster pumping stations which helps the water get to the houses. Pittsburgh draws its water from the Allegheny River, no ground water or well water is used. The treatment process for this water take three days. The first stage of the water treatment process is clarification. In this process silts and clays are removed from the water. This stage also involves the treatment of chemicals, which create clumps. These clumps are then removed from gravity sedimentation. The next stage the water is filtered. It slowly passes through coal, sand, and gravel filters in order to remove microorganisms. The last stage is disinfection where the water is treated with chlorine to remove any other microorganisms. Then the water is pumped from the treatment facility to homes. After the water is used in our homes it flows through pipes to Robinson treatment facility. It is then treated and dumped back into the river. From here the process repeats itself.
Part 1-b:
| Activities | Number of times | Water Used | Total | |
| Brushing Teeth | 3 | 1 gallon | 3 gallons | |
| Showering | 2 | 75 gallons | 150 gallons | |
| Washing dishes | 15 Minutes | 2 gallons per minute | 30 gallons | |
| Work | refilled water 2 times | 1 gallon | 2 gallons | |
| Drinking / Cooking | 16 glasses | 1 cup | 16 cups | |
| Bathroom | 10 | 1.6 gallons | 16 gallons | |
| Washing Hands | 14 | 1 gallon | 14 gallons | |
| Total | 216 | Gallons | ||
Part 1-c:
I realized that I used a lot of water a day. The top priorities for me would be eating and drinking. I don’t use a lot of water for cooking, so most of it would go to drinking and the rest hygiene. The average body needs about half a gallon of water a day. I would use a sink full of water and washcloth to bath. I failed at this experiment. I reduced my use down to around 100 gallons. The only way I could make 2 gallons work is if I was forced to. Although, I do have a lot of bad habits that if I fix could cut back on my water consumption. For example, cutting back on my shower time could save a substantial amount of water. Geography matters in water use because it dictates the amount of water the population has access to. For example, developing countries have little access and technology, so they don’t use as much water as developed countries. Also, geography has a big impact on the way the water is transported, if it can flow by gravity or if it needs to be pumped.
Hello Johnna, this is Shoheb. Great work on the entire assignment. Your work caught my attention because I see that you are from Pittsburgh, and I was curious to see the similarities and differences between us since I am from Philly and these are both two big cities. I really liked how you explained each step of the treatment process before getting to the homes. Your breakdown of water usage was really good as well, as it was very clear to understand. I agree with everything you said in your third paragraph also, especially the bathing with a washcloth since that would save a lot of water. Great work!
Here is the link to my post.
http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/10/city-of-waterly-love/