United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Water
4601
EPA-810-B-99-OO2
March 1999
&EPA Drinking Water
for Students, Teachers, and
Parents
-------
Table of Contents
-------
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction
Introduction
Drinking Water Activities: K-3
Ground Water Movement (Teacher Guide)
How People Get Their Water (Classroom Activity)
Simple Water Science (Classroom Activity)
Where Does Your Water Come From? (Classroom Activity)
Aquifer In A Cup (Classroom Activity)
The Water Cycle At Work (Student Activity)
Blue Thumb Coloring Fun [English version] (Student Activity)
Blue Thumb Coloring Fun [Spanish version] (Student Activity)
Blue Thumb Marathon (Student Activity)
Blue Thumb Water Coloring (Student Activity)
Drinking Water Activities: 4-7
Recharge - Discharge (Teacher Guide)
Ground Water Use For The United States, 1990
How Ground Water Is Used In The United States
Non-Point Source Pollution (Classroom Activity)
Water Purification By Evaporation And Condensation (Classroom Activity)
Role Of Plants In Water Filtration (Classroom Activity)
Build Your Own Aquifer (Classroom Activity)
Building A Model Aquifer (Classroom Activity)
Blue Thumb Water Treatment Plant (Student Activity)
Blue Thumb Fitness Game Cards (Student Activity)
Blue Thumb Bookmarks
Blue Thumb Thinking (Student Activity)
Blue Thumb Crossword Puzzle (Student Activity)
Blue Thumb Crossword Puzzle Solution (Teacher Guide)
Blue Thumb Word Search [English version] (Student Activity)
-------
Blue Thumb Word Search [English version] (Student Activity)
Blue Thumb Word Scramble [English version] (Student Activity)
Blue Thumb Word Scramble [Spanish version] (Student Activity)
Drinking Water Activities: 8-12
Source Water Protection: Surface Water Sources (Teacher Guide)
Source Water Protection: Ground Water Sources (Teacher Guide)
How Clean Is Clean? (Teacher Guide)
How Clean Is Clean? (Student Activity)
Tracking Pollution: A Hazardous Whodunnit (Teacher Guide)
Tracking Pollution: A Hazardous Whodunnit (Student Activity)
Resource Management: Protecting Your Drinking Water (Student Activity)
Build Your Own Watershed (Classroom Activity)
Water Filtration (Classroom Activity)
The Blue Thumb Game: Give Drinking Water A Hand (Student Activity)
General Information
Fact Sheet: 21 Water Conservation Measures for Everybody
What Everyone Should Know About Drinking Water
What Everyone Should Do For Drinking Water
Blue Thumb Bloopers: Embarrassing Moments in the Life of a Water Drinker
Blue Thumb Basics for Rural Communities
The Blue Thumb Quiz
Blue Thumb Quiz Answers
Water Myths & Realities
Water Q & A
Water Facts of Life
Be Hydro-Logical
The Water Facts of Life
Water Trivia Facts
The Decision Process for Drinking Water
Science Projects
Science Demonstration Projects in Drinking Water (Grades K-12)
-------
Introduction
-------
Introduction
Over the past several years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has
participated as a member of the National Drinking Water Week Alliance. This group has been
responsible for heightening the awareness of drinking water issues during a week long
observance, which always falls on the first full week of May. Each year the Alliance has
included educational materials for teachers and students to use in the classroom. All are fun
activities, but carry a strong message that water needs to be cared for, protected and nurtured,
thus the phrase "blue thumb" was born. As the green thumb symbolizes the care of the earth,
blue thumb reflects a like commitment to water. Throughout the material that follows, you will
see a variety of themes and slogans, but the same idea will emerge: drinking water must be
protected. This means we must all support our public water suppliers as they continue to comply
with new regulations that will provide a greater degree of public health.
As citizens, we have an integral part in drinking water quality. With the passage of the
1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act, Congress has provided several public right to
know provisions that allow citizens to help shape the decisions made about their drinking water.
For the first time, users of public water supplies will receive a Consumer Confidence Report, a
yearly accounting of the water they drink. You can find out more about what you can do by
visiting our website: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ or by calling the Safe Drinking Water
Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
EPA is only one of several organizations that have made this material available to you to
further your knowledge of drinking water issues. Current Alliance Partners include: the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service; the
National Drinking Water Clearing House; the American! Water Works Association; and
Environment Canada. Contributing partners include: The Ground Water Foundation;
Groundwater Trust; WaterCan; the National Association of Water Companies; the Association of
Metropolitan Water Agencies; the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators; the
League of Women Voters; National Geographic; the Water Education Foundation; and the
American Library Association.
Intended Use of Materials
Teachers: Materials will provide additional information and classroom activities to enhance any
drinking water curriculum you teach.
Students: Easy to duplicate student activity sheets to further the message and stimulate thought.
Parents: As that time of year approaches, students, teachers and parents all share in a
responsibility to develop a science project that will provoke thought, encourage research, and
provide a scientific approach to answering a question. A science demonstration projects section
has been added with ideas to build on or use as presented.
General Information: All users of these materials will find water tips, facts, myths, and trivia to
further their awareness of drinking water issues across the Nation.
We hope that you will use these materials to educate yourself and those you come in
contact with, not only in a classroom situation, but anywhere the message should be heard.
-------
Drinking Water
Activities: K-3
-------
Ground water is water underground in saturated zones beneath the land surface. Contrary to popula
belief, ground water does not form underground "rivers." It fills the pores and fractures in undergrounr
materials such as sand, gravel, and other rock. If ground water flows from rock materials or can be removec
by pumping from the saturated rock materials in useful amounts, the rock materials are called aquifers
Ground water moves slowly, typically at rates of 7 to 60 centimeters per day in an aquifer. As a result, wate
could remain in an aquifer for hundreds or thousands of years. Ground water is the source of about 4(
percent of water used for public supplies and about 38 percent of water used for agriculture in the Unite*
States.
One of the largest aquifers in the United States is the High Plains Aquifer. The aquifer is approximate!'
the size of California and is located under parts of South Dakota, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, Coloradc
New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The High Plains Aquifer contains an estimated 4 quadrillion liters (•
with 15 zeros after it) of water.
DEFINITIONS
Aquifer
Crystalline Rock
Freshwater
Ground Water
Ground-Water Discharge
Ground-Water Recharge
Infiltration
Permeability
Public Supplies
Saturated Zone
Surface Water
Unsaturated Zone
Water Table
- An underground body of porous sand, gravel, or fractured rock filled with water and
capable of supplying useful quantities of water to a well or spring.
- Igneous or metamorphic rock consisting of relatively large mineral grains.
- Water that contains less than 1,000 milligrams per liter of dissolved solids.
- Water beneath the land surface in the saturated zone.
- The flow or pumping of water from an aquifer.
- The addition of water to an aquifer.
- Movement of water from the land surface into the soil.
- The capacity of porous rock for transmitting water.
- Water supplied for domestic, commercial, thermoelectric power, industrial, and
other public uses.
- Zone below the land surface where all the pores or fractures are filled with water.
- Water on the Earth's surface.
- The zone immediately below the land surface where the pores or fractures contain
both water and air.
- The top of the water surface in the saturated zone of an unconfined aquifer.
Permeability
For water to move in an aquifer, the pores between rock
materials and fractures in rock must be connected. If there is
a good connection among pore spaces and fractures, water
can move freely and we say that the rock is permeable. The
capacity of rock material to transmit water is called permeabil-
ity. Water moves through different materials at different rates
— faster through gravel, slower through sand, and much
slower through clay. Therefore, gravel is more permeable
than sand, which is more permeable than clay.
