1a.) My home in State College, PA receives water from two different wells. The first well is located at Spring Creek Park, while the second is located on the corner of Shiloh Road. Both wells pump water up from the ground and distribute it to nearby houses. Once the water leaves my house, it travels to the University Area Joint Authority (UAJA). When the water arrives, it goes through a series of clarifiers, splitters, and tanks until it reaches the ANT building. In the building, chemicals are added to the water to make it clean. UAJA adds chlorine gas, 5 mL of oxygen, ozone, and UV light to kill all microorganisms. Later in the cycle, water is pushed through screens which catch minute particles. Once it is clean, the water is pumped back into Spring Creek (where it can be distributed back into homes) or pumped to specific areas in town such as the car wash, CINTAS, and the Center Hills Country Club. UAJA guides water to local wetland areas as well.

1b.) TOTAL WATER USAGE: 111.375 gallons

1c.) Living on two gallons of water for a day was nearly impossible for me. I put my two gallons of water towards drinking, washing my hands, and flushing the toilet. The majority of my water use was dedicated to drinking as I get massive headaches if I am not hydrated. I took a little bit of water to brush my teeth and to wash my hands. I did not take a shower, cook (I ordered food from a nearby restaurant), or do a single load of laundry. In order to cut back on my water footprint, I did not leave the water running while I brushed my teeth, or while washing my hands. I waited until it was absolutely necessary to flush the toilet as well. After the day was over, I realized I failed at this experiment. By three o’clock I had used up my two gallons of water. Living off of two gallons of water was miserable considering I use 111 gallons on a daily basis. The experiment put into perspective the different ways I can cut down the amount of water I use in part 1b. Geography matters to water use as certain areas around the world have a limited amount of water. As a result, areas such as Haiti have to use very little water on a daily basis in order to sustain it. I am grateful to live in a town where water is easily accessible!

In my town, Westfield, New Jersey, our water is provided by New Jersey American Water.  Sanitary treatment in Westfield is done by the Rahway Valley Sewage Authority.  Upon reading through the New Jersey American Water website, I found a water report for my area.  The report indicated that my water comes from the Raritan River, Millstone River, the Delaware Canal, and the Raritan Canal.  I found that the pH of my water is 6.5-8.5.  In addition, I found that lead in my water was 5ug/L, when the action level was only 15ug/L, and that the copper in my water was at 0.5mg/L, when the limit for action was 1.3mg/L.  It was also reassuring that there was no levels of arsenic in my water.  But, it was interesting to find that State and Federal regulations allow for 10mg/L of arsenic in water before that act.  The Rahway Valley Sewage Authority treats waste-water from municipalities in Central New Jersey, including the Town of Westfield.  They own and operate the sanitary waste conveyance infrastructure and a 40 million-gallon per day wastewater treatment facility in Rahway, New Jersey.  The treatment plant serves 300,000 residents and 3,500 industrial and commercial customers within a 48.85 square-mile area.

Total: 60.5 gallons

When I attempted to live on only 2 gallons of water in one day, I found it very difficult.   Drinking water was one of the most important uses.  I could not do laundry on that day because the washers used more than ten-times of my allowed amount.  To cut down on my water use, the frequency of washing my face, showering, and flushing of the toilet were decreased as much as I could in a dorm environment. Simple hygiene could not be completed to normal statuses.  I took what I known as a “military shower” where you shut off the water as you soap yourself to try to save some water.  Compared to part 1-b, I found myself being much more conscious over leaving the faucet on when I brushed my teeth or when I drank more than a glass of water.  Geography greatly affects water use.  Many countries do not have access to clean water like we do.  As a result, they cannot afford to take a ten-minute shower or wash their face whenever they find it convenient.  They stretch their use of water for only necessities, such as drinking and eating.  Everything else is not as important.

1a) I live in a town called Colts Neck, located in central New Jersey. My town runs on a well water system. According to the 2014 Annual Water Quality Report conducted by New Jersey American Water, my town runs on the Coastal North System. This system sources water from reservoirs such as the Manasquan and Glendola Reservoir. The groundwater is sourced from an aquifer deep underground that is then pumped upwards. My house has a well system with an electric pump that sources the water from an underground aquifer. This pump is located in my basement.  Electricity pumps this water towards the surface where it is filtered in an individual filtration system for my house. Water is stored in a tank for usage and when a faucet is turned on, pressure pumps this water upwards until it reaches the faucet. Once used, the water is then drained to a septic tank that is located in my back yard. 

