Part 1a-I am from the suburbs right outside of Pittsburgh,Pa. The water in my area comes from a water company called the Oakmont Water Authority. The water is drawn from the Allegheny River. First,impurities in the water are removed. Minerals such as potassium and fluoride are then added to the water. The purified water is then stored in a elevated tank. Distribution mains the carry the water from the tanks to service lines. Service lines transport the water into homes.The water is pumped into the water heater where it is separated into hot and cold water taps. After the water, has been used it is drained into a sewer. This dirty water is pumped backed to the sewage plat where it undergoes multiple treatment process in order to re enter the water system. The processes include the removal of solid debris and the breakdown of the remaining sludge.
Part 1b- Water Usage 2/8/16
Shower- 120 gallons
Flushing Toilet-16 gallons
Drinking water- 1/2 gallon
Laundry- 6 gallons
Washing hands- 4 gallons
Brushing Teeth- 1 gallon
Cooking-1 gallon
Total=148.5 gallons
Part 1c-
Limiting myself to just two gallons of water was pretty much impossible for the lifestyle that I have grown comfortable with. I drink a lot of water daily and I use a lot of water to cook which made this limit very difficult for me. The priorities for my water usage for this experiment were my drinking water and the water I use to shower. To attempt to cut down on my water usage I took shorter showers and I brushed my teeth in the shower instead of in the sink. I also attempted to cut foods that took a lot of water to make such as pasta. This experiment was a fail for me. Because drinking enough water is a priority for me I used almost half of my water supply on that which left very little room to do anything else. Even though I failed, this experiment caused me to drastically change my water usage compared to part b. Water usage in relation to geography is very important. Areas with less water availability are forced to use less water in their daily lives or suffer the consequences and have no water to use similar to what was described in the tragedy of the commons.
Hello my name is Madison Halbom, as I was reading your post I found you views on water usage and how to limit it interesting. I too had a hard time with limiting my water consumption. I agree with you that even the proper amount we intake for water a day should be cutting our amount down to half of what we started with. I also proposed the idea of saving the water used in the activities we used it for a finding a way to purify it to be able to use it again for another task we do daily. Check out my blog post http://sites.psu.edu/geog30/2016/02/16/module-4-water-t…king-and-usage-3/
Hello Aaliyah,
My names Steven, and I was just wondering your opinion on why you failed the experiment. Do you think it was because it was just something you weren’t use to? I agree it was pretty impossible, if it wasn’t for my experiences I don’t think I would have been able to do it. I do agree that this experiment has really opened my eyes to my water consumption.
My post: https://wp.me/p3RCAy-btS