-------
Recharge Areas
Recharge is the addition of water to the ground-water system. The recharge of
freshwater begins as precipitation. Precipitation occurs in several forms, including
rain, snow, and hail, but only rain is displayed on the poster. Some of the rain
infiltrates into the soil. If the rate of the rainfall exceeds the rate of infiltration, surface
water will flow over the land surface to surface-water bodies such as rivers and
streams.
Water can infiltrate faster from the land surface into sandy soils than silty or clay soils.
Water infiltrates into the soil and the unsaturated zone. The unsaturated zone occurs
immediately below the land surface and contains both water and air in the pores and
fractures in the rock materials. Water moves, or percolates, down through the
unsaturated zone to the saturated zone. The saturated zone is where all the pores
or fractures in rock materials are filled with water. The top of the saturated zone is
called the water table.
Because surface-water and ground-water systems are connected, surface water
can recharge ground water. Aquifers can obtain water from such surface-water
bodies as reservoirs and streams when and where the water table is lower than the
surface-water body. Recharge areas usually are higher in elevation than discharge
areas.
Discharge Areas
Places where ground water flows from aquifers to springs, seeps, wetlands, ponds,
or streams are called ground-water discharge areas. Ground-water discharge to
these natural areas occurs when the water surface of the aquifer (water table on the
poster) is at or above the elevation of the discharge area (river and pond on the
poster). Surface-water and ground-water systems are interconnected. The flow of
most streams is sustained by ground water seeping into the stream. The water
surfaces of many ponds and wetlands are an extension of the local ground-water
table. Springs occur where ground water flows from an aquifer to the land surface.
•V4
Ground water can be brought to the land surface by pumping from a well. A well is
an opening that has been drilled or dug into an aquifer below the water table. Water
from the aquifer flows into this opening to replace water removed by pumping water
from the well. The water table slopes from areas of recharge to discharge areas like
rivers, ponds, wells, and springs.
-------
Ground-Water Movement
Introduction
Ground water must be able to move through underground materials at rates fast enough to supply useful
amounts of water to wells or springs in order for those materials to be classified as an aquifer. For water to move
in an aquifer, some of the pores and fractures must be connected to each other. Water moves through different
materials at different rates, faster through gravel, slower through sand, and even slower through clay. Gravels and
sands are possible aquifers; clays usually are not aquifers. The following activity demonstrates how different sizes
of rock materials that make up an aquifer affect water movement.
Ofe/ecf/Ves^-Students will:
1. Identify several sources of rock materials that make up an aquifer.
2. Discuss how water moves through gravel, sand, and clay.
Materials
1. At least 10 students.
2. Large area to conduct activity.
Teacher Preparation
This activity can be conducted in the classroom, gymnasium, or outside the school building. If conducted in
the classroom, move all furniture to allow for sufficient room for the movement of students. This is a three-part
demonstration that may create some excitement.
Procedures
Select two or three students to be molecules of water. The remaining students will be rock materials.
1. Activity One: Water movement through gravel. The students represent gravel by holding arms out-
stretched, leaving a 15- to 30- centimeter (cm) space between their outstretched arms. Locate these
students in the center of the activity area. The students representing water molecules are to start on one
side of their "gravel" classmates and move through them, exiting on the other side. The water molecules
will move easily through the gravel.
-------
2. Activity Two: Water movement through sand.The students represent sand by extending arms, bending them
at the elbows and touching their waists with their fingers. Locate these students in the center of the activity area,
spacing them approximately 15 cm apart. Once again, have the water molecules slowly make their way through
their "sand" classmates. The water molecules will experience some difficulty, but should still reach the other
side.
3. Activity Three: Water movement through clay. Students become clay particles by placing their arms straight
down the sides of their bodies and standing approximately 10 cm apart. Locate these students in the center
of the activity area. It will be a formidable task for water molecules to move through the clay. Without being
rough, the water molecules should slowly make their way through the clay. The water molecules may not be
able to move through the clay at all.
Interpretive Questions
1. Which one of the materials— gravel, sand, or clay—was the easiest for the water molecules to move through?
(Answer: Gravel, then sand, then clay.) Why? (Answer: Because there are larger spaces between the gravel
particles.)
2. If there were three rock units, one of gravel, one of sand, and one of clay, all containing the same quantity of
water, in which would you drill a well? (Answer: Gravel. Water moves easier through gravel than sand or clay.)
Extension
Obtain 250 milliliters (mL) of sand, 250 mL of pea-size gravel, 250 mL of clay, and three large funnels (top
diameter approximately 12 cm). Force a piece of cheesecloth into the top of the spout of each funnel. This will
prevent material from going through the funnel spout. Put each funnel into separate clear containers so that the
spout of the funnel is at least 5 cm above the bottom of the container. Pour the sand into the first funnel, pea-size
gravel into the second funnel, and the clay into the third funnel. Pour equal amounts of water (approximately 200
mL) onto the materials contained in the funnels. Select three students to pour the water, creating a permeability
race. Time how long it takes the water to flow through the materials. Record on a data sheet. Which material did
the water flow through the fastest? Why?
This activity was adapted from "Get the Ground Water Picture," National Project WET.
-------
Youth Activity
How People Set Their Water
Reservoirs: "Holding Tanks" for Drinking Water
Let your students "Ride the Water Cycle" with the following
activity. It will help them understand the role of reservoirs in
maintaining a reliable supply of drinking water.
Objective: To illustrate how a reservoir works
Target Audience: Primary: (K-6)
Teacher's Notes:
Water moves in a continuous cycle between the air, ground, and plants and animals. Most water
does not naturally exist in a pure form or in a form that is safe for people to drink. That is why water must
be cleaned before we drink it. Water utilities provide such treatment before water is sent through pipes to
homes in the community.
The demand for water varies. The availability of water also varies in different areas of the world. To meet
those varying needs, water utilities may store extra water in places known as reservoirs. Water is usually
contained in reservoirs by a dam. Reservoirs help ensure that communities do not run out of water at any
given time regardless of the communities' total water use.
Questions to Expand
Students' Thinking:
G< What are some of the sources of water
for a reservoir?
A Precipitation in the form of rain and
snow. Other bodies of water that feed
the reservoir, such as lakes and rivers.
C»^ How does water get into a reservoir?
A It seeps over and through the soil
above the reservoir.
What contains or holds water in a real
reservoir?
Dams.
Ci^ What kind of natural treatment does
water receive in a reservoir?
A Natural filtration through leaves, grass
and soil. Some settling also occurs in the
reservoir.
Activity Directions:
1) Construct a model of a reservoir using a clean,
clear plastic box. Line the bottom of the box with
small pebbles and then layer sand, soil, and
leaves on top.
2)
Carefully spray water on the four corners of the
model until the soil mixture is saturated and the
water has seeped through to the open area - the
reservoir.
plastic box
pebbles
sand
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, adopted from "Water Wizards,"
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Boston, MA, 1993.
-------
You will need
1. jar
& • plants
3 • bottle cap or
shell of water
^t. soil
$• sand
6. small rocks
Fill jar as in the
picture and put the
lid on. Put the jar
in a sunny place
and see how the
water cycle works.
\
II te faut:
1. un pot
2?. des plantes
3« une capsule de
bouteille ou
une coquille
remplie d'eau
^r. de la terre
$. du sable
6. des petites
roches
Remplis le pot tel
qu'indiquS sur le
dessin et mets le
couvercle. Place le
pot dans un
endroit ensoleille
et observe
comment le cycle
de 1'eau
fonctionne.
