1A.

Just a quick introduction, my name is William Graf and my hometown is Pompano Beach, Florida. The water and sewer in my area are provided by Pompano Beach Utilities department. The drinking water in this area come from the Biscayne Aquifer. There are 25 wells in Pompano Beach. The water is pumped from the aquifer from different sites to a water treatment plant. The water is then softened, filtered, fluoridated, and disinfected before it is sent to distribution. There are two water treatment plants for these operations. There are also different labs to monitor bacteria and other compound concentrations in the water. Our house used to use a septic tank for some wastewater operations. However in the past decade, these septic tanks are being replaced. The process for wastewater in Pompano now is to pump the collected wastewater to a water treatment plant in the center of Pompano Beach. This system uses gravity to drain the water out of houses, and then a pump to force the water to the treatment plant.

1B.

Brushed teeth 3 times (<1 gallon each)

Washed Hands/Face 6 times (6 gallons)

2 5 minute showers (50 gallons)

7 toilet flushes (3 gallons each, 21 gallons)

12 glasses of water (1 gallon)

1 Dishwasher Load (10 gallons)

Total Water Usage: Approximately 95 gallons

1C.

My main areas of water use in the experiment tend to deal mostly with hygiene and cleaning. While I do drink a fairly decent amount of water during the day if I am exercising my highest areas of consumption are the showers. This is followed by toilet flushes. If I had to prioritize my water use I would put drinking water and water used for cooking at the top of the list. I think this is followed by brushing teeth and washing hands. The bottom of this list would include the shower, toilet flushes, and dishwasher loads. A couple strategies to reduce water consumption include using more paper plates and plastic silverware. These can be discarded after they have been used and do not need to be cleaned in a dishwasher. Also some toilets have an eco-friendly option that use less water to flush. I could also only take one shower a day and cut down on time in the shower. My experiment cut down my water consumption, but I still used around 20 gallons of water in the day. I still drink almost a gallon of water per day and it is almost impossible to survive off only 2 gallons in one day. Geography matters for water use, because geography dictates how much water is available in an area. For example, Pompano Beach sits on top of an aquifer allowing for easy access to water.

1-a.

In my hometown of East Brunswick, NJ the water all comes from the Middlesex Water Company. Since their are many towns in Middlesex their are different pumping stations which supply water to the surrounding areas. For my town its the Tices lane pumping station which also supply’s water to South River, Helmet, and Spotswood. At this pumping station The Water Production Division is in charge of making sure the water is safe to drink as well as that it meets the standards established by the New Jersey Department of environmental Protection. System operators for this station take periodic samples daily to monitor it and make sure it hits all the requirements. The Source of middlesex’s water supply come from the Hunterdon County and the Delaware and Rarity River Basin, which combined receive over 40 inches of rain per year which much of is held in reservoir storage. From here East Brunswick takes its portion of 100 million gallons of water per day transferring it into the Spruce Run and Round Valley Reservoirs. After being pumped and used in homes, businesses etc. the system collects and conveys wastewater through gravity and force mains to the Middlesex County Utilities Authority’s treatment facility in Sayreville, NJ, through three metered connection points that are continuously monitored for flow and various wastewater characteristics.

1-b.

1-c

For me being a college student I am able to ignore the water usages such as washing dishes or cooking because they are done for me. So for this experiment I decided to take my water usage down to just two things, drinking water and washing my face. Drinking water is the most essential thing since I work out physically like at the gym as well as many hours mentally on school work and it is important to stay hydrated. I chose the ! minute of face washing because I figured since showers use up such an obscene amount of water and I couldn’t even use one for 30 seconds, I would at least need to clean of somehow. While some strategies could use more efficient shower heads or energy efficient toilets I decided to take a realistic college student approach which is to just reduce consumption. This experiment compares to my 1-b experiment only because it opens my eyes up to how much water we actually use per day. Geography is a huge part of how much water is used and how. For my town which has an abundance of water even in case of extended drought periods I never really payed attention to my water consumption besides the cost aspect. However areas with common drought or distance from a good water source can seriously inhibit the amount of water able to be used as well as what it is used for.

1-a
I’m from South Korea. Korea is a peninsula where 3 sides of country is a sea. It means we have a lot of accesses to water. I live in small city, Yeoju 1 hour from Seoul. Seoul and Yeoju is connected with river called Hangang River. Because I don’t know much about how the water supply chain works in my hometown I searched how it works. It is such a long process to get water to my house. First, water comes from river, reservoir so on, because there is a river running through my town our source of water is river. The water goes through intake station and gauging well then examines the water. After that water passes sand basin, chemical tank, mixing basin to filter out impurities. And finally through a clean water reservoir, filter bed and the chloride injection to purify water using chemical processes before it supplies to houses. Few years ago, government built 3 reservoirs for irrigation in my town, so we are in stable situation for water supply.
1-b

1-c
After track my water footprint of a day I realized which action takes most water usage. I needed to analysis the usage of water before I get started with attempt. Shower was the biggest part of usage, so I decided to skip my shower for a day to cut down water footprint. And by stages, I set my priorities. Drinking was essential and brushing teeth. But it was very hard to live a day with just 2 gallons of water. One time of flushing toilet is 3 gallons. It excesses the 2 gallons. As the final outcome was fail. But still I tried to cut down as much as I can do. Used cup went I brushed teeth, skipped dish washing. Compared to 1-b data, I used much less water but 2 gallons was too little for one day. We are lucky that we have plenty of water compare to Haiti and Mozambique people. For example, Africa has just small amount of water. Water depends on geography and climate because it is different with USA and Africa. Most area of Africa is desert which leads to water shortage and water shortage matters to water use. It limits the usage of water.

I live in a small town called Northern Cambria, PA. It was not until recently that my town had made the switch to become a public water system. Prior to this, most of the water supplied to houses were from different wells and springs from around the area. From the Northern Cambria Water Municipality Website, it is stated that there are multiple wells that are pumped into two different enclosed reservoirs. From these reservoirs, they are transported to a water treatment pump house. From here, it is pumped into the main lines of households and other community uses. After the water is drained from different households, it is sent to the sewage water treatment plant. Once the water is finished its treatment, it is funneled into the Susquehanna river watershed that flows through the town. This system, utilizing Greensand, is able to filter and treat up to 300,000 gallons per day.

After I tracked my water usage on Monday, I decided to significantly reduce my water usage to two gallons for the experiment on Tuesday. I allocated 0.25 gallons of water to drinking since being hydrated is necessary, and the other 0.75 for food. I wanted to use the last gallon for personal hygiene uses such as brushing my teeth, washing my hands, and using a wet rag with soap in order to cleanse my body. My experiment ultimately failed whenever I had to use the urinal on campus. Since they automatically flush after each use, I ended up over using my prescribed use of two gallons of water per day. I was able to reduce my use of water to approximately 20 gallons, since I am forced to flush the toilet at my apartment due to my roommates. Geography is extremely important to water use because it plays a pivotal role in where and how water is obtained. From my hometown, we are lucky enough to have ground water and multiple wells where water can be obtained. Other places like California do not have this luxury. This is why I believe that new processes and ideas need to be implemented such as desalination of seawater so that water shortages will not occur in the future.

1A.

I am from a fairly large township about 15 miles outside of Manhattan: Wayne, New Jersey. After contacting the Division of Water and Sewer I was able to learn the following: the township operates approximately 260 miles of water mains, 6 water pumping stations, 5 large water storage tank, and the average daily use is 6.5 million gallons per day. After researching the latest residential population of the town, this equates to roughly 118 gallons per day per resident. All of the water supply comes from the Wanaque South Water Supply Project. Water first travels from the North Jersey Commision’s Wanaque Reservoir through the Oradell Aqueduct to the Oradell Reservoir. Water is then pumped from the reservoirs to Wayne. The water can also be pumped from the Passaic and Pompton Rivers through the Wanaque South Pump Station. The water, upon being used by residents and entering drains, travels through 240 miles of sanitary sewer mains being sent to the Mountain View Wastewater Treatment Facility on Dey Road where it is then treated to prevent water solution.

1B.

1 Shower                                   50 Gallons of Water                                                          5 Toilet Flushes                           8 Gallons of Water                                                            2 Teeth Brushes                      <1 Gallon of Water                                                      Drinking                                    .5 Gallons of Water                                                 Washing Dishes                         6 Gallons of Water                                                  Shaving                                     1 Gallon of Water                                                              2 Hand Washings                      2 Gallons of Water

Total Water Usage = 68 Gallons of Water

With two gallons, I would use water for the following: 1/2 gallon for bathing, giving myself a sponge bath to use as little as possible. 1/2 gallon for drinking because my health is my priority. 1/2 gallon for washing dishes, using a sponge to dip into the water to not overuse. The remaining half gallon would be spent for anything else I may need water for such as brushing teeth or hands. To save water, I could use Purell to clean my hands instead of washing them. I could also brush my teeth without wetting my toothbrush first. I would also use the outdoors as a bathroom so I did not have to flush any toilets. I would also forgo shaving because it is not of much importance. This would succeed, though you would be living in a primitive state and would be looking to substitute or sacrifice certain hygienic actions (though many before me have done the same and survived). The difference between this and my normal water usage is the fact I am using the bare minimum to accomplish the goal versus what provides me with a comfortable means of accomplishing the goal (ex. sponge bath vs. showering). Geography certainly matters to water use. Some are limited strictly because there is no access or supply of water, such as streams, rivers, water reserves etc. as may be the case in deserts. Some areas may also have salt water, but not fresh water which may limit its use.

Part 1-a:

I live in Tripoli which is the capital city of Libya. Our water supply chain starts from the Libyan desert which forms the northern and eastern part of the Sahara desert. The desert has aquifers of meteoric origin derived mainly from rain. This underground water is extracted and delivered to sets of huge reservoirs scattered across Libya through the Great Man-Made River (1). A network of pipes supplies water to the houses in Tripoli from a set of reservoirs located south of Tripoli. Moreover, each house in Tripoli usually has its own well where the delivered water will be stored. Then, water will just flow from this local well to the tap. The used water will flow from the drain and gets collected at local wells. Then it is transferred to wastewater treatment plants where it is recycled. The recycled water is then reused for agriculture irrigation and meeting industrial needs.

(1): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Man-Made_River

Part 1-b:

Keeping track of my daily activities in which I use water really surprised me with the amount of water I use. Here’s a list of my activities with estimated amount used (according to USGS):

Part 1-c:

In my attempt to reduce my daily water consumption I tried to decrease the amount of time spent on each activity or decrease its frequency. I prioritized drinking water, teeth brushing, and showering. I decreased the time I spend showering from 15 minutes to 8 minutes which reduced the showering consumption from 75 gallons to 40 gallons. Also, I used the toilet and washed my hands 4 times. I turned the faucet off when brushing my teeth and when dishwashing by hand. However, I drank the same amount of water. Overall this amounted to an estimate of  65.5 gallons. Even though I have reduced my activities in part 1-b  to nearly half the duration or frequency, the experiment clearly failed by a large margin. This failure taught me that I shouldn’t take water for granted and that I need to be more efficient in my water consumption. Geography matters to water use because it can determine how much rain a region will get in addition to the difficulty of extracting underground water. For example, Latin America has high freshwater availability but has low water use rate (according to Figure 4.2, 4.3) which is partly due to the geographical challenges of extracting water.