1b)

Daily Water Usage (in gallons)

1c) Living on just two gallons of water was very difficult for me. Things that are absolutely necessary for me to use are water for cooking, drinking water, as well as any cleaning necessities. I  had to prioritize which areas are most important to me given the day o the experiment. Staying hydrated is very important so I had to make sure that I rationed enough water for basic survival. I set aside about a half a gallon of water for drinking for the day. The next priority is cooking, another necessity for survival. Any water that I need for three given meals throughout the day had to be set aside. Lastly, I had to use whatever was left over for sanitation purposes. When dealing with germs and bacteria, it is very important to wash your hands for safety purposes. Some methods for cutting down my water use in other respects were to not wash my clothes and limiting my need for dishes and utensils by cooking meals that can be eaten with just your hands, like a burrito. Showering uses a lot of water, so I tried not to sweat too much, so as to avoid showering. My experiment for surviving on just two gallons of water was not a success. By the late afternoon I had to add more water because I felt very dehydrated and had to wash my hands more. In comparison to part b, this experiment was very eye opening. Limiting myself on cleaning dishes and washing my hands saved a lot of water. I did not realize how much water was used when flushing the toilet and for the experiment I tried to flush as little as possible. Geography is very important when considering water use. The way people use water is highly dependent on where they live and what resources are available in that given area. People don’t realize how their water usage can add up when accounted for on a larger scale. If we can take an individual action in each of our homes, we would be able to preserve a lot of energy. 

Part 1-a

After reading a water quality report for my hometown (Ramsey, New Jersey), I discovered that Ramsey obtains their water from a group of wells, and a bulk purchase from the United Water Company. There is a total of 10 groundwater wells, 8 are in Ramsey while two are located in a neighboring town, but are run by Ramsey. The wells range in depth, anywhere from 180 to 600 feet. The United Water Company’s water is mainly surface water. Ramsey’s water distribution system consists of several water towers placed throughout the town, along with 3 large storage tanks connected to the United Water Company. Since the water towers are driven by gravity, Ramsey will have water even during power outages. The water is pumped to households and businesses via 90 miles of water mains, the pipes range in size to help meet higher demands in certain sections of the town. The water is carried to treatment and disposal sites by over 100 miles of sewer mains that are monitored throughout the year through numerous man holes.

Part 1-b

Part 1-c

*NOTE: I wrote this paragraph as the day progressed

2/6

I did not shower today (yuck), but I did use a handful of water to wash my face. I brushed my teeth once using only a spit full of water to rise out my mouth and clean my toothbrush. I washed no dishes and did no laundry. My priority for water usage was drinking and bathroom use. The best strategy I used to help conserve water was to not use the tap, by only bringing a small cup into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth made it easier to conserve my 2 gallons. My normal day was a lot more enjoyable than my two gallon day because a lot of my basic household tasks were either altered or erased. I believe I failed, because all of the bathrooms I have access to, they all are equipped with very old and inefficient toilets. I believe climate and geographical location to water plays a large role in water usage. For example if someone lives in the mid-west, it is much hotter and there is less groundwater available which leads me to believe they use less water, than I do living either in Ramsey or State College.

At my home in Asbury, NJ, I have submersible deep water well. When you turn the faucet on in the house, there is a pressure switch that “calls for water” which activates the pump down in the well. It pulls water out from the natural water reservoir, the aquifer. The water enters the holding tank in my basement. In this holding tank, know as the bladder water pressure tank, there is a pocket full of air that maintains the water pressure allowing the water to flow out from the faucets. When the tank is signaled that there is low water pressure, it then “calls for water” again from the pump down in the 400-foot well. After the water is flushed or goes down the drain it enters the septic system in the back yard. The water leaves the house through pipes and enters a 500-gallon cement basin. In this basin, the solids sink to the bottom and the liquids are allowed to pass through a set of pipes into a leech field. These pipes, known as laterals, have holes in them that allow the liquids to drain into the sand and filter out back into the earth where the cycle can being again.

Going a day with two gallons of water truly limited my activities. Looking at my typical day of water use, I realized that doing the dishes and taking a shower was not possible. I decided to only drink 64 ounces that day. I couldn’t go without brushing my teeth but made sure to turn the water off while I brushed. To conserve that water that gets flushed, I suggested to my roommates to only flush the toilet 2 times a day. My roommates could not support this strategy. Overall, I believed this experiment to be unsuccessful. I eventually showered and flushed the toilet, which pushed me well above 2 galloons. I realized just how privileged I am through this experiment. Before this activity, I didn’t even realize how much I use and waste water throughout the day. Knowing that I typically use over 100-gallons of water a day makes 2 gallons a day seem miniscule. Geography matters to water use because to maintain and support the human population, we need to keep the supply of water clean and available. Depending on the country, water use is a luxury and to others water is a privilege. Thinking about how I get water into my home, its important to understand that the earth and the water cycle are connected.