© COT oufttes of Canada In cooperatfon wltn environment Canada
-------
EPA ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
AQUIFER IN A CUP (AQUIFER ON THE GO)
BACKGROUND: Many communities obtain their drinking water from underground sources
called aquifers. Water suppliers or utility officials drill wells through soil and rock into aquifers
to supply the public with drinking water. Homeowners who cannot obtain drinking water from a
public water supply have private wells that tap the groundwater supply. Unfortunately,
groundwater can become contaminated by improper use or disposal of harmful chemicals such
as lawn care products and household cleaners. These chemicals can percolate down through
the soil and rock into an aquifer—and eventually into the wells. Such contamination can pose a
significant threat to human health. The measures that must be taken by well owners and
operators to either protect or clean up contaminated aquifers are quite costly.
NOTE: This demonstration should follow a class discussion on potential sources of pollution to
drinking water supplies.
OBJECTIVE: To illustrate how water is stored in an aquifer, how groundwater can become
contaminated, and how this contamination ends up in a drinking water source. Ultimately,
students should get a clear understanding of how careless use and disposal of harmful
contaminants above the ground can potentially end up in the drinking water below the ground.
This particular experiment can be done by each student at his or her work station.
MATERIALS NEEDED PER STUDENT:
1 clear plastic cup that is 2 3/4" deep x 3 1/4" wide
1 piece of modeling clay or floral clay that will allow a 2" flat pancake to be made by each
student for his/her cup
White play sand that will measure 1/4" in the bottom of each student's cup
Aquarium gravel (natural color if possible) or small pebbles (approximately Vz cup per student)
(Hint: As many small rocks may have a powdery residue on them, you may wish to rinse
and dry them on a clean towel prior to use. It is best if they do not make the water cloudy.)
Red food coloring
1 bucket of clean water and a small cup to dip water from bucket
PROCEDURE:
1. Pour 1/4" of white sand into the bottom of each cup, completely covering the bottom of the
container. Pour water into the sand, wetting it completely (there should be no standing water
on top of sand). Let students see how the water is absorbed in the sand, but remains around
the sand particles as it is stored in the ground and ultimately in the aquifer.
-------
2. Have each student flatten the modeling clay (like a pancake) and cover 1/a of the sand with
the clay (students should press the clay to one side of the container to seal off that side). The
clay represents a "confining layer" that keeps water from passing through it. Pour a small
amount of water onto the clay. Let the students see how the water remains on top of the clay,
only flowing into the sand below in areas that the clay does not cover.
3. Use the aquarium rocks to form the next layer of earth. Place the rocks over the sand and
clay, covering the entire container. To one side of the cup, have students slope the rocks,
forming a high hill and a valley (see illustration below). Explain to the students that these layers
represent some of the many layers contained in the earth's surface. Now pour water into your
aquifer until the water in the valley is even with your hill. Students will see the water stored
around the rocks. Explain that these rocks are porous, allowing storage of water within the
pores and openings between them. They will also notice a "surface" supply of water (a small
lake) has formed. This will give students a view of the ground and surface water supplies, both
of which can be used for drinking water purposes.
4. Put a few drops of the food coloring on top of the rock hill as close to the inside wall of the
cup as possible. Explain to the students that people often use old wells to dispose of farm
chemicals, trash, and used motor oils, and that other activities above their aquifer can impact
their drinking water. Students will see that the color spreads not only through the rocks but also
to the surface water and into the white sand at the bottom of their cups. This is one way
pollution can spread through the aquifer over time.
FOLLOW-UP:
Discuss with students other activities that could pollute their aquifer. Ask students to locate
activities around the school or their own homes that could pollute their drinking water sources if
not properly maintained. Allow students to drain off the water in their cups and carry home their
containers to refill with water, showing their parents surface water, groundwater, and how
pollution activity above the aquifer can affect all of the water. Students should discuss with
parents what steps they can take as a household to prevent water pollution.
ROCKS
WATER
-------
C/^cir e^r6
^
clouds
nuctges
vapour
evaporation
water falls
cascade
mountains
montagnes
<• vapour ^ \. i
' evaporation i > <
ocean
ocean
© Girl Guides of Canada In cooperation with. Environment Canada
-------
'<£
>^
Thumb Coloring Fun
f use your Blue Thumb
\ to show you care
V. for water.
-------
Ensene su pulgar azul
para que vean que sabe
de conservar agua.
-------
Blue Thumb
A Blue Thumb is to water what a green thumb is to plants.
Both are about having a hand in making something better.
What's good for water is conserving it — use only
what you need; protecting it from pollution — don't
put trash where it can get into water; and getting
involved — participate in community clean-up and
recycling programs
Marathon
The Blue Thumb Marathon challenges you to
decide whether certain actions are good or bad
for water. Begin at "Start" and stop at each
activity. Check either the "G" box, if the action
is good for water or the "B" box, if the action
is bad for water.
The objective of the competition is to get the
best "time." Every right answer is worth five
seconds. Every wrong answer adds 10 seconds
to your score. A world-class marathoner
can complete the Blue Thumb Marathon in
55 seconds.
\
o
o
o
o
0
1 >:
Each right answer = 5 se
ORE
conds. Each wrong answer = 10 seconds.
o _
0-
O-
/ \
'II '3 '01 '3 '6 '3 '8 '3 '£ '3 '9 '9 '5 '3 'fr '3 '£ '3 'Z '9
© Copyright 1996 Blue Thumb Alliance. Permission to use these materials for non-commercial purposes is granted to organizations
and members of organizations who provide financial support to the Blue Thumb Project. Others must request permission.'
Blue Thumb Project, c/o AWWA, 6666 W. Quincy Ave., Denver, Co 80235
-------
Exercise your Blue Thumb to create your own water colors.
Blue Thumb Project, % American Water Works Association, 6666 West Quiney Awe., Denver,, CO SQ235
-------
Drinking Water
Activities: 4-7
i_
-------
Ground water is water underground in saturated zones beneath the land surface. Contrary to popula
belief, ground water does not form underground "rivers." It fills the pores and fractures in undergrount
materials such as sand, gravel, and other rock.' If ground water flows from rock materials or can be removet
by pumping from the saturated rock materials in useful amounts, the rock materials are called aquifers
Ground water moves slowly, typically at rates of 7 to 60 centimeters per day in an aquifer. As a result, wate
could remain in an aquifer for hundreds or thousands of years. Ground water is the source of about 4t
percent of water used for public supplies and about 38 percent of water used for agriculture in the Unitec
States.
One of the largest aquifers in the United States is the High Plains Aquifer. The aquifer is approximate!1
the size of California and is located under parts of South Dakota, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado
New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The High Plains Aquifer contains an estimated 4 quadrillion liters (•
with 15 zeros after it) of water.
DEFINITIONS
Aquifer
Crystalline Rock
Freshwater
Ground Water
Ground-Water Discharge
Ground-Water Recharge
Infiltration
Permeability
Public Supplies
Saturated Zone
Surface Water
Unsaturated Zone
Water Table
- An underground body of porous sand, gravel, or fractured rock filled with water and
capable of supplying useful quantities of water to a well or spring.
- Igneous or metamorphic rock consisting of relatively large mineral grains.
- Water that contains less than 1,000 milligrams per liter of dissolved solids.
- Water beneath the land surface in the saturated zone.
- The flow or pumping of water from an aquifer.
- The addition of water to an aquifer.
- Movement of water from the land surface into the soil.
- The capacity of porous rock for transmitting water.
- Water supplied for domestic, commercial, thermoelectric power, industrial, and
other public uses.
- Zone below the land surface where all the pores or fractures are filled with water.
- Water on the Earth's surface.
- The zone immediately below the land surface where the pores or fractures contain
both water and air.
- The top of the water surface in the saturated zone of an unconfined aquifer.