1a

In my hometown of Kingston, Pennsylvania, the water supply comes from the Pennsylvania American Water Company. The company supplies the water using underground pipelines going to all the houses throughout a vast area in Pennsylvania. They supply water to about 36 counties within Pennsylvania delivering about 193 million gallons of water per day. Some of the households in the area get their water from the Huntsville Reservoir, but this is more for the people located outside of the city in the suburbs. After the water leaves the households through the sewage system, it goes to the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority whether you get the water from the PA American Water Company or the Huntsville Reservoir. This is a facility located in Wilkes-Barre where the water is treated after being used and is sent back to the original companies to be reused.

1b

Average Daily Water Usage

1c

After looking over my average daily water usage, I realized that it would be extremely difficult to live with only two gallons of water per day the way I am living. A change in my daily schedule is definitely needed. I would need to cut my shower out completely because the average shower uses about five gallons of water per minute. The biggest priority I would have would be to use it as drinking water. Once I have a sufficient amount of water to drink so that I am healthy, I would use the rest of the water I have for hygienic purposes like one round of washing my hands. Anything else that I could do would be exceeding the two gallon mark. Personally, I would fail the two gallon test because there is no way that I could go to the bathroom without flushing the toilet or washing my hands. I could not go without a shower every day and I am extremely thankful that in Pennsylvania, there is no “two gallon limit” on the water. If I was to live in Haiti for example, I would definitely be struggling.

1a. In my hometown of Doylestown, PA the water comes from systems that belong to a group called the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority which operates alongside the municipality. There are three public water systems in my county that stretch for more than 46 miles. These three systems together supply the water for the entire town. Their water comes from many wells and collected ground water. The wells used can be up to 500 feet deep and there are thirteen of them in the area. These systems then branch out to deliver water to homes like mine using underground pipes that lead directly to the water appliances. Once used, the water ends up in the public sewer systems located in Doylestown or surrounding towns that are also owned by the Bucks county Water and Sewer Authority. These public water systems supply there water for my town along with Warrington, Plumstead, Neshaminy, and other surrounding towns.

1b.

-Shower: 75 gallons

-Toilet Flushing: 24 gallons

-Drinking water: 1.5 gallons

-Washing hands/face: 10 gallons

-Brushing teeth:.5 gallon

total: 111 gallons of water per day

1c. In this experiment, I would have to focus on making sure I have enough water to drink. I would use about 100oz of the two gallons as drinking water. Another important use for water is in cooking, so I would need about 40oz of water for cooking uses. The rest of the water (116oz) would go to brushing teeth and washing my hands and face. I wouldn’t be able to flush a toilet or even take a shower because they both would require more than 2 gallons of water. This experiment would defiantly fail because I would use way more than 2 gallons. I try to turn off the sink as soon as I can when using them to save water and I also try to take shorter showers. Only 2 gallons a day isn’t even 2% of what I regularly use in a day. It is hard not to be wasteful and use too much water and water is often wasted by those who have all the water they need.

1. A. I live in a small town in Pennsylvania called Abbottstown which is in Adams County. In my town, the main source of water comes from York Water Company. On the website, I read that it supplies about 20 million gallons of water each day, which consists of 65,000 residents, industrial, and commercial customers. I was shocked on how much area they are responsible for providing water for. The water comes from the Susquehanna River, Lake Williams, and Lake Redman. It goes through several different sources before it gets to the customers, such as the pumping station, rapid mixer, and the plate settling basin. During the plate settling stage, other actions also take place as well such as the multimedia filters which clarifies the water. Throughout the clarifying stage, it checks the thickness of the water. It then goes through the dehydrator which removes any soil. Then it goes through the rapid mixer, plate settling basins, multimedia filters, and the clear water cell. Finally, the water is finished to be used by the clients. In conclusion, every stage has specific roles that they in order to get the water clean and ready for the consumers.

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Activity                                                              How much water is used? (Gallons)

Brushing Teeth                                                                              3 gallons

Shower                                                                                           32 gallons

Toilet                                                                                               25 gallons

Washing hands                                                                              9 gallons

Dishes                                                                                             36 gallons

Washing clothes                                                                           30 gallons

Drinking water                                                                              ½ gallon

Total:    135.5 gallons/day

1. C. If I had to live in an area where I could only use 2 gallons a day instead of 135.5 gallons I would find it to be very difficult. I know that in the past I made wiser chooses on how I would use my water, but that was when I was in Mexico for vacation. The reason why I think that I would not be able to live off of 2 gallons is because I failed to do so when I gave it a try. I realized that I only made it half way through the day until I couldn’t go through with it. I thought that the most important things were to drink water and brush my teeth. Although when it came to the time that I couldn’t flush my toilet, wash my dishes, or shower that’s when it became harder for me. I know that there could be a routine made up for each day so that I could fit everything that needs to be done. In order to accomplish that I would have to make dramatic changes in my life by not showering every day, flushing the toilet, washing my hands, doing my laundry and so on. I think that limiting how much water you use a day is a very difficult task because I am used to being able to use a lot of water. I know that by reducing the amount of water I use per day can make a big difference in the environment. I can say that I will manage my amount of water usage more wisely from now on. It is scary to think that many places such as Haiti, are limited on how much water they use a day. I am lucky to be able to live in an area where there is an unlimited amount of water supply.

1a. Water Chain in my hometown:

My hometown is Buckingham Pennsylvania, which located about 50 miles north east of Philadelphia PA. Many people in older homes still have their own wells and sewage tanks, but in the new developments they do have city water and sewage. I called my township to get some information on our water supply chain, and was given a wealth of information. Because we are close to the Delaware River we live in water protected area of the Delaware River Basis. The water actually comes directly for aquifers within the township. My township currently has 15 wells producing more than 245,000,000 gallons of water annually for the residents. Once the water is collected from the aquifer, they pump it through a system where they treat the water by filtering it and then it is put through a purification and disinfection process. They also add Fluoride to the water before they put into water towers for storage purposes until it is ready to be piped to residents. The water is then piped through piping system and delivered to homes. Once residents use water (sewage), it goes down the drains and out to another piping system that carries the waste to local sewage plants. Then the sewage plant treats the sewage before it is released.

 1b. My water usage tracking:

1c. My water conserve experiment:

So I decided to pick Sunday as the day I do my experiment to reduce water consumption to 2 gallons. Sunday I can stay home and be able to manage my consumption to attempt to reduce it. Considering up above in my usage, I use on average approximately 74 gallons a day, going to 2 gallons was a real challenge. My areas to focus on was showering, flushing, hand washing, teeth brushing. So my priority for the day was my drinking water, as it is the most important to me. I set aside ½ gallon for that, so I put that in a container. I happen to have 2 pitchers, so I filled them up, and they totaled 1 and ½ gallon of water. Being able to measure out the water was the best way for me to manage and truly measure my usage. I also had a bottle with a pump for my hand sanitizer. My other strategy was not to flush and I put a little sign on the handle to remind me not to flush. Flushing alone can use up to 2 gallons alone. So was I successful? Well the containers did help me manage my water usage for drinking, brushing, and hand washing. And I only flushed once and that was at the end of the day. By the end of the day I did use all my 2 gallons of water, but I also flushed. So I think I ended up using about 3 gallons. I did use less water than my normal usage outlined in 1b above, but it was really hard.

We take for granted the water we have available. Being in the US and specifically Pennsylvania, we get plenty of rain and thus have a large quantity of fresh water available. We have easy access to clean water as we just go to the facets. Geography has a huge impact on availably of water. Areas that do not get a lot of rain and have droughts having fresh water is like gold to them. Take Haiti for example, there is ground water near the mountains and shore areas, but accessing it as a challenge (cost). Also lack of water treatment plants is an issue. Haiti has also been a country that has been heavily deforested, which has caused heavy soil erosion and impacted rivers and streams.

I have to say my experiment did make me think about my own individual actions any my impact on the environment. Even if I can decrease my usage by 10%, I just think about the impact I could have over the course of weeks, months and years. Making sure I don’t run the water when I brush. If I can talk to more people about it, maybe I can get others be mindful about their water usage and conserve water, collectively we could have a positive impact.

1a) I’m from a town near Philadelphia called Downingtown. The Downingtown Municipal Water Authority (DMWA) provides water to over 10,000 people several local counties. The East Branch of the Brandywine is the main water source. Although the DMWA can take up to 3.8 million gallons per day, they supply 1.2 million gallons per day to customers on average. I have actually visited the water filtration plant that the DMWA owns and operates on a field trip my senior year of high school with my AP Environmental Science class. At this facility, the surface water source goes through a treatment process that combines chemical additions, mixing, settling, filtration and disinfection. All of these steps are completed before the water is redistributed. After being treated, the water goes through an extensive system to each household that depends on public water. At home, we have an on-site anaerobic septic system. This means that bacteria eat away at the waste products and filter through them. The solid waste stays in the tank and the liquid goes through a pipe and goes through yet another anaerobic system in a nearby field. The bacteria continue to filter the waste as it also filters through many levels of soil and sediment until it eventually returns to the ground supply.

1b) Daily Usage (Monday)

Brushing Teeth (2), .5 gal

Shower (15 mins), 56 gal

Water (drinking), .5 gal

Toilet (6), 30 gal

Faucet (8 times washing hands/face), 12 gal

1c) I had not realized how much water I was actually using in the shower. If I had to live on 2 gallons a day, daily showers would definitely be avoided. Also, it is hard to understand how much water is used simply in flushing the toilet. With the 2 gallon challenge, I think I would have to cut down on using the toilet as well as flushing it. I think that I would have to prioritize water for drinking as well as washing my hands and face, but perhaps cutting down on that portion significantly. I definitely was not successful in the challenge of using only 2 gallons a day, but because of this I will definitely be more conscious about how much water I use and how I can cut down on it as much as possible. Geography really plays a part in water usage because depending on both the physical and cultural components of where you live dictates how much water each individual is allotted.

1A.

I am going my water supply chain on Schuylkill Haven.  The source of the water comes from surface water from the Silver Creek Reservoir, which is fed by Tumbling Run. About 4 million gallons of water is withdrawn per day. About 10,000 customers is served by the water system.  Silver Creek Reservoir is where the water supply intakes are located. About 6.1 square miles of land drain into the creek upstream from the intake. This land upstream of the intakes is 0.2% agricultural, 89% greenspace/forested, and 0.2% developed. The remaining of the land is open water. After that it goes down the drain which then goes to the sewer plant. The sewer plant is located on Saint Charles Street. This is also the location of the recycling center for the borough. The residents could take their cardboard boxes, newspaper, junk mail and yard waste down here also. The borough also conducts recycling of computers and other stuff at least once a year.

1B.

1C.