1-a

Here I would like to talk about the water management in my hometown, Beijing, China. First of all, I would like to address why Beijing is the capital of China despite its characteristic severe water scarcity all the time. In 1641 the third emperor of Ming dynasty, Di Zhu, moved Chinese capital city from Nanking to Beijing in order to set up better defense against Mongols’ invasion. Back in 1600s water scarcity problem wasn’t that important compare to national defense. Beijing has mountains to its north and west and plains to its south and east. Currently, Beijing is running on a serious negative water usage budget. There are around 85 water reservoirs around Beijing, mainly in northern and western mountains. Only four of them are the major ones consist of 85% of the whole water reservoir capacity. Two main rivers supply the city while one of them, Yonding River, was abandoned due to pollution in the last century and now function as Wetland Park and a solution to flood during rain season. The water usage amount exceeds the supply by 0.6 billion cubic meters in a year. (Usage is 3.6 bn cubic meters, supply is 3.0 bn cubic meters) The government solved this issue by spending billions of money on the famous ‘South-North Water Transfer Project.’ The project created three main pipeline connecting Han River, in the central China with Beijing by over 1,000 km (600 mi) of giant pipes. So the water supply of Beijing is consists of exploitation of ground water, precipitation, several rivers and the ‘transfer project.’ Several rivers flow through Beijing is also fed by the ‘transfer project.’ Residential water usage claims half of the total usage while irrigation claims almost the other half. On behalf of wastewater treatment, Beijing is making great effort to this issue. New wastewater facilities are constructed and put in use yearly. This method accounts to a quarter of the total amount of wastewater which then be used as industrial coolants, irrigation and other minor aspects. The rest are being treated to lower standard and transported out of Beijing to Haihe in Tianjin which then joins the sea. That’s about the general view of water management in Beijing.

1-b

The day I used to record my data is Feb. 5^th, 2016. After computing my answer from USGS website, I got totally thrilled by how much water I use in one day, which is around 40 gallons. I got thrilled because that the next question asks me to live with only 2 gallons a day. Below is my data collected from previous day and I even felt that I drank less water compared to other days.

1. 2 tooth brushings – less than one gallon
2. 5 hand/face washings – one gallon
3. 1 shower around 5 min – if I am using the water-saving shower then it would be 2 gallon per minute
4. 5 toilet flushes – 8 gallons
5. 8 glasses of water (8 oz glass)
6. 1 time dishwashing by hand – 8-27 gallons depends on the efficiency.
7. No clothes washing yesterday. I wash my clothes once a week regularly.

Dish washing accounts to the   green portion that occupies half of the pie. Toilet flushes are represented by yellow legions. While shower water usage is shown by grey. This pie chart clearly shows which activity requires most water among other daily activities.

1-c

First of all, I would like to make some general goals for living with 2 gallons of water a day.Firstly, I need to cut my shower time by 80%, which would be roughly rinse over the body. And this would exclude the water wasted to get hot water to get hot water. Secondly, I have to cut all other water uses by half, and avoid dishwashing to achieve this goal. These aren’t enough. In the real practice on Feb. 6^th, 2016, I didn’t drink a cup of coffee in the morning which I usually do. I avoided to make food at home. I barely showered and washed my face and hands. And the flushes minimal times. And the result turned out to be 10 gallons. I would not try this another day, and I definitely failed this experiment. In this experiment I showered, drank water, washed hands for few times, flushed 3 times and brushed my tooth once. The priority for this experiment I set is to have enough drinking water in order not to feel sick. As mentioned previously, I cut all the activity practices by half and avoided dishwashing. In all geography conditions make a huge difference between where I live now and Mozambique or Haiti. They are both in severe water scarcity levels. Haiti, which is on a Caribbean island and receive limited precipitation. All it could do is through ocean water desalination, which is an impossible practice to less developed nation like Haiti due to its high cost. Water availability is both low for these two countries. Although both have easy accessibility to sea, freshwater availability is low. Water use efficiency is low while most of water needs to be used for agricultural irrigation. Without adequate facilities only a small portion of people could gain access to an improved water source. (47% for Mozambique) As depicted in figure 4.3 America has adequate water usage compared to African countries which are ‘squeeze’ on the map. Thanks to a sophisticated water usage regulations, facility regulations and smart water management methods, people could enjoy plenty of water instead of worrying about it.