Permeability
For watejr to move in an aquifer, the pores between rock
materials and fractures in rock must be connected. If there is
a good connection among pore spaces and fractures, water
can move freely and we say that the rock is permeable. The
capacity of rock material to transmit water is called permeabil-
ity. Water moves through different materials at different rates
— faster through gravel, slower through sand, and much
slower through clay. Therefore, gravel is more permeable
than sand, which is more permeable than clay.
-------
Recharge Areas
Recharge is the addition of water to the ground-water system. The recharge of
freshwater begins as precipitation. Precipitation occurs in several forms, including
rain, snow, and hail, but only rain is displayed on the poster. Some of the rain
infiltrates into the soil. If the rate of the rainfall exceeds the rate of infiltration, surface
water will flow over the land surface to surface-water bodies such as rivers and
streams.
Water can infiltrate faster from the land surface into sandy soils than silty or clay soils.
Water infiltrates into the soil and the unsaturated zone. The unsaturated zone occurs
immediately below the land surface and contains both water and air in the pores and
fractures in the rock materials. Water moves, or percolates, down through the
unsaturated zone to the saturated zone. The saturated zone is where all the pores
or fractures in rock materials are filled with water. The top of the saturated zone is
called the water table.
Because surface-water and ground-water systems are connected, surface water
can recharge ground water. Aquifers can obtain water from such surface-water
bodies as reservoirs and streams when and where the water table is lower than the
surface-water body. Recharge areas usually are higher in elevation than discharge
areas.
Discharge Areas
Places where ground water flows from aquifers to springs, seeps, wetlands, ponds,
or streams are called ground-water discharge areas. Ground-water discharge to
these natural areas occurs when the water surface of the aquifer (water table on the
poster) is at or above the elevation of the discharge area (river and pond on the
poster). Surface-water and ground-water systems are interconnected. The flow of
most streams is sustained by ground water seeping into the stream. The water
surfaces of many ponds and wetlands are an extension of the local ground-water
table. Springs occur where ground water flows from an aquifer to the land surface.
s
Ground water can be brought to the land surface by pumping from a well. A well is
an opening that has been drilled or dug into an aquifer below the water table. Water
from the aquifer flows into this opening to replace water removed by pumping water
from the well. The water table slopes from areas of recharge to discharge areas like
rivers, ponds, wells, and springs.
-------
Ground-Water Movement
Introduction
Ground water must be able to move through underground materials at rates fast enough to supply useful
amounts of water to wells or springs in order for those materials to be classified as an aquifer. For water to move
in an aquifer, some of the pores and fractures must be connected to each other. Water moves through different
materials at different rates, faster through gravel, slower through sand, and even slower through clay. Gravels and
sands are possible aquifers; clays usually are not aquifers. The following activity demonstrates how different sizes
of rock materials that make up an aquifer affect water movement.
Objectives-Students will:
1. Identify several sources of rock materials that make up an aquifer.
2. Discuss how water moves through gravel, sand, and clay.
Materials
1. At least 10 students.
2. Large area to conduct activity.
Teacher Preparation
This activity can be conducted in the classroom, gymnasium, or outside the school building. If conducted in
the classroom, move all furniture to allow for sufficient room for the movement of students. This is a three-part
demonstration that may create some excitement.
Procedures
Select two or three students to be molecules of water. The remaining students will be rock materials.
1. Activity One: Water movement through gravel. The students represent gravel by holding arms out-
stretched, leaving a 15- to 30- centimeter (cm) space between their outstretched arms. Locate these
students in the center of the activity area. The students representing water molecules are to start on one
side of their "gravel" classmates and move through them, exiting on the other side. The water molecules
will move easily through the gravel.
-------
2. Activity Two: Water movement through sand.The students represent sand by extending arms, bending them
at the elbows and touching their waists with theirfingers. Locate these students in the center of the activity area,
spacing them approximately 15 cm apart. Once again, have the water molecules slowly make their way through
their "sand" classmates. The water molecules will experience some difficulty, but should still reach the other
side.
3. Activity Three: Water movement through clay. Students become clay particles by placing their arms straight
down the sides of their bodies and standing approximately 10 cm apart. Locate these students in the center
of the activity area. It will be a formidable task for water molecules to move through the clay. Without being
rough, the water molecules should slowly make their way through the clay. The water molecules may not be
able to move through the clay at all.
Interpretive Questions
1. Which one of the materials— gravel, sand, or clay—was the easiest for the water molecules to move through?
(Answer: Gravel, then sand, then clay.) Why? (Answer: Because there are larger spaces between the gravel
particles.)
2. If there were three rock units, one of gravel, one of sand, and one of clay, all containing the same quantity of
water, in which would you drill a well? (Answer: Gravel. Water moves easier through gravel than sand or clay.)
Extension
Obtain 250 milliliters (mL) of sand, 250 mL of pea-size gravel, 250 mL of clay, and three large funnels (top
diameter approximately 12 cm). Force a piece of cheesecloth into the top of the spout of each funnel. This will
prevent material from going through the funnel spout. Put each funnel into separate clear containers so that the
spout of the funnel is at least 5 cm above the bottom of the container. Pour the sand into the first funnel, pea-size
gravel into the second funnel, and the clay into the third funnel. Pour equal amounts of water (approximately 200
mL) onto the materials contained in the funnels. Select three students to pour the water, creating a permeability
race. Time how long it takes the water to flow through the materials. Record on a data sheet. Which material did
the water flow through the fastest? Why?
This activity was adapted from "Get the Ground Water Picture," National Project WET.
-------
HOW GROUND-WATER IS USED IN THE
UNITED STATES
Industrial
7%
Commercial
4%
Agricultural
68%
Domestic
15%
Total ground-water use in 1990, was 301,000 million liters per day.
Nationally, the largest use of ground water is Agricultural, followed by Domestic, Industrial, and Other Uses.
Agricultural use includes ground water for irrigating crops and watering livestock. The Other Uses category
includes ground-water use for mining and thermoelectric power. Only freshwater use is considered for this pie
chart.
How does your State's ground-water use compare to the national uses identified in the pie chart?
-------
Introduction
ACTIVITY
Recharge - Discharge
Recharge is the addition of water to an aquifer. Recharge can occur from precipitation or from surface-water
bodies such as lakes or streams. Water is lost from an aquifer through discharge. Water can be discharged from
an aquifer through wells and springs, and to surface-water bodies such as rivers, ponds, and wetlands. The
following activity is designed to demonstrate the recharge and discharge of water to a model aquifer.
Ofc/ecf/VeS-Students will:
1. Identify several sources of recharge for ground water.
2. Identify several sources of discharge for ground water.
3. Discuss how water moves from recharge to discharge areas.
4. Discuss the connection between surface water and ground water.
Materials
1. One clear container at least 15-cm wide x 22-cm long x 6-cm deep for each group. Possible containers include
clear plastic salad containers or clear baking pans.
2. Sufficient pea-size gravel to fill the container approximately 2/3 full.
3. Two 472-mL paper cups for each group.
4. One pump dispenser from soft-soap or hand-lotion containers for each group.
5. 472 ml_ of water.
6. Grease pencils, one for each group.
7. Twigs or small tree branches, to represent trees on the model (optional).
8. Colored powdered-drink mix or food coloring (optional).
Teacher Preparation
1. Display a copy of the poster titled "Ground Water: The Hidden Resource" on the classroom wall several days
prior to conducting this activity.
2. Using an ice pick or awl, punch 8 to 10 small holes in the bottom of one of the paper cups. When filled with water,
this cup will be used to simulate rain.