I mainly use the water for cooking and drinking. I also did quick wash up in the tub. After my tub wash I used the water to flush the toilet with. The main priorities that I set for my water use was for cooking and drinking any water I had remaining I used to clean up and flushed the toilet. The one thing that I could do is to cut back on the time I take my shower. I feel that it was a failure due to the tub bath using most of the water I had. I used a lot of water to take my shower compare to my tub bath. Since we live in a place where we are not restricted on the amount of water we get to use some people may use more or less water depending on what has to be done for the day. The amount of water used may also depend on the amount of people are in a family. The more people in the family the more water you will use.

1A) Leesburg, Virginia is home to about 40,000 people, which is considerably big. The Potomac River is the main source of water for that area. The Broad Run Water Reclamation Facility (BRWRF) is an 11 million gallons per day reclamation facility that takes water from the Potomac and purifies it for household use. BRWRF is required to uphold state regulations due the fact that the water supply is from an upstream river. The facility must have a certain total of nitrogen demands, phosphorus demands, Kjeldahl Nitrogen demands and chemical oxygen demand limit. According to Loudoun.org BRWRF uses a series of technology as a standard precaution for environmental safety and water retrieval. They use a technology such as grit removal, primary clarification, fine screening, flow equalization etc. This process allows filtration and distribution among households and residences. Once this water leaves our houses it is transported into a septic tank, where it holds the all of the sewage under ground. This sewage is then transported back to Ashburn, Virginia where it is treated and recycled all over again into filtered water at the Broad Run Water Reclamation Facility.

1B) Activity Conducted: 2/9/16

ACTIVITY                                                                  GALLONS OF WATER

Shower                                                            5-gallons’ x 10 min = 50

Teeth Brushing                                                1-gallon x 2 min = 2

Hands/Face Washing                                                    1 gallon

Leg Shaving                                                                1 gallon

Dishwashing by hand                                                   2-gallons’ x 3 min = 6

Clothes washer                                                 25-gallons’ x 1 load = 25

Toilet flush                                                                   3-gallons’ x 5 times = 15

Glasses of water                                                            1 gallon

Total: 95 Gallons  

1C) When having a restriction of only using 2 gallons of water it really puts your life into perspective. This 2-gallon challenge did not go as planned as it was unsuccessful from very early on. I am big on cleanliness, therefore I usually take a shower every morning, however with this experiment my main priority was to give up a shower for a day. This being said I was able to focus on using those 2 gallons in a more useful way (saving approximately 50 gallons of water from not showering). Based on the chart created in Part 1-b I also use a lot of water when dishwashing by hand, therefore I decided to use paper plates, that way I could recycle them rather than wasting the water. Geography matters to water use because in certain areas of the world, such as North America, it is easy to use the water supply as if it will never run out. However, for the average person in Haiti and Mozambique 2 gallons of water must be carefully planned out on how much and where to use this water supply. We as a society tend to take this luxury as an advantage, which was brought to light through this experiment.

Sources for Part 1A: http://www.loudounwater.org/Residential-Customers/Water-Reclamation/

The water supply for my hometown of Wyomissing, PA, comes from Lake Ontelaunee, located just to the northeast of the city. Lake Ontelaunee is fed by Maiden Creek, of which the creeks forms from spring water runoff from the mountains and hilly terrain in the vicinity. From the creek, it enters the Schuylkill River. The water is then pumped into one of many water treatment facilities throughout the Reading area. It is then pumped with ozone (O₃) as the ozone will remove any fine particulates in the water. Thereafter, the water is coagulated and fluoridated (fluoridation of water is a controlled addition of fluoride to the water supply to reduce decay of teeth; another aspect of public health). After the water goes through rigorous filtering processes to reduce sediment concentration, it enters corrosion filters to remove harmful substances, and a balance of the pH also occurs. Before being sent out to neighborhood water towers, slight additives chlorine (Cl) are added to clean the water once and for all. It then heads to homes and/or water towers and is ready for use. After the water is consumed, it heads toward a refinery plant located on the south side of Reading. The storm and waste water is then treated and dumped into the Schuylkill River. There has been some problems recently with the dumping of the treated water in the Schuylkill as the treated water is warmer than the water in the river, harming wildlife.

Throughout the day, Monday, February 8th, I used quite a bit of water that was already stored (bottled water). Though, having just getting over a very bad illness, I washed my hands practically every hour throughout the day Monday. I consumed four bottles of water, or four pints which is equivalent to a half gallon of water. Now, I am uncertain as to how many gallons per minute the showers in the dorm pump out, but I took a steaming hot shower for about 20 minutes last night. Perhaps there was well over 100 gallons of water usage from that shower alone. I draw that conclusion because the average house sink pumps out roughly two gallons per minute. As per taking care of business in the restroom, I think about 6 gallons of water were used as the bathroom systems are pretty conservative on campus (again, the university does fairly well with water conservation for their sink and bathroom systems). My overall water consumption ended up being about 30 gallons less than the average family household — my 20 minute shower hiked up the water usage exponentially. Otherwise, the rest of the usage was on a minimal usage amount.

If I was limited to only two gallons of water for one day, I would assume conditions were perhaps on the extreme level. I would keep a full gallon of water for consumption; no less than 0.75 gallons as the human body can burn through liters of water on the order of hours depending on the conditions outside. The other 1 to 1.25 gallons of water would be used to cook food. A small portion would be kept to boil food, if needed, and to clean myself up after cooking. If it came down to it, I would not bathe if things were extreme enough as dumping water on myself so I can feel “clean” is not the best way to use water. If it were hot, I would actually wet my clothing with it, particularly around my core and head to keep my core temperature normal. A small portion, perhaps a pint if that, would be used. If the environment were cold, then that water to keep my core temperature down would be salvaged and used for more cooking, or cleaning of the catch of the day, etc. It is a pretty coarse situation when you have two gallons of water to deal with. It can really put into perspective just how much water we frequently use on a daily basis without thinking about it.

My hometown is Peters Township, which is a township located in Washington County Pennsylvania. At my house we have two sources of water. Our main source of water is through the municipality. The second source of water is from a private well on my parent’s property. The wells source is the water table. For this project I am going to focus on the municipally supplied water. The Pennsylvania America Water Company supplies the water to Peters Township municipality. The Pennsylvania America Water company reports the sources of water are broken down as follows: 92% surface water, 7% wells, and 1% purchased. They also report that for Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas, the Monongahela River is the only surface water source. The Pennsylvania America Water Company reports that the Monongahela River is able to provide up to 110 million gallons of water per day. After the water is used, it goes into the drainpipes and into a sand mound on my parent’s property. The sand mound filters the wastewater through various layers of filtering materials and ultimately reenters the water table. Solids are left behind in tanks that are pumped out every two years.

Using the water USGS website estimations, I approximated that I used 247 gallons of water on Feb 09^th. I would assume this is fairly accurate and representative of a normal day for me. I work in a research lab and today I washed glassware for 30 minutes. I use tap water and distilled water to clean the glassware so I doubled the USGS estimation from 2gallons/minutes to 4 gallons/minutes for dishwashing by hand.   The main areas of water usage in my life are consumption, hygiene, and work. I value my water usage for hygiene and consumption. If I were to restrict my water usage to 2 gallons of water a day, I would not be able to continue working in a research lab. On a personal level, I need to shorten my shower time, turn off water while it is not necessary, and decrease the frequency of showers. It would also be beneficial to upgrade to a newer toilet that uses less water and has an option for solid vs. liquid waste. Unfortunately, with my current work, the two-gallon a day challenge would fail. In the laboratory we do a minimum for 6 water rinses (3 from the tap and 3 distilled) for each piece of glassware. There is no way to avoid this seeing as this is protocol to avoid emulsions and contamination. If I were only focusing on my personal life, I feel that with a lot of effort I would be able to dramatically decrease my water usage. Geography plays an important role in water availability. Various parts of the world and country have scarce amounts of water. For example, the drought in California has made many Californians more conscious of their water usage than people who live in areas without a water scarcity.

Part 1-a:

The first part of this activity is to describe the water supply chain in my hometown, as it moves from its source to the tap and from the drain to its disposal. I actually had a rather good idea of how the water lines worked because over the summer I worked for the local sewage authority and I learned a lot. Despite the gross sounding job, the on-site job experience was actually amazing. You would be surprised what you don’t know about your water and sewage lines around you. I first contacted my local municipal water company and found out that the name of the company was North Fayette Municipal Water. The water is actually from the Yough dam. I am about an hour south of Pittsburgh and that river, the Yough, is actually one of the three rivers that meet in Pittsburgh. They add chlorine and ammonia to my water. After the water comes to my house from the municipal water, it is then flows to a sewage pump on route 21 that filters it and returns the water back into the river.

Part 1-b:

Water Activity                        Quantity                         Amount of Water Used (Gallons)

Teeth Brushings                        x2                                              4 gallons

Hand/Face Washings               x12                                            12 gallons

Showers (5-min)                        x2                                              50 gallons

Toilet Flushes                           x10                                             30 gallons

Water you drank (8 oz.)              x5                                             .31 gallons

Dishwashing by Hand                 x1                                             13 gallons

Total           109.31 gallons of Water

Part 1-c:

If I were to live in an area where the water was restricted, I would learn very quickly how far a gallon of water goes. In the experiment, the most amount of water I used was in the bathroom. I used around 50 gallons of water in the shower. Two, five-minute showers were a total of 50 gallons. I never would have expected that. I would absolutely provide priorities for things such as showering and washing my hands/face. I could manage to immediately eliminate 30 gallons out of my day. My flushes are high because I drink a lot of water. I would say the experiment on two gallons most definitely failed. I would need water for drinking, washing my hands/face, showers, and washing dishes. There is no chance that I would be able to survive on that. If I had a river near by, I could bathe in there instead of showering. That might save a lot of water, but still might not be enough. This would be less water than in part-b, however. Geography plays a huge role in water use. By understanding the amount of water used in the world, we may be able to address issues that countries have with the absence of water. By examining how we use and even waste water, we can make improvements on our day-by-day water usage.

Part 1-a:

I live in New Columbia, Pennsylvania at 700ft. of elevation. My hometown’s climate is humid continental, which creates a relatively stable water supply. The average annual precipitation is 36 inches. My home’s water supply relies on a private residential well. Our well’s depth is 72 ft. Water enters our well from groundwater above layers of sandstone and limestone/shale. As precipitation occurs, water infiltrates the surface and permeates through soil layers into the groundwater supply. Although I live on a hill, our water table is relatively close to the surface. Water enters my home through the well pipes transport it into my home’s pressure storage tank in our basement. When I need water, it is readily available via tap. The water travels through pipes to 12 locations in my house (sinks, toilets, washer, and outside spigots). When I turn on a faucet, flush a toilet, and wash my laundry the used water exits my home into a septic tank. Waters goes through the septic and into a drain field where the soil absorbs it, purifies it and it permeates back into the ground water. This hydrologic cycle repeats until our groundwater storage is depleted.

Part 1-b:

Water log for Fri., Feb. 5, 2015 with laundry and food accounted for. Without laundry and food my total usage was 107.5 gallons.