Part 1-A

In a rural setting, most people living in Petersburg, Pennsylvania, have private wells to access their fresh water supply. For those few within the town itself receive their water through Mather Water Company who sources largely from Standing Stone Creek. From their treatment plant, the water is contained in a reservoir until transported through water mains to reach consumers. After being used, the water is transported to a wastewater treatment center where it is cleaned, purified, and acclimated before its release into the Little Juniata River, which is the largest water source in the area. When not connected to a water main, septic tanks are used and trucks pump out the waste which is then transported to wastewater treatment centers.

Part 1-B

Part 1-C

Based upon my daily activities, my water usage stems mostly from personal sanitation (38 out of 38.1875 gallons). Otherwise it comes from consumption. In a situation in which I was only allotted two gallons of water a day, I would prioritize consumption to maintain health and cut back on sanitation usage. Showering would be only every three to four days in which water would only be used when soaking and rinsing (roughly about two gallons). To offset the shower’s water usage, any water not used out of the other four days would be used for consumption during the day of the shower. Brushing teeth can use minimal water in which the discharge could be thrown away instead of rinsed down a sink. However, even after these reduction strategies, my water usage would not fit within the restriction, as toilet usage is fairly mandatory as a social norm and from a sanitation standpoint. With our toilets using generally 3 gallons each flush, even only using it once a day would still use more water than allowed.

Fort Worth Flush

The water supply chain for Fort Worth Texas area that I live in starts at one of these six lakes or reservoirs; Lake Bridgeport, Eagle Mountain Lake, Lake Worth, Benbrook Lake, Cedar Creek Reservoir and Richland-Chambers Reservoir. Once it is pulled from one of these sources it is taken to a water treatment facility where the water goes through processes to remove and kill the bacteria so it can then be ready to be pumped out to the public for safe drinking water. After we use the water the water flows through pipes till it reaches the Village Creek Water Reclamation Facility. Once it reaches this facility the waste water will begin a new treatment to remove the bacteria and diseases from it. After the water has been treated and tested it can end up flowing back into the Trinity River. In this facility they also have a Biosolids Program. This program takes out the biosolids in the wastewater and after intense treatments and studies, if it passes, it will be allowed to be used for agricultural benefits, fertilizer.

References

2016. City of Fort Worth. Accessed February 5, 2016. http://fortworthtexas.gov/.

Part 1-c

This challenge would not have been so difficult if I didn’t have to run my washer or shower today. Since a shower uses roughly 5gallons a min I failed miserably at the 2gallons usage for the day. Even if I took out taking a shower I still needed to run my washer to get clothes cleaned for the coming week. I don’t use a lot of water to cook but we do drink a lot of water in my house and my 2 dogs go through roughly 2 water bowls a day. If I were to use the motto that my mother likes to use, “if its brown flush it down, if its yellow let it mellow”, then I could have made this experiment work. I intended on making this experiment work but it is really hard when you need to clean clothes, shower, wash dishes and flush. If I was forced to live off of 2 gallons a day I could make it work but with the water available at my fingertips it makes it very easy to just use it.

1a.)    In my hometown, the Municipal Water Authority collects and distributes water for seven different counties around the area. The water is collected from the surface water of the Allegheny river. Once at the plant, water at the purification plant is treated by coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection. Then, it is further treated with fluoride, chlorine, and a corrosion inhibitor before being distributed to the consumer. From the treatment center, it is transferred using electricity and pumped into pipes that goes straight to the consumers or to a water tower. Where I live, there is a water tower right down the street from me. The water towers are usually only used when a surplus of water is needed for the day. The water that is either flushed or sent down the drains is taken to a sewage system through a different set of pipes. In my town, the sewage system is called Municipal Sanitary Authority of New Kensington (MSANK). Here, the water is put through a few sets of treatment which is then returned back to the Allegheny River. Shown below is the diagram of the sewer system that is used in my hometown.

1b.)