3. Fill the clear containers 2/3 full with pea-size gravel.
Procedure
»• Divide the class into small groups. Provide each group with one clear container filled 2/3 with pea-size gravel,
one 472-mL cup with holes punched in the bottom, one 472-mL cup with no holes, and one pump dispenser.
Students make models to represent hills and
a valley. One student from each group fills
the 472-mL cup without holes in the bottom
with water. Each group makes a valley in the
center of the model by pushing gravel to the
farthest opposite ends of the container so the
valley extends completely across the width of
the container. About 2 cm of pea-sized
gravel remains in the bottom of the valley.
TWI&S
-------
<*• Explain to the students that the gravel mounds on both sides of the container represent hills with a valley in
between. The students can place twigs or small branches on the hills to represent trees. Instruct a student to
hold the 472-mL cup with holes over the model. Then add 472 ml_ of water to this cup. Tell the students that
they are simulating rain. Have the students observe how the water infiltrates into the gravel and becomes
ground water.
*• Introduce the word recharge—the addition of waterto the ground-water system. Observe that water is standing
in the valley. Have the students use a grease pencil to draw a line identifying the water level in the container.
The line should traverse the entire model, identifying the water level under the hills and in the valley. There will
be a pond in the valley.
*• Explain that they have just identified the top of the ground water in their model. The top of the ground water
is called the water table. Discuss with the students how the ground water becomes a pond in the valley. This
is because the water table is higher than the land surface (gravel) in the valley.
*• Have the students insert the pump into one of the hills on the side of the valley, pushing the bottom down to
the ground water. Allow each of the students in the group to press the pump 20-30 times after the water in the
pump has begun to flow. Catch the water in the paper cup with no holes in the bottom. After each student takes
a turn pumping, instruct them to observe the location of the water table in relation to the grease-pencil line.
Where did the water go? What happened to the pond? Discuss discharge, the removal of water from the
ground. Discuss the effect of ground-water pumping on streams and lakes.
Interpretive Questions
1. Where does ground water come from?
Answer: Precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, etc.) Also, if the water table is at or below the surface of the water in a
stream or pond, water can move from the stream or pond to recharge the ground-water system.
2. What would happen in the students' neighborhood (name a local stream or pond) if a well was drilled near that
stream or pond and enough water pumped to lower the water table around the stream or pond?
Answer: Some water from the stream or pond would be removed by the pump through the well. If enough water
is removed, a pond or small stream could go dry.
Extension
Sprinkle a colored powdered-drink mix or food coloring on top of one of the hills and repeat the above activity
by having it rain on the model. Discuss the movement of "pollution" from the hill to the ground water to the lake.
-------
EPA ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
ROLE OF PLANTS IN WATER FILTRATION
GRADE LEVEL: 4-7
BACKGROUND: Experiments can be done to show how a plume of dissolved
materials can move through soil and enter a groundwater aquifer. But soil and plants
have something of a dual role in this process. Depending on whether materials are
dissolved or suspended in the water, soils and plant roots can remove some or all of
this material as the water moves down through soil.
Most suspended materials will adhere to the soil. These may then be broken down and
used as food by the plants. Dissolved nutrients, such as nitrogen or phosphorus,
chemically bond with some types of soil particles. They are then taken up by plants,
thus removing them from the soil before they can enter an aquifer. For the plants,
these elements are food, for an aquifer, they are pollution.
Not all materials are absorbed by plants and not all water pollutants are food for plants.
However, sediments from eroding soil, nutrients in human and animal wastes, and
some components of household wastewater ("graywater") are excellent plant nutrients.
Plants also use different nutrients at different rates, so that the amount of material they
take up will depend on how much is dissolved in the water and how fast the water
moves through.
This experiment is a very simplified way to show whether plants will take up certain
kinds of materials from water moving relatively quickly through their root systems.
OBJECTIVE: To understand the role of plants in filtering the water moving through a
watershed.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
• Six potted plants, with pots roughly six to eight inches in diameter, and holes in the
bottom. These plants need to moderately dry, as if they had not been watered for a
couple days. Plants with saturated soil will not absorb water, and very dry plants will
absorb it all.
• Six clear containers, such as cups, which will support the plants and allow drainage
to be viewed. You will need separate plants and cups for each of the materials in
the water.
• Soil from outside (anywhere). The best soil is loamy, with smaller particles than
sand.
• Unsweetened powdered drink mix, preferably grape or cherry for color.
• Vegetable oil.
• One or two different household cleaners (such as Comet/Ajax and Dish or Laundry
soap).
One should be liquid and the other powder.
-------
PREPARATION: Set up the potted plants, each in its own cup. Slowly pour six to eight
ounces of clean water through the pot, and check the percolation rate through the pot.
Loosen or tighten the soil so that water percolates at about one ounce per minute. The
rate should be fast enough to prevent long waiting periods, but slow enough not to carry
very much soil through the pot.
PROCEDURE:
1. Place the potted plants into the top of their cups. Pour clean water slowly through
one of the pots and watch it percolate through the bottom of the pot. The water should
look as clean as what was poured.
2. Add a gram or so of soil to 6-8 ounces of water and stir so that the soil is well
suspended and distributed in the water. Pour slowly into another flower pot. The water
percolating through should look much cleaner than the dirty water poured.
3. Add about one ounce of vegetable oil to 6-8 ounces of water, stir (they won't mix
completely) and pour into a third pot. See if the vegetable oil percolates through or is
caught up by the plant roots.
4. Add some powdered drink mix to 6-8 oz. of water and pour through a fourth pot.
See if the water percolating through retains the color.
5. Add some powdered cleanser to 6-8 oz. of water and pour through a fifth pot. Is the
cleanser retained in the soil?
6. Add some liquid soap to the water (an ounce or so in 6-8 oz. water). Does the soap
percolate through the soil?
7. Using the "contaminated" plants, pour some clean water at the same rate through
each one (simulating a rain shower). Is more of the "pollutant" rinsed away from the soil
by the clean water?
FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS:
1. In what ways can plants and soil benefit drinking water quality?
2. We saw plants and soil remove some types of impurities from water. How^might the
plants remove larger quantities?
3. Can plants and soil remove any type of impurity from water?
4. What other organisms in the soil-plant system might aid the uptake of water
pollutants?
5. What is the role of rainwater moving through contaminated soil?
-------
EPA ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
BUILD YOUR OWN AQUIFER
BACKGROUND:
Many communities obtain their drinking water from underground sources called aquifers.
Water suppliers or utility officials drill wells through soil and rock into aquifers to supply the
public with drinking water. Homeowners who cannot obtain drinking water from a public water
supply have private wells that tap the groundwater supply. Unfortunately, groundwater can
become contaminated by improper use or disposal of harmful chemicals such as lawn care
products and household cleaners. These chemicals can percolate down through the soil and
rock into an aquifer—and eventually into the wells. Such contamination can pose a significant
threat to human health. The measures that must be taken by well owners and operators to
either protect or clean up contaminated aquifers are quite costly.
NOTE: This demonstration should follow a class discussion on potential sources of pollution to
drinking water supplies.
OBJECTIVE: To illustrate how water is stored in an aquifer, how groundwater can become
contaminated, and how this contamination ends up in the drinking water well. Ultimately,
students should get a clear understanding that what happens above the ground can potentially
end up in the drinking water supply below the ground.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
1 6" x 8" clear plastic container that is at least 6-8" deep (shoebox or small aquarium)
1 Ib. of modeling clay or floral clay
2 Ibs. of white play sand
2 Ibs. of aquarium gravel (natural color if possible) or small pebbles
(Hint: As many small rocks may have a powdery residue on them, you may wish to rinse
and dry them on a clean towel prior to use. It is best if they do not make the water cloudy.)