Purpose                       Total Gal. Used    

Brush Teeth (2x)                       8

Wash Face (2x)                       16

Flush Home Toilet                     4

Flush Public Toilet                   16

Wash Hands                            10

Shower (Every other day)      32

Bottled Water                             1

Coffee/Tea                              .25

Cooking                                   .25

Washing Dishes                      20

Laundry (Bi-Weekly) (2x)       20    

Water Agriculture                    500(+/-)           

Total Water Used                   672.5 gal.

Part 1-c:

Sustaining on two gallons of water a day is a challenge. I am water conscious, but I realized long ago taking shorter showers and turning off the water while doing dishes or brushing my teeth will not cut it. In my daily life, I consider my water footprint and account for it in the foods I eat. From this experiment, I noticed that most of my water footprint other than food is from hygiene. On Saturday, I decided not to shower or cook with water. I stayed in my house where I already apply the yellow-mellow rule, this saved a considerable amount of water. My water usage came down to brushing my teeth, rinsing my face without the tap on and drinking my regular amount of water. So I can survive on two gallons if I stay in my house and eat already made food. Geography is the significant factor in the disbursement of water. I think of the women and children in Haiti who not only drink less water than me they need to carry it miles to their house, and the water is not even pure. This experiment shows how privileged I am based on my geographic location.

Part 1a) In Thousand Oaks, California our water supply chain is a result of the State Water Project approved in 1960. It begins at the Oroville Dam on the Feather river and ends at Lake Perris. Giant pumps in the Tehachapi Mountains lift the water from the California aqueduct into southern California. This is operated by the California Department of Water Resources. I believe Thousand Oaks does not use any type of ground water system, however other cities in Southern California do like Simi Valley. Some of the disposed water is recycled. 48 percent of the recycled water goes into agricultural irrigation, 20 percent into landscape irrigation, and 12 percent into groundwater recharge.

Part 1b) Water Usage Activities

Shower: 16 gallons

Flushing Toilet x5: 25 gallons

Brushing teeth x2: 1 gallon

Washing Hands x5: 2.5 gallons

Washing Dishes: 5 gallons

Drinking: 0.5 gallon

Total: 50 gallons

Part 1c) Using 2 Gallons in one day

I decided that it was important to drink water to stay healthy which is 0.5 gallons and to use the bathroom. However, since flushing the toilet uses around 5 gallons of water I realized it is almost impossible to only use 2 gallons of water in California. I know in some places you can just use a bucket of water and pour it down the toilet to flush it which saves a lot of water. Then I realized when you are only able to use 2 gallons of water, your hygiene becomes a problem because it takes a lot of water to take a shower, wash your hands and brush your teeth. So instead, staying hydrated becomes the priority. I definitely failed to only use 2 gallons of water since I used the toilet, but I am familiar with water restrictions since I am from southern California. One example is that we are only allowed to use our sprinklers on certain days at certain times in order to save water and you can be fined if you do not follow these restrictions.

1a) The water supply chain for my hometown is a service called Aqua PA, which is the largest service area in population and number of service connections. Water is withdrawn from the Schuykill River and Perkiomen Creek, which is local to my area. I acquired this information by contacting my local township office, who of which were to gladly tell me about how the water is pumped from its source of the Schuykill River and then distributed throughout the numerous areas around Philadelphia.

1B) Daily Water Use: Sunday, February 7, 2016

1C) To live on two gallons of water a day:

In order to mock that experience of living on two gallons of water for one day, I attempted to drastically cut back my water use. To do this, I had to completely cut out taking a shower, because a typical shower of mine used a whopping 40 gallons of water. I attempted to use the least amount of water possible when washing my hands and when brushing my teeth and face by not letting the faucet run when I wasn’t using it. It was tough to cut back water when flushing the toilet, because in college, it is necessary to flush the toilet in public restrooms. If I had been in my own house, I could’ve waited to flush the toilet until after a few uses. In order to stay hydrated for physical activities, I did not cut back from the amount of water I usually consume. This experience opened my eyes to how much water I really do consume, which definitely surpassed one gallon in the one day. Geography affects water use because as seen in maps in Module 4, certain areas of the world have a significantly lesser amount of freshwater available to them.

1a

The water supply of my hometown of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania is divided into two different sources. Part of my town where I live, the Hanover Township section, gets their water from the PA American Water company through pipes in the ground or the sewer system. The PA American Water Company services about 650,000 water customers with approximately 400 communities in over 36 counties. The other part of town, the Warrior Run Township section, gets their water from a well set up by the PA American Water Company. The well is under ground and produces water from rain and ground water through a series of filters, pumps and aquifers. The water leaving the houses from bath tubs, sinks, toilets and all drains goes to the water treatment facility run by the WVSA which stands for the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority. This is located near the Susquehanna River and applies for both residents with pipes and residents with the well system.

1b

Water usage for February 8, 2016 (Monday):

• 1 Shower @ 10 minutes = 38 gallons
• 4x Toilet flushes = 20 gallons
• 2x Brush teeth = 2 gallons
• 3x Face wash = 3 gallons
• 1x Dishwasher = 20 gallons
• Cooking = 1 gallon
• Drinking = 1 gallon

Total =                                     85 gallons per day

1c

After calculating how much water I use per day, it was very clear that living on two gallons of water per day would be near impossible. Taking a shower by using soap first and then turning the water on to get the soap off seemed to work at first, but eventually you realize that leaving the shower on for more than 30 seconds you are already wasting water. This is very contradictory to my 10 minute showers. Brushing my teeth and washing my face was cut down more easily by using mouthwash and a more liquid soap that doesn’t need as much water to remove like a normal bar of soap does, so you can just wipe it off your face. The cooking and drinking water is where I had the most trouble. I normally drink 1 gallon of water a day to stay hydrated. That is equivalent to about 7 or 8 water bottles which is more than normal people probably drink in one day. It was probably the easiest to cut back on only drinking 3 water bottles or less than half a gallon, but it was the hardest for me to handle because of how much water I am used to drinking. I would say that I am very fortunate to live in a place where my Geography allows me to use more than 2 gallons of water a day. I am aware that not all regions of the world are as lucky as I am and I will be thinking about that every time I take more than a 2 minute shower. This was a very eye opening experience that should teach everyone that water is something precious that should not be wasted. That being said, I have to admit that I 100% failed the experiment of using 2 gallons of water per day.

Part 1-a: My hometown water supply comes from the Lake Scranton System. This system obtains its water from the Lake Scranton, Elmhurst, Williams Bridge, Curtis and Hollister reservoirs. It also has six other sources on standby. The average water that is supplied on a daily basis is 19.7 million gallons. Pennsylvania American Water maintains a treatment facility on the Lake Scranton Reservoir is capable of processing 33 million gallons of water per day. This water supply is distributed for residential, commercial, and industrial use. Our wastewater is collected through interceptor lines and brought to one of the three Sewage Treatment Plants in Lackawanna County. Most of the interceptor lines are combined sewer type meaning they collect both storm water runoff as well as sanitary sewage generated by homes and businesses. The closest treatment plant to my house is the Archbald treatment plant. This treatment plant uses the sequencing batch reactor process. Also, this facility consists of grit removal channels, a mechanical bar screen, raw sewage lift pumps, sequencing batch reactors, an ultra-violet disinfection channel, a sludge thickener with polymer coagulation, aerobic digesters and a belt filter press. The capacity of the Archbald treatment plant is 6.0 million gallons per day.

Part 1-b:

Part 1-c: I analyzed my water usage to see where I can focus to my limit to 2 gallons a day. Showering, washing dishes, and washing my hands were the three areas I focused on. I cut down my shower to five minutes, but still used 10 gallons of water. I failed right from the start, but I was still focused on reducing my water usage for the rest of the day. I washed my hands twice, by using hand sanitizer more often. This reduced 18 gallons to 6 gallons. I reduced the 18 gallons I usually use washing dishes to zero by not doing the dishes that day. In the future, I will wash more dishes at once and less often. I reduced my water usage from 73.73 gallons to 23.73 gallons. A 68% decrease in water usage. Geography has a huge role on water quality, quantity, and use. There is not access to clean water worldwide. Depending on location, climate, resources, and other factors depend on the access to usable water for everyday life. We do not have to work as hard to obtain clean water as does other counties such as developing counties.

Part 1A.

For my home town of Downingtown, PA, the Downingtown Municipal Water Authority (DMWA) is responsible for providing water to over 10,000 people in five local counties. The source of the water is surface water from the East Branch Brandywine Creek. The DMWA is permitted to take up to 3.8 MGD (million gallons per day), but on average supplies 1.2 MGD to customers. The watershed for this intake covers 64 sq. miles and 12 municipalities in Chester County. The major use for the land within the watershed is agricultural (62%) with forested land (32%) and some urban developed areas (4%). The DMWA owns and operates a water filtration plant where the surface water source goes through an extensive treatment process involving chemical additions, mixing, flocculation, settling, filtration and disinfection prior to distribution. Once the water is treated, it is pumped through a distribution network of buried pipes to each household that relies on county water. For my house, we have a septic take that directly collects our waste water, and the water company empties it on a regular schedule. Once the company treats the waste water, it is dumped back into the local water system.

Part 1B.

Part 1C.

In my experiment to only use 2 gallons of water a day, I knew from the beginning that dishwashing, showering, and toilet flushing were the three areas I really needed to cut back on. I decided that I would completely remove showering from my day, effectively cutting out 50 gallons. While I still brushed my teeth twice, I made sure to turn the water off while brushing in order to save water. Instead of flushing every time I went to the bathroom, I decided only to flush when I went #2, which cut my toilet-related water usage from 15 gallons to 6 gallons. I found it difficult to cut down on my drinking water usage, so that stayed at 1 gallon. Seeing that I am normally a very clean guy, and that I already skipped a shower for the day, I had a hard time cutting down on my hand/face washing, so that stayed around 5 gallons. I tried to limit the water I used while washing my dishes by turning the water off while I was scrubbing them. Overall, my water consumption for the day was around 25 gallons, which I would consider to be a failed attempt at the 2 gallons a day experiment. While I was able to cut my water usage down by a significant amount, I was still nowhere close to achieving the goal of 2 gallons. I had no clue that I actually used this much water on a daily basis, and I still struggle with imagining how so many people are able to manage to survive with so little water. Geography is pertinent to water use because it is closely associated with the source of the drinking water for many people. If there are a large number of agricultural fields spraying fertilizer as well as multiple power plants within a watershed, the runoff from those can pollute the water. A geographical location in which there is little to no water sources often creates huge problems for people living in those areas. In these situations, water conservation is a universal practice, as it is vital to the survival of the people.

1A-

I live in Westmoreland County in Pennsylvania outside of Pittsburgh. My water comes from the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County (MAWC). I accessed the information needed for this assignment from their website. The majority of the water supplying the county is from the Youghiogheny River or the Beaver Run Reservoir. The main traits of my tap water include chlorine and ammonia. Fluoride is not added to our water like other water systems are. The chlorine is added to disinfect the water and rid it of water-borne diseases such as cholera. In the summer, ammonia is combined with the chlorine to help carry the chlorine over the entire distribution system and reduce taste and odors caused by the warmer water. The wastewater is then sent back to the rivers as sewage. It goes back into the river after being treated and disinfected by one of the various sewage plants. The water is reintroduced into the river to be used again.

