Part 1-A
This module was quite interesting to me, and also very timely, seeing as though my home city experienced the worst drought in a hundred years this past summer. I am originally from Austin, Texas, the capital of the state in the central part of the Texas Hill Country. The city of Austin gets its water from the Colorado River watershed (this is the Colorado River in Texas, not the same one that originates in Colorado) which originates in the Permian Basin in northwest Texas, and ends at the Gulf of Mexico near Houston. The city collects surface water from the Colorado River as it flows into Lake Austin (a damned part of the Lower Colorado River). The water is then sent to one of two water treatment plants in the city to remove harmful contaminants. All of this information can be seen in more detail on the City of Austin's website, Austin City Connection & Austin Water Utility.
Part 1-B
After using the USGS water usage calculator, my estimated water usage per day was as follows:
Shower: 1 shower/day (I use the "Navy" method which means I turn the water off when I'm shampooing and washing my body so this total is significantly reduced) ~ 3 min = 7.5 gal @ 2.5 gal/min
Teeth brushing: 2 times/day ~ 2 gal @ 1 gal/brush (I think this estimate is way too high, probably ΒΌ of this...)
Hands/face washing: 4 times/day ~ 4 ga @ 1 gal/wash (again, there is no way I use 1 gal of H2O every time I wash my hands...)
Face shaving: do this once a week so ~ .15 gal/day @ 1 gal/shave
Toilet flush: my toilet uses 1.6 gal/flush, flush ~ 4 times/day so 6.4 gal/day
Dishwashing by hand: 5 gal/load - I do about one load per day so that's fair
Glasses of water drunk: I drink a lot of water, probably 7 glasses/day so ~ .5 gal/day
The calculator (using its specifications) claims I use 33.86 gallons of water each day.
By my modified calculations I use about 21.05 gallons of water each day.
Part 1-C
I decided to try to live off of two gallons of water on my day off (I don't have class Friday). I usually take a shower in the morning, but neglected to take a shower at all this day, since that would automatically put me over the limit. I also barely drank any water, only three glasses the whole day, which is half of my normal consumption. I only flushed the toilet once opposed to my normal three to four. When washing dishes I used .5 gal and recycled the water, which was really gross, but pretty effective. When I brushed my teeth and washed my hands, I would only have the faucet on for a split second each time, and instead of spitting in the sink and then rinsing the sink, I spit over my balcony to save water. I thought this was a great exercise to do for this course, and I really made me aware of how much water we use. It reminded me of when I used to go backpacking in the desert of West Texas back in high school, for in the backcountry there is no running water, and usually the steams are dry, thus forcing my friends and I to carry our water in, and be very conservative in our usage. On a consistent basis, I figure it is impossible to use only two gallons of water a day and maintain the same lifestyle that most Americans do.
Before even taking this course, I try to be pretty conservative with my water usage. Just from observing my roommates behaviors compared to mine, I would guess that I use approximately half to a third of the water that they do, the showering method making by far the largest difference. Also, I make sure to turn faucets off when not in use. Thinking about the summer we had in Texas this past year made me realize how serious water conservation is. The City of Austin put caps on water usage because the drought was so serious. Many people's lawns were brown from lack of watering and families had to ration water accordingly. Also, I learned that after water is used, it goes to a sewage plant where they city attempts to reuse it, at least for certain applications. In conclusion, I find it important for everyone to remember that we are all connected, and what one of us, or a group of us does, can affect the greater whole. In my opinion, the most dangerous mindset that we can get into is thinking we can't make a difference, because if everyone throws up their hands as opposed to trying to do even a little bit, nothing will change.
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