1 drinking water straw
1 plastic spray bottle (be sure the stem that extends into the bottle is clear)
1 small piece (3" x 5") of green felt
1/4 cup of powdered cocoa
Red food coloring
1 bucket of clean water and a small cup to dip water from bucket
Scotch tape
PROCEDURE:
1. To one side of the container, place the drinking water straw, allowing approximately 1/8"
clearance with the bottom of the container. Fasten the straw directly against the long side of
the container with a piece of tape. Explain to the class that this will represent two separate well
functions later in the presentation (if not placed at this time, sand will clog the opening).
-------
2. Pour a layer of white sand completely covering the bottom of the clear plastic container,
making it approximately 1V* deep. Pour water into the sand, wetting it completely, but there
should be no standing water on top of the sand. Let students see how the water is absorbed in
the sand, but remains around the sand particles as it is stored in the ground and ultimately in
the aquifer.
3. Flatten the modeling clay (like a pancake) and cover half of the sand with the clay (try to
press the clay into the three sides of the container in the area covered). The clay represents a
"confining layer" that keeps water from passing through it. Pour a small amount of water onto
the clay. Let the students see how the water remains on top of the clay, only flowing into the
sand below in areas that the clay does not cover.
4. Use the aquarium rocks to form the next layer of earth. Place the rocks over the sand and
clay, covering the entire container. To one side of the container, slope the rocks, forming a
high hill and valley (see illustration below). Now pour water into your aquifer until the water in
the valley is even with your hill. Let students see the water around the rocks that is stored in
the aquifer. They will also notice a "surface" supply of water (a small lake) has formed. This
will give students a view of the ground and surface water supplies, both of which can be used
for drinking water purposes.
5. Next, place the small piece of green felt on top of the hill. If possible, use a little clay to
securely fasten it to the sides of the container it reaches.
6. Sprinkle some of the cocoa on top of the hill, explaining to students that the cocoa
represents improper use of things like lawn chemicals or fertilizers.
7. Put a few drops of the food coloring into the straw, explaining to students that people often
use old wells to dispose of farm chemicals, trash, and used motor oils. Students will see that it
colors the sand in the bottom of the container. This is one way that pollution can spread
through the aquifer over time.
8. Fill the spray bottle with water. Make it rain on top of the hill and over the aquifer. Quickly
students will see the cocoa (pesticide/fertilizer) seep down through the felt and also wash into
the surface water supply.
9. Take another look at the well you contaminated. The pollution has probably spread farther.
Remove the top of the spray bottle and insert the stem into the straw. Depress the trigger to
pull up the water from the well. (Water will be colored and "polluted.") Explain that this is the
same water that a drinking water well would draw for them to drink.
STRAW
FELT.
ROCKS"^
CLAY
SAND k
•W-
oocoooo oiottQo
0ooc»ooo ooe
SIDE VIEW OF
CONTAINDER
-------
TEACHER/
STUDENT
GUIDE
G'Ve drin/C'ng, U/ajfer 3
Building a Model Aquifer
Background
Although nearly half of all Americans get their drinking
water from wells, many people have never heard of
ground water. Use of ground water supplies is increasing
at twice the rate of surface supplies, and the trend is
expected to continue. Until the late 1970's, it was widely
believed that ground water was protected from
contamination by the natural filtering effect of the many
layers of soil, sand, gravel and rocks. We now know that
pollutants can travel through all these layers. Incidents of
serious contamination have been reported in every state in
the nation.
Objective
The student will use a model of an aquifer to describe how
ground water flows through an aquifer, how ground water
can become contaminated, and why it is so difficult to
clean contaminated ground water.
Teacher Suggestions
This model can be a very flexible tool which will allow
students to simply study groundwater flow, look at how
well placement affects yield, or examine how ground
water is vulnerable to contaminatioa
Depending on resources, the teacher may lead groups of
four or five students in building their own models as
described below, or the teacher may build a single, larger
(the longer the better) version for demonstration. If
students are able to make their own models, then it would
create less traffic and crowding if all materials for students
1 •- 4 are placed at different stations around the room. Then
it will be easier for each group to pick up what they need
and take it back to their own work area.
Begin by orienting the students to how the earth looks
below the surface, demonstrating a working model and
relating its parts to a diagram of the hydrogeologic cycle.
Using unassembled materials, go over the basic assembly
plan illustrated in Steps 1 - 9 oh the back, briefly showing
students how to put the model together. Then divide
students into groups to build their own model.
Student Activities - Model Assembly
For a group having four or five students, responsibilities
may be divided among students as below.
Station/student 1 - get two plexiglass panels (one with
hole in it), duct tape, and ruler and begin assembling
model as shown in steps 1 to 4 on back.
List of Materials (per model)
1 Two plexiglass panels-10" x 20".
In one panel, drill a 3/8" hole located 5" from
top and 5" from the edge.
2 Duct Tape- 2-1/2" wide loll
3 Lightweight felt-10" x 20" sheet rolled into tube
4 Sand - about 3 quarts , :
5 Pea gravel - about 2 quarts
6 Foam weatherstrip (Open-cell) 3/4" wide,
with or without adhesive backing
7 Two 6" pcs. tubing -1/2" inner diameter (LD.J
8 One 6" pc. tubing - 1/2" outer diameter (O-DJl <
9 Clear drinking straws or glass tubing •
lORuler
11 Two dish soap bottles with bottom cut out
12 Food coloring-at least three colors •
13 Syringe or tap aspirator
14 Cups- 4 oz. paper and large (16oz) plastic
-------
Station/student 2 - collect plastic soap bottles, tubing (1/2"
I.D. and 1/2" O.D.), foam strips, and syringe or other
aspirator. Force foam up about one inch into each of the
large (1/2" I.D.) pieces of tubing for use in step 5.
Station/student 3 - collect sand, gravel, felt sheet and
straws. Soak felt sheet in water, wring out, then roll the
sheet into a tight coil about 3/4" thick and 20" long. Use in
step 6.
Station/student 4 - First help Student 1 with assembly
steps 1 to 4, then get food coloring, water supply, cups.
Student 5 - Help with model assembly in steps 1 to 9.
Once the model is assembled, and water is flowing
through the sand, into the river valley and out of the
collector tube, do the activities described on back.
Investigations
1. Which wells have the most water in them? Raise the
water supply bottles as high as possible without pulling
out the tubing - what happens to the water level in each of
the wells and to the amount of water coming out of the
collector tube? Next, lower the bottles and observe what
happens. How does the height of the water supply relate
to water flow rate?
2. Pour out half of the water from the supply bottles, mark
the water level, then pour a 4 ounce cupful of water into
each bottle. Every few minutes, as the water reaches the
mark, pour in another cupful of water. Also measure the
total amount of water added during the time periods before
the dye appears in water from the collector tube and after
the dye is no longer visible in water from this tube.
3. At the same time, place four drops of food coloring on
the sand at Point A shown in the assembly diagram for
Steps 7 - 9. On the plexiglass, mark the point with a water
soluble marker. Every two minutes, make a mark on the
plexiglass at the front edge of the dye as it moves through
the sand. Measure the distance between the marks and
record the distance moved per unit time.
4. Ask your teacher to show you how to do a 10-tube
seri.es of 1:10 dilutions of food color in water. Number
each tube 1 to 10. Use this series as a guide for estimating
the concentration of dye in the water coming out of the
collector tube. After the dye you added in Step 3 above
begins to appear in the water from the collection tube,
collect a sample in a test tube every two minutes. Compare
the color of this sample with each tube in the dilution
series and record the number of the tube which is nearest
in color of your sample. This will be the concentration of
your sample.