1B-

1C-

Post experiment, I realized I use most of my water in the bathroom. Drinking and cooking did not consume as much water as my bathroom habits did. To cut back on water, I would not be able to spend a lot if not any water on my personal hygiene. I would not be able to shower, brush my teeth, or even flush the toilet. I would have to have an outhouse so I could use the bathroom since I cannot use all my water to flush the toilet. I would spend my two gallons on drinking and cooking water. If I had any leftover I would wash my face and hands. My hygiene would have to take the backseat in order to just survive if I lived in a third world country. And sadly this is how must third world countries operate every single day. I would fail in this experiment. I am not used to that little of a daily consumption of water. I use around 86 gallons more everyday then a third world country native in Haiti does. Geography matters to water use because every spot in the world does not have water be easily accessible like Africa. While in the United States, I can just turn a knob and I know I will have water.

1A- Living in northeast Philadelphia, I was lucky enough to find an abundant amount of information on my city’s water right from the city’s website. Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) strives to make the water surpass the minimums required by the state of Pennsylvania. The main characteristics of Philadelphia’s tap water include chloride, hardness, pH, corrosion inhibitor, and fluoride. Our water comes from the Delaware or Schuykill River and is placed in basins to settle. Then chlorine is added to disinfect the water. The amount of chlorine is based on the area in which you live as well as the weather outside. Chemicals are added in order for the water to coagulate, flocculate, and then settle and be removed. The water goes through filtration stations to purify it more. Finally, fluoride, zinc, and ammonia are added in order to prevent tooth decay, piping erosion, and to reduce chlorine taste. After we use this water in our homes through multiple appliances, where does it go? Depending on where in the city you live, you can either have a combined sewer system or a separate sewer system. It is up to the PWD to filter the waste water and return it back to the rivers. 98% of waste water is returned to the rivers through pumping, screening, removal, settling, and disinfection. The other 2% of water is overflow and returned through CSO or combined sewer overflow.

1B-

1C- After the experiment, I realized I use a lot of water in the bathroom. Drinking and cooking was not that much of an issue, but I see how different it is to fill up a glass of water compared to having an 8 minute shower. To cut back, I would definitely have to spend less time cleaning myself and other things. I wouldn’t be able to brush my teeth, shower, or wash dishes. I wouldn’t be able to flush the toilet at all considering it uses 3-5 gallons a flush (depending on the sources online). I decided that I would spend my two gallons on one face/hand wash and my average drinking/cooking water. I would not be able to do this considering I have to use the bathroom in order to be accepted in our society. Personal hygiene would have to be ignored if I only had 2 gallons of water a day. That’s how other people in 3^rd world countries live and I would definitely not be able to do that. Our water sources depend on our economy and resources and how much money we can actually allot to water resources. I live in a city, I am able to use a lot of water because we don’t have a shortage. People in high drought areas or 3^rd world countries do not have this privilege.

http://www.phila.gov/water/wu/drinkingwater/treatment/Pages/default.aspx http://www.phila.gov/water/wu/drinkingwater/FAQ/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.phillywatersheds.org/watershed_issues/stormwater_management/faq

http://www.phila.gov/water/PublishingImages/WaterDiagramPoster.jpg

1-a:  I am from a small suburban township in north eastern PA called Sugarloaf.  Just outside of Hazleton, it is one of many small townships and boroughs in the area.  Our water utilities come from the Conyngham Borough Water Authority, a neighboring municipality.  In Conyngham, there are just five wells, a reservoir, and a holding tank.  These provide the sources of water for about 1,000 connections, including commercial and residential.  While the majority of the connections are residential, some of the largest include an elementary/middle school and a gas station.  From the wells and reservoir, water is pumped into the tank.  A gravitational system, as well as pumps, feed the water into direct lines to buildings where it is used and drained into a 4 inch pipe that feeds into a main line.  An interceptor brings the waste water to a treatment facility in Conyngham where it is recycled and moved back into the reservoir and tank.

1-b:

1-c:  I failed this experiment within 5 minutes of being awake… yikes.  As it is a requirement to look clean and professional when conducting ROTC activities, I had to shower before going to my class.  I attempted to take a short shower, but with my high-flow shower head, I probably used 25 gallons in only 5 minutes.  Nevertheless, I still attempted to use as little as possible!  I decided to primarily focus on cutting down on drinking and cooking water, toilet water and sink water.  My typical daily gallon of drinking water was curbed by eating lots of raw food with natural water, like vegetables, which also eliminated cooking water.  I drank about a half gallon.  I convinced my roommates to not flush the toilet all day, but I could not stop the automatic-flush public toilet I used once. Hand sanitizer replaced sink water, and I used only a sprinkle of water for teeth brushing.  With the exception of my shower, I’m pleased to say I stayed under the two gallon limit.  If I had conducted this experiment on a weekend, I would definitely skip the shower.  The thing I’m not pleased about is that something so small like flushing our toilet the next day (literally) flushes down the possibility of continuing the 2 gallon challenge long term.  This was a huge wake-up call, seeing the amount I effortlessly use on a daily basis, compared to how limited some people are.  Geography is a key player in water use, because it is directly affected by water availability and other resources.  I believe my hometown can do so much more collective and individual action to ensure we maintain our small water supply.

Part 1-A:

The water for my hometown comes from the Allegheny River. Over 70 million gallons are treated every day.  The plant is capable of producing over 100 million gallons of water per day.  After the water is removed from the river it goes through 3 stages. The 3 stage process takes three days full days to complete.  The first stage is clarification to remove silts and clays. The nest stage is filtration, where the water is passed slowly through coal, sand and gravel filters to remove fine particles and microorganism. The next stage is disinfection to treat the water with chlorine to remove a harmful microorganisms. The water is stored at an open-air Highland Reservoir, then retreated before distributed to the public. The water leaves the plant and flows through pipes to get to each house. The sewage pipes come from each house then meet in the street to combine together. The sewer grates are labeled that they lead to the river to deter people from throw trash or other foreign objects into the pipes. The pipes eventually lead back to the Allegheny River.

Part 1-B Water Usage for February 7, 2016

Part 1-C:

I found it surprising that I use over 100 gallons of a day. I do not wash dishes or do laundry every day. However, my daily actives still add up to 82 gallons. Restricting my water usage to 2 gallons was challenging. I realized since I am renting my apartment, I cannot change any of the faucet to new ones. Therefore, I decided to start cutting down the activity that used the most water, taking a shower. Also, I decided to follow the old saying of “if it’s yellow, let it mellow” to flush my toilet less since going to the bathroom outside is not acceptable in downtown State College. Furthermore, I made sure the water was off while I was brushing my teeth. I decided to start using hand sanitizer instead of washing my hands. My experiment failed, I could not figure out how to shower in under a minute. I believe it would be easier to if I had a fresh water spring outside. The spring could be used for washing cloths and bathing.  Looking back at part 1-b, I realize that in my everyday routine I could be using less water. I could take shorter showers and wash dishes with the sink filled with water instead of letting the water run.  Geography plays a huge rule in water usage. For example geography governs how the used water is disposed of and recycled.  I would be taking an individual action by using less water a daily. However, we as a whole planet need to come up with a collective action to use less water. Furthermore, there needs to be a collective action to help poorer nations have easily accessible water for drinking and cooking.

1.A) How do we get our tap water today? Hello I’m Lucas Skiba. I’m from State College, Pennsylvania I was born and raised here and I’ve always wondered where our water comes from. Our tap water comes from the State College Borough Water Authority (SCBWA). They supply the water distribution and quality of our water for the State College borough residents. SCBWA has seven authority board members and thirty five members on staff dedicated to building one of the best water treatment facilities in Pennsylvania. The SCBWA consists of a water reservoir, twenty-three water wells, and water treatment facility. The SCBWA is also permitted to provide about 9 million gallons of water per day. It also supplies water to five different townships including ours which are Benner, College, Ferguson, Harris, and Patton townships. Around 1900’s the gallon per capita were at 5 gallons. Today it is 62 gallons per capita on average which is a drastic change in water usage over the years. It is important to know where your water comes from and to always be thinking about how much water you use on a daily basis.

cites:

http://www.scbwa.org/water-quality-report.php

http://www.statecollegepa.us/DocumentCenter/Home/View/2962

1.B)                  Water Consumption For A Day Chart

1.C) To begin the 2 Gallon Challenge I knew right from the start I was going to have to give up some of life’s many luxuries. I first started at my water consumption chart I made for part b. I looked at everything i could cut back on. Such as shorter showers, not running water when brushing teeth, and cutting back on washing my clothes. So I begin in the morning brushing my teeth I tried to use less water by not running it in between rinses. I then proceeded to take a shower. I normally take a 10 min shower but I cut it down to 3 minutes by not washing my hair. Which cut it back to 15 gallons instead of 50 gallons which is a huge difference. I didn’t wash any clothes that day so that usually accounts for 20 gallons of water. I only flushed the toilet for number 2 so that accounted for 1 gallon instead of my average of 5 gallons per day. I still consumed the same amount of water for drinking, and still washed my hands normally. Hydration and sanitation I still think are things you cannot live without. So in all I used 40 gallons during the 2 Gallon Challenge. Which sounds bad but in reality I cut my average water consumption in half. In all I did not realize how much water I really was using and where the water I use comes from. It is good to be aware of these facts and makes me want to cut back on my water usage.

1A – I am from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, which happens to be right outside of Philadelphia.  Since I am so close to the city, I learned that our water supply is the same as Philadelphia’s.  Water is first collected from the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers.  From the Delaware River, the water goes to the Samuel S. Baxter Plant.  In this plant, debris is removed, sedimentation tanks get rid of scum and solids, and microbes are used to eliminate anything that is left over.  Chlorine is also used to disinfect treated water prior to being sent out.  The water from the Schuylkill River goes to a plant called the Belmont and Queen Lane Plant, however, none of this water is sent to Bucks County.  Combined, these two plants produce 546 million gallons of water per day!  However, only 35 million gallons of water from the Samuel S. Baxter Plant are sent to Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority.  From here, water is once again tested and then sent out to the community.  Once water leaves a residence or business, it is transferred via sewage pipes back to the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority.