1c.)  Compared to my average use of water in one day (170.375 gallons), living on two gallons was a major challenge. When thinking about how I wanted to use my two gallons, I thought that the absolute necessity for me would to use water as drinking water. However, if I only used water for drinking and a small amount to wash my body every few days, that would mean that I had to completely cut out everything else in my daily activities that involved water. When trying this experiment, it was immediately impossible for me because flushing the toilet once alone was three gallons. This is where geography comes into play. If I did live in a different country where toilets with water were not available, this would not be something that would use water in my daily activities. I feel that it is not easy to use only two gallons of water on a daily basis because it is so readily available. Without any thought, we waste water and just throw it down the drain. This task would be much easier for me personally if I lived in an area with a reduced amount of water. If this was the case, I feel that I would be aware of the amount of water that I was using. Because I have never known any different than having an unending supply of water, I failed very badly at this challenge.

1a) Other than living in State College during the school year, my hometown is in Doylestown Pennsylvania. From my area, water is a primary resource that is used mainly all the time. The water in Doylestown follows a supply chain as it moves from place to place. The source of water in Doylestown comes from the Doylestown Borough Water Department, which provides water service to customers in the Borough of Doylestown and a few outlying municipalities such as Buckingham, and other Doylestown townships. Doylestown Township Municipal Authority is the head authority, which serves water to municipalities such as New Britain Borough, Buckingham, Doylestown, New Britain, Plumstead, and Warrington townships. The water from these authorities goes into the homes of the people who live in those municipalities. From the drain those homes, the water travels into the sewer system. The sewer system in Doylestown is owned and administered by the Bucks County Water and Sewer (BCWSA) Company. Every house/ family’s sewer charge is based directly on their water usage.

1b) Calculated Results are shown in gallons

1c) If I were to live in an area where water is a restricted resource and I could only use two gallons of water for one day, I would prioritize how I used my water. In the experiment, I would use my water to drink and cook meals, and also shower. Instead of taking a 15-minute shower, I would limit it to not even 5 minutes using a low-flow showerhead so I could conserve the water for other things that I need. After cooking a meal, I would use the leftover water to drink. That way, I wouldn’t drink all of the water and had some to make a meal. Based on the experiment, I would definitely fail. On a regular basis, I use more than 100 gallons of water a day. If I were limited to only two gallons, I would never be able to get through a day. As you can see in my graph, I use water for more things like laundry, faucets, toilets, instead of in the experiment with only drinking, cooking, and showering. Geography matters to water use because for places such as Haiti and Mozambique, they do not have a great water supplier in which they can’t consistently be given water unlike where I am from. They do not have the resources that I do, which supplies me so that I am able to use 100 + gallons of water everyday.

1-a) Being from San Juan, Puerto Rico, the source of water there comes from rainwater which we have developed streams over specific areas to collect it in what’s known as the Carraizo Lake. There the water for the areas of San Juan, Trujillo Alto, Carolina, Bayamón, Loíza, Canóvanas, Cataño, Toa Baja and Guaynabo is collected. It later goes through different processing units located in strategic locations which purify the water and then is sent to our homes and businesses. The used water isn’t directly deposited into our rivers, it instead goes through a six step process to purify it of contaminants before it is sent to natural resources such as rivers or the ocean. It starts by going through a set of local pumps which direct it towards main cleaning plants. Followed by the removal of stones and other hard materials. It is then sent through a secondary process to separate solid materials (sand and such). After it is disinfected and the pH balance is set to the natural one. And finally it is reoxygenated so it is compatible with plant life and sent back into the environment. Online sources: http://www.acueductospr.com/COMUNICACIONES/alcantarillado.html / http://www.acueductospr.com/NUESTRAAUTORIDAD/regiones.html

1-b) Results are shown in gallons.

1-c) My main uses of prepare food, sanitary reasons, dish washing and laundry. So if I were in a situation where I had to use just two gallons a day, I would prioritize making food and sanitation. To prepare food, I would need just around four cups of water to make food that would last me around 3-4 days of leftovers, saving me water to use elsewhere or saving it for another day. I could do one of my daily needs without the need of a toilet, so that saves some gallons. Sanitation would definitely take the most amount of water. Usually the body doesn’t require much water to rinse, but my hair does (I have fairly long hair), so I guess the best thing would be to shave my head in order to conserve even more water. Also being experienced in living in limited conditions (I’m also an Eagle Scout) I can in fact be fairly successful at systematically stretching the water usage as much as possible. Compared to 1-b, well I would have to sacrifice doing dishes as often, or saving up water for a few days in order to do things such as maintain my hair and peeing in a toilet. Being from an island which recently suffered a lack of rain, we saw a very rapid decrease in our water supply causing a massive drought that lasted months. Water usage there became a very real issue very quickly, while a continent typically has more reliable sources of water with rivers crossing over the entire country.