5. Graph your data, plotting time on the x-axis and dye
movement on the y-axis. Also plot time vs. concentration
after dye appears in water coming out of the collector tube.
What does your data tell you about how long it takes for
ground water to get clean after being contaminated?
Clean Up
First, empty any water in the water supply bottles into the
model and remove bottles and tubing. Then, place screen
over a bucket and flush sand and gravel onto screen - use
a screen with a mesh large enough to allow sand to sift
through but small enough to catch the gravel. Rinse out
foam strips and felt roll.
Start with strip of duct tape about 2"
longer than panel. Lay tape on table
sticky side up. Place first panel on tape
with 1/2" overlap. Using ruler as
guide, lower edge of second
panel onto tape about 3/4"
Jrom edge of first panel.
Once panels are
aligned, lay second
panel flat and press
down onto tape to make
a good seal.
. Use another strip of tape on
lie top surfaces, to
reinforce the
joint.
Push a long straw between felt and panel,
down into to gravel, leaving the upper end
of straw near the top of the box.
(g) Pour in masonry sand and make a valley to
uncover the hole in the panel. Cover sand
with layer of gravel and pack slightly to
help hold the valley's shape. Attach
1/2" ID tubing to bottle, invert
and fill with water.
Tilt the box and pour in a pea
gravel layer sloping from about
a quarter of the way up one side
and down to the bottom on the other.
Roll felt sheet into a 3/4" thick rope
long enough to completely cover
the gravel. Tap down with a ruler,
until felt is packed tigjit against
both panels.
Center the joined panels on a third
strip of tape long enough to cover the base and
two sides of the panels. Make a good seal.
Cut two 10" strips of foam and stuff into
1/2" ID tubing. Lift the panels
upright, place foam strips between
panels, adhesive side out, and pull
the ends of the tape up
to cover
the sides.
Press foam
into tape.
Shove 1/2" OD tubing into
hole in panel. Water should trickle
through foam, into sand and fill river
at bottom of valley, then flow
out of this tube. Have a few
paper cups to collect
this flow.
-------
Blue Thumb Water Treatment Plant
Follow a drop of water from the source through the treatment process.
Water may be treated differently in different communities depending on
the quality of the water which enters the plant. Sroundwater is located under-
ground and typically requires less treatment than water from lakes, rivers, and
streams.
Coagulation removes dirt and other particles suspended in water. Alum and other chemicals
are added to water to form tiny sticky particles called "floe" which attract the dirt particles.
The combined weight of the dirt and the alum (floe) become heavy enough to sink to the
bottom during sedimentation. I I
Sedimentation:
The heavy
particles (floe)
settle to the
bottom and
the clear
water m
Disinfection: A small amount of chlorine is added
or some other disinfection method is used to kill
any bacteria or microorganisims that may be in
the water.
Storage:
Water is
placed in a
closed tank
or reservoir
in order for
disinfection
to take place.
The water then
flows through
pipes to
homes and
businesses in
the community.
-------
Shower
Take shorter showers.
Install a low-flow
shower head.
Faucet
Fix leaky faucets.
Bath Tub
Taking a shallow bath
uses less water than
taking a shower.
Rain
Save rain water to
water plants.
Toothbrush
Turn off the water
when you brush your
teeth and save
2 U.S. gallons or about
8 liters of water.
Lawn Sprinkler
Water the lawn before
10 a.m. and never
when if s windy.
Adjust sprinklers to
water only the lawn,
never the street,
sidewalk or house.
Hands
Turn off the water
when you wash your
hands and save one
U.S. gallon or 3.8 liters
of water. Everyone has
a Blue Thumb.
Everyone needs to lend a
hand to keep our water
resources fit and healthy.
Water Pitcher
Fill a pitcher with water
and put it in the fridge,
instead of running
the water every time
you want a drink.
Fish Tank
When changing the
water in a fish tank,
save it and water
plants with it.
Car
Use a bucket of water,
soap and a hose with
a shut-off nozzle to
wash the car.
Take used motor oil
and old car batteries
to an automotive
recycling center.
Trash
Don't use the toilet
for a trash can.
2-7 U.S. gallons or
about 8-27 liters
of water are needed
every time you flush
the toilet.
Cans of Paint
Never pour down
the drain or throw in
the trash.
Take your leftover paint
to a community group
that can use it or to a
hazardous waste
collection center.
Dishwasher
Run the dishwasher
only when full. Partial
loads use the same
amount of water as
full loads.
Clothes Washer
If your washing machine
doesn't have settings
for different load sizes,
always wash full loads.
Fruits & Vegetables
Fill a pan of water and
use it to wash fruits and
vegetables instead of
letting the water run.
Wind
Never water your lawn
when if s windy.
Garden
Use garden pesticides
sparingly.
Follow package directions
carefully.
Try natural means of
controlling gardens pests
instead of pesticides.
River
Never throw trash or
garbage in a river, lake,
stream or canal.
Pick up trash or garbage
around a river, lake,
stream or canal.
Washing Dishes
Washing dishes by hand
often uses more water
than using a dishwasher,
especially if you let the
water run.
Garden Hose
Put a shut-off nozzle
on your hose to
control the flow.
Driveway
Use a broom to clean
the driveway or sidewalk
instead of a hose.
Household Batteries
Never throw in the trash.
They contain lead,
mercury, and cadmium.
Take to a hazardous
household waste .
collection center.
Hazardous
Household Products
Never pour down the
drain, put on the ground
or toss in the trash.
Take potential water
polluters such as oven
cleaners, mothballs, paint
strippers and bug sprays
to a hazardous household
waste collection center.
Bugs
Use a fly swatter
instead of bug spray.
-------
student activity
Bluie TtujnmJb ThinkiTiigr
Almost 80 percent of the earth's
surface ^ is covered with, water,
but less that 1 percent is fresh
water that we can actually use'
for drinking, irrigating crops,
recreation, industrial uses, and
other purposes. 99% of the earth's
water^/is in oceans or frozen
in polar ice caps. That's why
it is very important that we
conserve and protect our fresh
water supplies.
CB
You can play a part in taking care
of our water resources. Spread
the word that taking shorter show-
ers or lowering the level of water
in your bath can help to save
water. Tell your family that bat-
teries should not be thrown into
the trash because they contain
harmful heavy metals. At the
landfill, the batteries can corrode
and release cadmium, and mercury
that can leach into water and pol-
lute it.
Knowing about water clears up
Create sentences about water that
start with the letter indicated.
Then "spread the word for water"
and share your statements with
other students, family members,
and friends.
For more information on conserv-
ing and protecting our water
resources, join the Blue Thumb
Club. Write to Blue Thumb Club
American Water Works Association
Public Affairs Department
6666 W. Quincy Ave.
Denver, CO 80235
CL
CS
CM
C^
CH
Cu
CM
CB
National Drinking Water Week Headquarters, AWWA Public Affairs,
6666 West Quincy Ave., Denver, CO 80S36, (303) 794-7711.
-------
Y 0 U T H
ACTIVITY
Blue Thumbs Count
A Blue Thumb is to water what a green thumb is to plants. Both are about making
something better. When you act in ways that have a positive effect on drinking
water, you are using your Blue Thumb. Drinking water counts on you to use your
Blue Thumb at home,
at school and every-
where in between.
Complete the puzzle
to discover what
really counts when it
comes to conserving
and protecting our
water resources.
Across
2. Use this to show you care for
water (2 words).
7. Always run your tap until
the water is before
drinking it.
9. Save leftover hobby supplies,
like this, and dispose of them
at a special collection center.
11. Water that turns to vapor and
rises to the sky.
12. Use this to wash your bike
rather than let the hose run.
13. Put a nozzle on this to save
water.