2/5/16

1B

ACTIVITY                                        GALLONS USED

Teeth Brushing (2 times)………………….2 (1 gallon/time)

Hand Washing (7 times)………………….7 (1 gallon/time)

Shower (10 mins)…………………………..50 (5 gallons/min)

Toilet Flushing (7 times)………………….21 (3 gallons/flush)

Drinking Water………………………………1/2 (64 ounces or about 10 glasses of water)

Dish Washing (by hand)………………….20 (2 gallons/min)

Food (pasta)………………………………….1

Total……………………………………………101.5 Gallons

2/6/16

1C – Considering I used over 100 gallons in one day, only using 2 gallons was completely different.  First off, I only drink water so I realized that needed to be a priority on my list.  Since I only had a certain about of water designated for drinking, I drank less, which in return made me flush the toilet less.  Since cleanliness was the next priority on my list, I took a quick shower instead of a 10 minute one. I also turned the water off while I was lathering on soap and shampoo; this way, the only time the water was on was to quickly get wet and to rinse off at the end.  I feel like this still probably took up most of my 2 gallon limit even though I was careful about not having the water on too long.  When I brushed my teeth, I turned off the water while brushing.  Next, I didn’t use the dishwasher or washer to save on water.  When I washed my breakfast and dinner dishes, I had the water very low and turned it off while I was scrubbing everything.  This experiment was a fail because I know I used more than 2 gallons of water, even though I really tried not to.  Water relates back to geography because as Figures 4.2 and 4.3 show, not all countries have equal access to water.  We are lucky to have an unlimited supply of water but other places, like Haiti, has a very limited amount.

My hometown, and as it seems many others, actually uses an underground well system to supply water to most of the houses.  The well for our house can be seen from the front window, looking like two identical large mounds.  We even planted grass back on top to make it look even more natural.  To get the water from here to our house, we have a high-pressure jet pump in our basement, which is connected to the underground well.  This jet pumps water into two huge containers that can store it for future use.  The only problem with this system is that during a power outage, we can only use the finite amount of water that we have saved up.  After the water is used for cooking, cleaning, or bathing, it is then filtered back into the ground so it can be used again in the system.  I feel is one of the better systems out there for water usage as it uses very little power and is very sustainable.

My attempt to live on two gallons of water a day came close being successful, due to my habit of drinking almost two gallons of bottled water alone.  The showering was the first thing I cut back on, taking one that take probably less than 5 minutes total.  Next, as I brushed my teeth I made sure to turn off the water instead of letting it run the entire time. The only downfall was my habit to have a water bottle on me at almost all times of the day. This was definitely my biggest priority, because I hate the uncomfortable feeling of being dehydrated.  Geography would make a huge difference in this experiment because if I were to live in a much hotter climate, I would be sweating a lot more doing random activities.  This will lead me to take one or even two extra showers.  There are also many other reasons it could change, such as a lack of access to water.  Overall, I feel my experiment went a lot better than I thought it would have.

The water supply in Rochester Pennsylvania begins its journey in the Beaver River. A dam collects water for two water treatment plants owned by the Beaver Falls Municipal Authority. These two plants are both conventional rapid sand mixed media filtration plants. The river has always been readily available allowing the Beaver Falls Municipal Authority to produce up to 8.5 million gallons of water per day for the local communities. After the water complies with the appropriate protocols it is then dispersed through piping systems to the neighboring communities, including Rochester. Upon usage at our home the water then follows home drains to the sewer, which travels a short distance to the Rochester Township Water Treatment Facility. There are a total of three water treatment facilities in Rochester for each of the respective neighborhoods, Rochester Borough, East Rochester, and Rochester Township. These facilities go through a similar process as the two Beaver Falls facilities in order to filter the bacteria and waste out of the water before releasing it back into the Beaver River.

Water Consumption on Sunday February 7, 2016

My attempt to live on two gallons of water in one day proved unsuccessful. Due to a daily routine that my body is synchronized to a morning shower and restroom use were all it took to surpass that 2 gallons. I tried to cut my shower time down by not running the water before I got in and also by running cooler water in order to decrease my likelihood of standing around long. My three minute shower produced 15 gallons of water ending my hopes of living a day on two gallons. I put personal hygiene above all else on my priority list, which limited my water usage the remainder of the day. I still wanted to challenge myself to use less water so I did not run my dishwasher or make coffee today. I also only drank one bottle of water. Geography plays a large role in water use because if there isn’t a consistent body or flow of water nearby you are going to have to ration your consumption. In areas where water is readily available it leads us to collectively be selfish with our water consumption. Individual action in limiting water consumption can be a small step towards preventing scarce water supply but ultimately for the future generations to have clean and readily available water a greater collective action must be sought out.

In my hometown only a few areas public water and sewage; areas where recent housing developments arose after farmers gave into real estate developers.  Therefore, my family gets our water from a well system and use a septic tank for waste water.  Water is drawn up through pipes from deep within the earth and is stored in tanks in our basement for future use.  Fortunately for us, our water is clean from the source and has the right vitamins and minerals to give our water a clean and refreshing taste.    Water that is used in the sink, shower, washing machine, and other non-sewage sources go into an underground tank called a grey water holding tank.  This water goes through different layers of sand and gravel and other natural filtration features of the ground. Water from toilets, called black water, is sent to a series of tanks called a septic system.  One of the tanks filter out solid wastes, while another tank is responsible for filtering the liquid in a similar fashion as the grey water using sand and gravel layers.  Ultimately the water is returned to the watershed in which the well draws from making it a cyclical process.

Living on a limit of two gallons of water/day would be quite different.  The main components in my life that require water are drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene.  After much thought, it’s clear that much of these areas will have to change to accommodate the water per day limit.  The first priority is drinking water.  It’s is recommended that humans should intake 1/2 gallon of water a day.  In order to stay healthy this daily intake of water didn’t change.  Now a gallon and a half remains.  When cooking the majority of water used in the post cleanup of the utensils and pans.  An effective strategy to limit water use is to sparingly wet the pans and sponge. Lastly after scrubbing each item, I used the bare minimum of water to rinse.  Lastly, for daily personal hygiene like showering and brushing teeth, a similar strategy was implemented to conserve water consumption. After trying, it was successful, but definitely hard to maintain.  Comparing numbers in 1-b, it’s quite humbling that people use 1/20 of the water I use daily.  It’s also clear that living in a geographical location where clean water isn’t readily accessible is a huge factor in water use. 

1-a:

First of all, I am really excited for this blog. I am a Stream Steward for my county and I am extremely well versed in water conservation and where our water comes from. My City and County have a unique geographical location which makes our water acquisition process unique to many places here in Western Washington. With the exception of only one other county, all of our water is sourced from local aquifers. We (Kitsap County) are a peninsula located in the Puget Sound (only connected by a very small piece of land). We have no snow pack or lakes/ rivers that we draw from. In my local PUD, all of our water is pumped from two water systems(aquifers) that combine the use of 6 wells, 8 tanks and approximately 230 miles of piping, supplying over 500,000 gallons of water per day, with numbers double that in the summer. Sewer service is also provided through the local PUD, where it is also treated. We have an award winning waste water treatment plant, where after a very thorough cleaning process, the water is eventually used for crop irrigation or pumped into the Puget sound.

1-b:

TOTAL                                                                                         47

1c:

I knew going in to this experiment that it was going to be very challenging. Right off the bat, I knew that luxury expenditures like showering and laundering were not going to happen. Additionally, I consume a minimum of 1 gallon of water a day for hydration (I lift weights, need the water). This is something I am not willing to compromise on, so I will be working with one gallon of remaining water. I planned on brushing my teeth in the morning only, no showers, no laundry, no dish washing and as far as toilet usage… my plan was (for lack of a better word), keep it country. I have the property to allow me to do this, so, I watered the trees. I did have to flush once, though. I suppose I could have dug a hole, but my wife said  “NO”. As far as cooking, it was no big deal. I just age caveman style. Raw veggies and grilled meat. With these parameters in place, my experiment was a success. I used a little less than 2 gallons. A majority of my water usage, aside from hydration, was used for cleaning and sanitation. It is not a way I would choose to live. I suppose I could go for a swim to clean up, maybe redefine what I consider clean, but, it is no where close to what the American standard of living is. I feel like I’m pretty good at conserving my natural resources, but this experiment definitely sheds light on where I can work on cutting back. Living in a water rich geographical region like the Puget Sound, it might seem like we can afford to use a bit more water, but I believe this to not be the case. Water is a finite resource and despite where we live, we need to be conscientious of how much we use and to conserve where we can. In more arid regions, the conservation efforts need to be especially well observed.

My hometown, Wyckoff NJ, receives its water from the Ridgewood Water Department. Ridgewood water consists of 56 wells, one purchased groundwater source, and one purchased surface water source. The aquifer that is used by this company is the Brunswick aquifer. After being taken from one of these wells, water it is then sent to the homes that the Ridgewood water department services. After the water enters and goes through the house, it goes down the drains and into the sewer system. The sewer system, made up of pipes, takes the water that has gone down the drain and connects it to the pipes in the street. Here the water from my house meets with the water from my neighbors and travels to even bigger pipes. Eventually the wastewater goes to the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Ridgewood.

2/6

TOTAL: 106 Gallons

2/7

On February 7^th, I tried to live on only 2 gallons a day. This experiment proved to be much harder then I thought it was going to be. I still showered and did many of the normal things I do with water, but just reduced the amount of water I used during those activities. I needed water to drink, so that was at the top of my priority list. I did not do laundry on this day in order to save water and I reduced my shower time by almost half. However, I was unable to keep my water usage under 2 gallons. I showered and flushed the toilet a few times which put me over 2 gallons. However, but trying this activity, and listing out how much water I use on an average day, I realized that there are many things I can do everyday do reduce my water usage. I may not be able to get to less than 2 gallons, but I can definitely reduce it a lot. Geography plays a major rule in water use because some people do not have access to water based on the geography around them. The people who do not have access to water will use less because they are worried that their limited supply might run out.

1-a

I am from Mountaintop, Pennsylvania, which is part of Luzerne County. Mountaintop is a small town, with a population of about 15,000 people. In Mountaintop, the water we use is from Crystal Lake. Crystal Lake is the sole source of water for our area, for all residential, commercial and industrial uses. Crystal Lake Reservoir is capable of processing up to six million gallons of water per day.  The Pennsylvania American Water (PAW) maintains a treatment facility on the Crystal Lake Reservoir where the water is filtered and treated. Pennsylvania American Water adds zinc orthophosphate corrosion inhibitor to reduce corrosion tendencies of the water as it travels through the pipes to our homes. The chlorine, lead, copper, and nitrate levels are all maintained at the reservoir. The water is then distributed to us. Once the water leaves our homes and businesses, it goes to the Mountaintop Area Joint Sanitary Authority. The Mountaintop Area Joint Sanitary Authority supplies water waste treatment along with sewer services.

