Part A: In my hometown, I live in a community called The Hideout. Inside of The Hideout is an independent water company called Roamingwood Sewer and Water. They operate five wells inside of The Hideout where they extract the water from. From there, it is piped into my house where it is ready for consumption. After being used, the water is sent back to the sewage plant, across a 40-mile network. This network contains over 1000 manholes, and 29 lift stations, which pumps the water. The sewage plant treats the water, and sends it back into the system for use again. In addition, along the sides of the roads in The Hideout are culverts. These ditches are thoroughly maintained and allows us to capture rain water which then makes its way into the sewer system and is sent to Roamingwood for treatment. They also provide a defense against erosion and help to keep the roads intact.
Part B:
| How Water Was Consumed | Times Performed | Total Gallons |
| Teeth Brushing | 2 | 2 |
| Washing Hands/Face | 3 | 3 |
| Showers (10 minutes) | 1 | 50 |
| Toilet Flushes | 3 | 9 |
| Clothes Washing Loads | 2 | 70 |
| Dishwasher Runs | 1 | 15 |
| Water I Drank (8oz cup) | 1 | .0625 |
| Total Gallons | 149.0625 | |
Part C: While attempting to live on only two gallons of water, I found that simple things like a glass of water have to be considered. An eight ounce glass of water may seem small, but it would be a significant amount when only looking at two gallons. I set limits for myself to reduce the amount of water I used. I did not take a shower, brushed my teeth being cautious with the amount of water I used, and found alternatives for washing my hands (like hand sanitizer). I suppose you can say that my day was successful, but in reality, I doubt I could repeatedly do this. Short term, it was successful, but in the long term, I would be sure to fail. Compared to my table of water use, many of the activities I use water for I can’t even accomplish with two gallons of water (even flushing a toilet would use too much!) The way geography matters for water use is significant. Probably the most significant way it influences water use is physical location. If you are in a desert, you are unlikely to have much water to begin with, and as such, you would probably be more conscious about how it’s used. If you lived near a river or lake, the amount of water you can use would be greater. But this raises other issues, such as if the river or lake were to become contaminated. Efforts would have to be made in order to protect these water sources.
I think that your analysis of the 2 gallons of water a day was very accurate. As a culture, we are very “water hungry” per se and are used to using extravagant amounts of water. I had the same idea as you (link to my post https://wp.me/p3RCAy-bnB), if I were to try to continue this challenge, I would not survive just because of the social standards set here in the US. A simple shower would require so much more water than the minimum allowed. Also, your idea about the geography relating to water usage is very similar to mine!
Hi, my name is Jake Hughes. I think it is really cool that you live in a community called the Hideout. It sounds like a pretty cool place. It is interesting to hear the amount of manholes you have in your system compared to the size of my hometown and the size of our system. Your day with 2 gallons of water was much more successful than mine. I definitely would have needed to take a shower. This is my entry if you would like to view it at all: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/09/water-tracking-and-usage-jake-hughes/