lean Water: A PRECIOUS RESOURCE

An overnight assignmentto record the amount of

water you use.

OBJECTIVE:To learn why water

conservation isimportant.

2 clean gallon jugs (i.e.,milk jugs) per student

(available at home)

Introduction:Do you ever think about how much water you use? 183 gallons are treated every dayfor each person in the United States. There are an estimated 2.0 million people livingin the Albemarle-Pamlico watershed. We all need water to carry on our daily functions.We must remember that the water we use every day is the same water that many peoplereuse to drink, cook with, and bathe. It is also the same water in which we fish andswim as it reaches the Sounds.

People and Water - ItAdds Up• A toilet flushes 5 gallons• A dishwasher uses 16.5 gallons• A bath uses 30-50 gallons• A shower uses 5-10 gallons/

minute• Washing clothes uses 40-60

gallons (permanent press uses12-18 more gallons)

Water, WaterEverywhere?People today use much more waterthan they did in times past. Did youknow the amount of water in the worldtoday is the same as it was billions ofyears ago? Whilefrom a spaceship, ourEarth looks like it is mostly water, onlyone percent of all water is freshwaterwe can use. Cities, industry, and agri-culture have huge water demands. Ourstreams and rivers have limited amountsof water during dry weather. Some ofour streams contain mostly treated sew-age. Since these streams are home forwildlife and we use them to fish andswim, cleaning wastewater before itreenters our streams and rivers is ofvital importance.

Wastewater TreatmentFor those of us living in a town,whenever we turn on a faucet or flusha toilet, we send water to a sewage(wastewater) treatment plant. A well-

engineered wastewater treatment plantthat is not overloaded does an excellentjob of cleaning wastewater. It is impor-tant to think about what you pour downthe drain because wastewater treatmentplants cannot take out all harmful things.Examples include paint products, sol-vents, or gasoline.

Human waste is also a big problem.Some homes use septic systems to handletheir sewage. But if the septic tank isnot cared for, it can overflow withnutrient-rich sewage. In more popu-lated areas, human waste is treated atsewage treatment plants to produceclean water. Some sewage treatmentplants clean the water well before re-turning it to our rivers, but some donot. These rivers, often containing nu-trients, eventually flow into the Sounds.

Clean Water - Clean SoundsWith so many people usingwater, some treatment plantshave become overloaded. Somuch water is coming intothese plants that it cannot beadequately cleaned. Remem-ber, everything you pourdown the drain goes to yourseptic system or a wastewatertreatment plant, which maynot be able to take out all ofthe harmful things. As a re-sult, the water that enters theSounds is not clean and caneven be unhealthy.

Why Conserve Water?As droughts of past yearshave demonstrated, our wa-ter supply is not limitless. Inmany areas, water is difficultto obtain. And as pointed out above, wasted water iswastewater, which must be treated at no small ex-pense. One solution is to build more treatment plants.But this is very costly and does not get at the root ofthe problem. Instead, we must be more careful withour precious resource. By conserving water, using itwisely, and not polluting it, we can ensure a safe andadequate supply for the future.

Every Drop Counts!How Much Water Do You Use?We live in a country where finding clean water is nota daily difficulty. But this often leads us to take waterfor granted. To make you more aware of your wateruse habits, try this activity for an evening.

Fill two clean gallon jugs with water. This is yourallowance for the night. Whenever you brush yourteeth, drink a glass of water, or wash your hands, useonly water from your jugs. Keep track of other uses aswell-remember that flushing a toilet uses five gallons!

What do you think? Did this activity change how youuse water? In what ways? How much water do youthink you use in a regular day? Where can you cut backand save water?

Water Conservation Around YourHomeBy using less water yourself and helping otherseliminate wasteful water practices, you can re-duce the amount of water that must be treated bywastewater plants. This, in turn, will reducewater pollution and help restore the Sounds.

Water Tips• Don't let water run when you are brushing

your teeth or washing dishes.• Place a plastic jug filled with water in the

toilet tank to reduce the amount of waterflushed.

• Take a quick shower instead of a long bath.• Make sure leaky faucets are repaired in your

home and school. A steady drip can waste20 gallons or more each day.

• Use the dishwasher and clothes washer onlywhen they are full.

• While waiting for tap water to warm up,collect the cold water that flows and use itto water plants.

Illustrations by Sandra Koch