1-b

Tracked Water Use Saturday, February 6, 2016

Activity                                                 Water used (gallons)

Wash Face (1x)                                                         1 

Brush Teeth (2x)                                                      1

Shower (15 minutes)                                               75

Toilet (5x)                                                                  15

Wash Hands (7x)                                                      7

Dishwashing by hand                                               8

 Drinking water                                                          1

 Total                                                                          108

1-c

After tracking my water consumption on Saturday, I was really surprised at the fact that I used a total of 108 gallons. The thought of using only two gallons of water per day seemed impossible after figuring out my average amount used. On Sunday, I had to drastically cut down all of the activities I did that required water. To me, the most important things were to stay hydrated and clean. Instead of letting the water run while I brushed my teeth in the morning, I turned off the faucet. At night, I took a five minute shower, instead of a 15 minute shower. While I was in the shower, I brushed my teeth, instead of using more water to do that later on at the sink. I also had to drink less, so I was going to the bathroom less. That strategy helped me save some water too. Overall, I still used more than two gallons of water during my experiment. However, I used much less than what I used in part 1-b. I don’t think I could always conserve the way I did on Sunday though. Unfortunately, in some countries, they have no choice but to conserve like how I was forced to on Sunday. Living in different areas of the world definitely impacts the amount of safe water you have available to use. I am lucky enough to not have to worry about running out of clean water, but after doing this assignment, I am much more aware of my impact and will make a better effort in reducing my consumption of water per day.

I live in Graham, TX. It is a small town in north-central Texas with a population of about 7500 people. The city of Graham owns and operates a water treatment facility that supplies all of Young county which is home to a total of five towns including Graham. The water plant is designed to treat roughly 6 million gallons of water per day. In total there are 64.8 miles of waterlines. These lines pull water from Lake Graham and the Brazos river. The water is treated at the facility where it is then sent out to homes, businesses, and farms for use. We have a city sewer system that brings water back to the plant for treatment. The non-potable water is treated before being released back into the river system. The water system is basically a giant loop with freshwater being distributed to homes and waste water returning to the plant for treatment. Last year, Young county experienced a sever drought and each household was placed on water restriction. Homeowners were not allowed to water lawns, wash cars, or fill swimming pools. At the end of 2015 we experienced above average rainfall filling the lakes and rivers which alleviated the water restriction.

1-B.

Activity                   Water Usage (in gallons)

Brushing Teeth                          1

Shower                                      40 (5 gal per minute. 8 min total)

Hand Washing                          3.7

Laundry (HE washer)               10

Drinking                                     2

Flushing Toilets                         12 (1 gal per flush)

Total:                                        68.7

1-C.

Restricting my water usage to 2 gallons was impossible. I exercise every day so limiting my drinking water was not an option. It remained at 2 gallons. Because I was sweaty I still had to shower. I cut that in half by reducing my shower time to 4 minutes. I did not do laundry so I saved 10 gallons. I flushed the toilet at the end of the day (thank goodness I have 2 bathrooms as my wife did not appreciate that). I only used 8 ounces of water to brush my teeth (4 ounces x two times day). I never realized how much water I used in a day and have taken it for granted. I thought I had already done a good job of limiting my water consumption before this experiment. When my wife and I began living together six years ago, she would leave the sink running when she brushed her teeth. That was an easy habit to break. We both take short showers but now I am even more conscious of my time and the amount of water I use. Even the small things we can do to reduce our consumption can help. I have already began to encourage my friends and family to be conscious of their water consumption.

1-a: I live in Oyster Bay, New York, a small town on Long Island. The Oyster Bay Water District covers an area of four square miles having 48.8 miles of water main.   This district has five supply wells that produce 9.2 million gallons of water a day. Our drinking and everyday water usage comes from rivers and lakes that are distributed to industrial facilities and then distributed to homes. The sewer system sends wastewater from certain locations into the waterways that feed our water supply, rivers, and lakes via a water waste treatment plant. Our water treatment plants clean this wastewater and then send it into groundwater pumps, which are drilled into the Glacial and Magothy aquifers, that pumps five wells throughout the Oyster Bay community leading to homes. This water system is described as a loop. In other words, when sending wastewater out of the house, it essentially does the same thing by flowing in the same loop: wastewater being sent to the sewer system goes to the treatment plants and groundwater pumps to be cleaned and distributed.

1-b:

1-c: Living on only 2 gallons of water is extremely tricky. I would designate one half of a gallon to drinking water, because I do not consume a lot of water in a day. The other one half of a gallon would be used for my hygiene, such as washing my hands or attempting clean myself very lightly. The other whole gallon would be used for cooking because eating and having nutrients is very important to me. Knowing this is an impossible scenario, I failed at the attempt to only use 2 gallons of water for a day. To cut down water footprints, I did not keep the sink running while I brushed my teeth and washed my hands. When I showered I did not wash my hair; this cut my shower time down to nearly 2 minutes rather than 10. I did flush the toilet multiple times which itself consists of more than 2 gallons of water. Also, I did end up drinking more than half a gallon of water because working out made me thirsty. This experiment showed me that I waste a lot of water. In part b it shows my actions with the sink continuously running for no reason. This activity taught me not to keep the sink running and conserve water. Geography is very important to water consumption because where I live I have an unlimited supply of clean water, which explains my actions of wasting some water, whereas Haiti has a very scarce water supply which limits people to 2 gallons a day. With little or no water consumption it is impossible to sustain a healthy life. I am fortunate to live in a town where water is not an issue.

1-A

I am from Potomac, Maryland, which is apart of Montgomery County. The water supply source for my hometown is the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC). Our water supply comes mainly from the Potomac River at an intake stream near the Great Falls and also reservoirs on the Patuxent River, the Tripdelphia and T. Howard Duckett. These reservoirs together can hold 10.2 billion gallons! The water from all these sources travels to either the Potomac Water Filtration Plant or the Patuxent Water Filtration Plant, which can treat up to 285 and 70 MGD (millions of gallons per day). These water sources bring the untreated water to a series of pressurized pump stations, where some chemicals get added such as carbon, acid, permanganate and coagulant. Then, the chemicals and water get mixed all together. Once the water reaches the sedimentation basin, the sediments and dirt get sorted and filtered out of the water. Afterwards, the water is pumped into water storage while disinfectant chemicals are added, such as chlorine, fluorine, etc. From the water storage, the clean and purified water gets distributed to our homes and fire hydrants where it can be used for our own purposes.

1-B

Water Usage (in gallons): February 7, 2016

1-C

Restricting my water usage to 2 gallons was challenging. According to 1-B, I used 92 gallons/day. I limited my shower to 5 minutes, which was still 25 gallons! Next, I decided to follow the phrase “if it’s yellow, let it mellow” to refrain from flushing. I still brushed my teeth 2 times, however, I turned the faucet off to conserve water. Lastly, I used reusable bottles and soaked my dishes when cleaning instead of leaving the faucet on. I failed using under 2 gallons of water because I showered and washed my hands and face to stay clean. Having the luxury of clean water is definitely taken for granted, but this experiment made me aware of how much water I waste. Compared to part 1-B, I used less water but not under 2 gallons. I learned ways to limit water usage like turning the faucet off or not flushing the toilet. Limiting personal water usage is an individual action; it makes a huge difference because all actions impact the environment. Through taking responsibility of our actions and maintaining sustainability, we can together create a collective action and conserve water. Using collective action, we will find a way to conserve water.

1-a

My hometown is the city of Greensburg in western Pennsylvania. Greensburg falls under the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County, which supplies water from five separate water plants to various areas. The Greensburg water supply comes from the Indian Creek Water Plant via the Youghiogheny River. Specifically, the source water comes from the surface of Indian Creek. The intake locations for this water plant are located in Dunbar Township and Fayette County. This water is processed at the plant and follows a series of pipes to the tap at my home. Treatment capacity is approximately 45 million gallons per day and the water plant had an average production of 22.7 million gallons a day in 2010. The water plant performs a collective action by switching disinfectants from Chloramines to Free Chlorine each year for a few months. This is done in order to maintain bacteriological quality of the water. In addition, the sewage for my city is handled by the Greater Greensburg Sewage authority.

1-b

Water Usage February 6, 2016

Activity/Gallon

Shower: 17

Dishes: 2

Consumption: 1

Toilet x 3: 9

Brushing teeth x 2: ½

Total: 29 ½

1-c

I first looked at my most costly actions from the previous day. The activities that stood out were showering, dishes and toilet use. I cut out the first two activities by doing both the day before. I cut down my toilet use by eating and drinking little. I only used the toilet once during this time and held off on flushing until the experiment was over. My priorities for water use were brushing my teeth and drinking enough water to stay moderately hydrated. The strategy I employed was performing the most costly actions the day before and cutting down on what I considered necessities. I was able to succeed in my goal but I had to plan out my activities the previous day. This experienced opened my eyes to how much I take water for granted and the difference individual action can make. In terms of water use, geography means a great deal. While infrastructure can help, even areas in the U.S. deal with shortages. Without infrastructure, the process of getting water can consume the population. When living in Kenya and visiting different areas, some women would have to walk 20 miles to retrieve water for the day.

1-a Since I live up in rural Pennsylvania my water comes from a drilled well. Our drilled well is 200 feet deep and the water comes from underground water into an aquifer. The water from the ground that comes from precipitation and runs off into the soil then become infiltrated eventually goes into the drilled well. From the well the water comes into our house and for each different activity we use water it goes down the drain into a septic tank. The septic tank holds the wastewater from the home until solid debris settles at the bottom of the tank and lighter waste, such as oil, rises to the top to form the scum layer. Between the two layers lies clarified liquid, which flows into an outlet pipe and is gradually dissipated through a drain. The water then goes into a sand mound or leach field where it becomes more purified. The water from there is either evaporated or becomes ground water. The ground water will eventually move into a nearby creek or river. The process will constantly repeat. Some issues that could occur can come from natural gas drilling or cow manure nearby. If either of these substances get mixed into the water and eventually end up in our well, it could pollute the water which could cause many problems, the biggest being no water use.

1-b

Activity                                      Water Used (gallons)

Brush Teeth                                     1/2 gallon

Shower (10 min.)                           50 gallons

Wash Hands (7x)                             7 gallons

Toilet flush (5x)                              15 gallons

Washed Clothes                              25 gallons

Wash Dishes (by hand)                   8 gallons

Drink                                               1 gallon

Total:                                           106.5 gallons        

1-c I thought I could try it out and go a day with only using 2 gallons of water. After a couple hours in I found it to be nearly impossible. I believe hydrating and keeping myself clean are the two most important activities when it comes to using water. In order to properly function throughout the day, I only focused on hydrating myself and staying clean. During my day, some approaches I used to cut down water footprint were shutting off the water while I was brushing my teeth, not washing my hair during my shower, avoiding cooking, washing dishes, and using the washing machine. I also drank less than normal so I wouldn’t have to use the toilet as much. Doing all of these activities still left me using way more than 2 gallons of water. I definitely used a lot less gallons than I did in 1-b, but way more than 2 gallons. I learned from this experiment that based on population and consumerism, geography affects water use significantly. Many countries do not have access to clean water like we do. As a result, they cannot afford to do all the activities that we can on a daily basis. They conserve their use of water and only use it for the necessities, such as drinking and eating. Everything else is not as important. It really opens up my eyes to see how lucky I really am to have constant running water.

1-A:  The water we use for all the houses in my immediate neighborhood come from the same freshwater spring.  The spring is located down the road and hill at my brother’s house, where it is pumped from a small collection shed directly to his basement.  From there it is channeled into his house, and then into the barn that is located 50 feet from his house, this is to water the animals located in that particular barn.  From there the water is pumped up the hill to the main barn, which is 50 feet from the main house, which is where I live.  If the water is not turned on in the barn then it is pumped into our house, and after that it reaches its final stop 50 yards behind the main house in a small, one story, motel where my sister lives.  All waste water is pumped into a collection tank in a yard next to the main barn.  So with all that being said water pressure is best at my brothers and worst at my sisters respectively.  If water is turned on in either barn the water pressure to the house is very limited, so you can easily tell when the water is running.  The water pressure situation is a very touchy subject on the farm, nobody seems to like it when there isn’t sufficient pressure to take a shower, or fill up a pot of water quickly. 

1-B:  When I ran the first fresh water calculator it calculated that I use somewhere around 87.25 gallons of water a day.  This is very interesting and partly concerning seeing an actual figure calculated.  My answers for the calculator are as follows.  I roughly wash my hands 5 times a day, but for less than a second at a time, it’s more of just rinsing them off.  The calculator gave me 1 gallon, which I think could be a little lower.  I answered that I wash dishes by hand about once per day which consumes 8-27 gallons of water depending on how quick and what kind of faucet I have.  I brush my teeth twice a day, and I always turn the faucet off while brushing, so I use less than a gallon of water.  I flush the toilet on average 5 times a day and that was calculated to use 3 gallons per flush, so that’s 15 gallons alone.  I take one, ten minute shower per day which uses 5 gallons per minute with an older shower head, which would add up to 50 gallons of water.  Finally I drink about 4 glasses of water a day, which at 8 oz. of water is less than a gallon per day.  All in all I see multiple ways in which to cut down on water usage, for one I can take shorter showers, I could be more efficient in washing dishes.  Those two are the core usage of water I use per day and cutting those two down can greatly reduce my water usage. 

1-C:   To look at this scenario realistically I don’t think I can possible do it.  I wouldn’t be able to take a shower, or flush the toilet, or wash the dishes that day.  To me I think I have three options, I could take one shower a day with two separate gallon buckets.  Or I could flush the toilet once per day, or I could wash the dishes once per day.  To sustain life the body needs 32 oz. of water a day, which is less than a gallon per day.  This morning I filled up an 8oz glass of water and used that to brush my teeth, then emptied it out and filled it again to rinse my hair before class.  That’s 16oz of water this morning.  I filled up my water bottle after my first class which holds 16 oz. of water.  I didn’t wash any dishes today, and being male it allows myself to be able to pee outside, which I did at home in the bushes which really helped me pass this test.  This test wasn’t fun but it really opened my eyes to the limitations and hardships people go through when we take those same things for granted here in a more stable country.   

1a. In my hometown of Bellwood, PA, the water supply chain begins with the Bellwood and Tipton (a neighboring community) reservoirs. In fact, the Bellwood reservoir is only about a five-minute drive from my house. The Bellwood Borough Authority maintains a total of 10.3 miles of sewer line and 25.1 miles of waterlines. The water is purchased in bulk from the Altoona City Water Authority, where it is treated. Thus, the water from the tap is coming straight from the nearby reservoir. It then travels through the drain and either treated again or recycled. The Bellwood Borough Authority recognizes the importance of recycling water and has addressed the issue sewer systems that collect water from homes, treat the waste, and dispose of through methods approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Through this agency, standards and procedures are created to ensure a safe and environmentally-friendly water supply to consumers.

Water usage: 133.24 gallons/day (from USGS):

a. Shower: 2 gallons/minute x 15 minutes = 30 gallons

b. Teeth brushing: <1 gallon

c. Hands/face washing: 1 gallon

d. Leg shaving: 1 gallon

e. Clothes washer: 25 gallons/load (newer model)

f. Toilet flush: 3 gallons/flush x 6 flushes = 18 gallons

g. Glasses of water = 8 oz. per glass x 4 glasses = 32 oz.

Imagining that I was living an area with water as a restricted resource, living on two gallons of water, compared to 133 gallons would be a challenge. In this experiment I would focus on drinking and cooking, for I would need both to survive. One gallon would be sufficient for cooking, as I would limit foods that would require water. For example, I could try to cook fish over the fire instead of boiling everything, thus an individual action. Since showering would most likely not be an option, I would spare some water to wash over myself, but I would make sure it was only about 4 ounces or so. I feel that this experiment could very well fail, but could be manageable with some practice in such an environment. Compared to my previous usage, this way of utilizing water is much more environmentally-friendly and efficient. After completing this activity, I now realize that I do not need to take fifteen-minute showers, but cutting back on other water usage is more difficult, like flushing the toilet. I mentioned that I would only use four ounces of water for bathing, compared to 30 gallons. Geography plays a vital role in water usage, for it not only determines how much we can and will use, but how it is disposed of and recycled.  

1-a: My hometown of Hunlock Creek, Pennsylvania, is a very rural area and relies on private residential wells. Precipitation reaches the surface and is infiltrated through the soil. Next, the water must percolate through any rock layers, as it makes its way into aquifers to become groundwater. Water that does not infiltrate into the ground becomes surface runoff, travelling into tributaries which eventually flow into the nearby Susquehanna River. My personal well is about 200 feet deep while wells in the Hunlock Creek area range from 100-1000 feet deep. Most wells use pumps to propel water into homes, while Sulphur and sediment are common issues. Additionally, well water does not contain fluoride. Wastewater exits the home and either enters a septic tank (toilets etc.), or a drainage field (laundry etc.). Septic tanks must be occasionally cleaned. Drainage fields run water through several layers of rock, clay and soil, aiming to clean the water of any harmful contaminants and project it away from the home’s well.

1-b: It should be noted that living in the dorms and not preparing my own meals saves a considerable amount of water compared to living completely independently.

One Shower (Five Minutes): 25 gallons

Brushing Teeth Twice: .5 gallons

Flushing Toilet Six Times: 18 gallons

Washing Hands or Face Seven Times: 3.5 gallons

Drinking Water: 1 gallon

Total Daily Water Consumption: 48 gallons

1-c: I planned on limiting my water use to two gallons for one day by taking a military shower (only using water to get sudsy and rinse), using mouthwash instead of toothpaste and only using water-saving toilets. To make the experiment as realistic as possible, I only drank water for the day, as people in third world countries may not have access to other drinks. Between five meals, a workout and protein shake, I consumed about 64 ounces of water. At one gallon per flush, I was well over the two gallon limit by the evening (6.5 gallons total). I attempted a military shower, and probably used about five gallons overall (11.5 gallons total). Between six quick hand washings and one face washing, I would estimate I used around 1.5 gallons (13 gallons total). Although I was able to cut down my water usage considerably (35 gallons less), it seems almost impossible to abide by the social norms of a modern society while only using two gallons of water. Geography matters because it dictates how much water a person can afford to use. The recent drought in the Western United States was a result of a dry climate. Countries like Saudi Arabia can afford to use practices like desalinization, while poorer nations often depend on surface water and makeshift wells. Without a sufficient amount of usable water, a population can simply not sustain itself.

1A.)

My home is located in Clarence, PA.  We receive our water through a well.  This well of water not only serves my household’s water needs, but also that of the small town I live in.  Water from that well is then pumped through a system of underground pipes into our house for use.  When the water enters my home it passes through a pressure reducing valve, keeping the water’s pressure constant, and a water meter, to measure the amount of water usage.  When the water leaves my house, it empties into a conventional septic system where it is again filtered through another system called a leach bed. The septic system separates solids and liquids.  The liquids are then taken through a series of pipes to the leach bed while the solids stay and are eventually pumped and taken to a sewage treatment plant.  The leach field consists of a series of perforated pipe, limestone and sand that filters the water and releases it back into the ground.

1B.)

1C.)

I really wanted to accomplish living on 2 gallons of water in a day.  Starting my day, I thought that I might actually be able to accomplish such a feat, but i quickly began to see just how difficult it is.  In an attempt to cut down my water usage, I eliminated the activities that used the most water.  Since I had showered the night before, I avoided taking one saving 50 gallons of water, more than two times the amount allotted for the day.  I also reduced the amount of times I would flush the toilet and shut off the water while brushing my teeth or washing my face.  By one o’clock, I was already over the 2 gallon goal for the day.  Needless to say, surviving on 2 gallons is nearly impossible when you are not used to giving yourself a limit.  I really had to think before I used the water.  Was what I needed the water for necessary? How could I get along without it?  The most obvious uses for the water, to me were water used for drinking, and water used for sanitary purposes.  All of my meals were prepared without the use of water.  These meals mostly consisted of sandwiches or heated up leftovers.  Geography plays a huge role when talking about water usage.  I cannot imagine living in a water stressed country such as Haiti where the water that is available is not safe to use.  Clean water is a luxury to places such as Haiti.  Some countries do not have the allowance for more sophisticated water systems like we do in the U.S. Where you live also determines how much water you can use.  States such as California, where droughts are more common, are more accustomed to experiencing strict water restrictions.  I have never had to face the reality of not being able to use as much water as I wanted to or needed.  After doing this activity, however, I am definitely more aware of the crazy amount I do use as well as ways to reduce my water footprint.  My individual actions do matter, especially when trying to conserve water.  This activity also made me think of the connection between earth and our water usage.  The water cycle itself is one big positive feedback loop.  Individually, each persons own water system in their homes creates a continuous cycle for everyday water usage.   

1A:   There are two sources of water in Wall New Jersey: groundwater and surface water. Groundwater is stored in underground areas called aquifers, which supply wells and springs. The wells range from about 15 to 2,000 feet deep. Surface water comes from the Manasquan Reservoir, a 4 billion gallon water storage reservoir formed by a main dam and road embankment. Both sources of  water are piped underground to the Manasquan Water Treatment Plant. Here the water is filtered and treated with chemicals like chlorine, fluoride and other types are added to the water and tested to meet state and federal standards. From the treatment plant the water flows through a transmission system approximately 7 miles of various size pipes of types of material (copper, cast iron). The water then enters our house from the water main at the street through a 1 inch copper pipe, then through various smaller copper pipes that end at the faucet. Wastewater departs my house through plastic PVC piping and enters the sanitary wastewater system through pipes and flows to pumping stations to the municipal treatment plant. Here, the wastewater is processed by employing trickling filters and stabilization ponds including sludge digestion and outfall sewer.

1B:

1C:  The ability to live on two gallons of water for one day was an absolute failure for myself to accomplish. In this experiment, I focused on essential daily tasks with the activities provided above in 1B. In regards to priorities, I put hydration and sanitation as a necessity. In order to properly function throughout the day, hydrating yourself and staying clean are two important tasks in this process. In this experiment, some strategies I used to cut down water footprint were shutting off the water while I was brushing my teeth, setting a four minute shorter timer during my shower, avoiding cooking and laundry for the day to avoid water and dish washing, as well as persuading my roommates these same strategies. Comparing to the 1B results, this experience shows even with the best of my efforts to preserve water, using two gallons of water in a single day is simply impossible. Based on population and consumerism, geography affects water use significantly. For example, with over 40,000 students at State College, water use is going to be extreme because of the need for dining commons dish washing, dorm showers, water fountains; a few water footprints we can easily conserve.