14. All living things water.
16. Motor
should be taken to
a service station for recycling.
18. Most people get their water from
a public water utility; but some
people use wells.
20. Water occurs in states:
solid, liquid and gas.
21. You can fill this with water and
put it in your refrigerator to
keep water cold.
Down
1. Best time of the day to water
the lawn or flowers.
3. Don't water this when you
expect it to rain.
4. Turn this off while you brush
your teeth.
5. Room in your house that uses
the most water.
6. Place where water is cleaned and
treated for drinking (2 words).
8. Consume a beverage, like water.
10. Inspect all pipes and toilets
for these.
12. Aquifers are ground.
15< At 32 degrees Fahrenheit/
0 degrees Celsius, water
does this.
17. 80% of the Earth's surface is
covered with this.
-------
BLUETHUMB
-------
YOUTH
ACTIVITY
Water Contamination Experiment
Materials Needed
• Cup for each student
• 6 inches (150 millimeters) of nylon net
per student
• Plastic tie for each student
• One eyedropper for every three students
• One bottle of vegetable-oil food dye (red,
green or blue) for every three students
• Enough water to fill each student's cup
• Enough potting soil to fill each student's cup
• Pencil for each student
Activity Directions
Students should wrap the nylon
around their pencil and secure
it with a plastic tie. Put the
nylon-wrapped pencil in the middle
of the cup, so it can act as a "well."
Carefully place the soil in the cup
around the nylon-wrapped pencil.
Finally, untie the plastic tie
and slip the pencil
out of the soil (allowing
the nylon to remain in
the hole) and pour
water into the cup.
After a few minutes, the water
should appear in the opening of the
well. Students should remove water
with the eyedropper and see that it is
clear in color. After returning
the water to the well,
students can add a drop
of food dye to the
surrounding soil to
J£ re
represent contamination. After a few
minutes, remove water again with
the eyedropper. This time the water
should have color in it from the dye.
Questions to Expand Students' Thinking
• What would happen to the lakes and
rivers that are fed by water from this
aquifer?
• What types of things in your household,
if poured on the ground, might
contaminate drinking water?
• Should you throw toxic household
items in the trash?
Count on Blue Thumb for More
If your class or youth group wants to
learn more about how drinking water
counts on everyone to use their Blue
Thumbs to protect our water resources,
visit our Web site:
http://www.awwa.org/bluethum.htm
or write to:
Blue Thumb Club
American Water Works Association
6666 West Quincy Avenue
Denver, CO 80235
(303) 794-7711, ext. 6284
GIVE E?RINKING WATERA HAND.
Activity source:'Intermediate Te 3DX, American Water Works Association
-------
YOUTH
ACTIVITY
Water Contamination Experiment
The following experiment is designed to help young
people understand how drinking water counts
on them to prevent water pollution.
Objective Young people will create a miniature well so they
can observe the effects of groundwater contamination.
Taxonomy Level Comprehension
Time Needed 30 minutes
Teacher's Notes
Approximately 53 percent of the
population in the United States gets
its water from underground aquifers.
An aquifer is a geological (created by
rocks) formation containing water.
Like the holes in a sponge, an aquifer
has openings or pores that can store
water. Water for drinking is drawn up
to the surface by a well or spring.
The world's largest aquifer is the
Ogallala Aquifer, which extends from
Nebraska to Texas.
Since water seeps down through
soil into the aquifer, the soil filters
the water. But, many activities
threaten the safety of this source of
drinking water. Gasoline and other
6
6
harmful liquids have been allowed
to leak from underground storage
tanks into the groundwater supply.
Pollutants can seep into groundwater
from poorly constructed landfills or
septic systems. Groundwater can also
be polluted by runoff from fertilized
fieLds or livestock areas. Homeowners
unknowingly contribute to ground-
water contamination by dumping
toxic chemicals down the drain or
pouring them on the ground.
-------
CLASSROOM
ACTIVITY:
CONSERVATION
The following activity is offered to help students under-
stand how they can give drinking-water a hand.
Objective
Students will leam how much water can be wasted from
a leaky faucet.
Taxonomy Level
Application
Time Needed
20 minutes of activity. One night to i
bucket.
Teachers' Notes
An average leaky bathroom or kitchen faucet can waste
up to 2000 gallons of water a year. The leaking faucet can
usually be repaired by replacing a washer (a rubber seal)
that fits over the pipe. If every household in America had
a faucet that dripped once each second, we would
waste 928 million gallons a day or enough water to fill
an eight ounce glass almost 7.5 billion times.
Materials Needed
Bucket
Cup
Faucet and sink that is connected to water
Tape
Markers
Activity Directions
Have the students get a bucket and have them put one
cup of water in the bucket. Then, on the outside of the
bucket, have the students mark on a piece of tape the
level of water for one cup. Next, have them mark the level
for two to eight cups of water. Empty the bucket.
Now place the bucket under a faucet and explain that you
are going to leave the faucet dripping for the rest of the
day, just the way a leaky faucet might drip. Ask the class
to give an estimate of how many cups of water you will
waste by doing this experiment. Have the students put
their estimates on pieces of tape and attach to the oppo-
site side of the bucket. Do not come back to look at their
estimates. This exercise is designed to allow them to feel
comfortable doing mathematical estimates.
Then, turn on the faucet just enough to let it drip. At the
end of the day, or the next day, have the students find out
how many cups of water are in the bucket.
Questions to Expand Students' Thinking
What activities do you do in your home that waste water?
How much water would have been wasted if you had let
the faucet drip over the weekend? Over summer vacation?
How can we best use the water we have collected in the
bucket, rather than pouring it down the drain?
Source-. Water's Masic, Mary Haberman, AWWA, 1991, Catalos 70060DX,
American Water Works Association, 6666 West Quincy Avenue, Denver, CO 80235
-------
* TVtnt
Most people in North America get their water
from a public water utility. Public utilities are
companies or government agencies that supply
needs such as electricity, gas, or water to the
public. Water utilities get their water from
rivers, lakes, reservoirs, or underground
aquifers. Often, the water must be treated to
make it safe to drink.
We reuse the same water over and over and it
can become polluted by people and industry.
Even deep underground aquifers can be
polluted from the surface. For example, many
household items, such as car wax, spot
remover, or floor polish, should not be poured
down the drain or thrown out in the trash.
Even lawn chemicals and other garden toxins
used outdoors can contaminate water sources
by running off the land into storm drains.
And water can end up in lakes and rivers.
Let's take care of our water resources. Use
your "Blue Thumb" to conserve water, protect
it, and get involved.
New Vocabulary Words:
water sources - bodies of water such as lakes,
rivers, reservoirs, and underground aquifers
from, which we draw water for drinking
treatment - a series of chemical and physical
processes to remove dissolved and suspended
solids from raw water to produce safe water
to drink
contaminate - to make unsafe for drinking
pesticide - a chemical used to kill pests
hazardous - dangerous or harmful
i;*-***"
(circle each one)
nature
drink
toxic
fertilizer
paint
gasoline
clean
treatment
tap
protect
water sources
recycle
pesticide
oil
batteries
contaminate
hazardous
wells
leaks
pollute
safe
w
L
H
C
0
N
T
A
M
1
N
A
T
E
P
G
E
A
Z
P
Y
A
E
F
A
S
M
B
F
D
A
K
L
B
T
A
P
H
A
Z
A
R
D
0
U
S
T
U
L
0
R
E
C
Y
C
L
E
1
P
1
0
L
B
E
S
T
E
R
R
J
P
K
D
X
A
L
D
M
A
F
D
P
A
1
F
S
Z
T
0
X
1
C
R
0
T
N
M
0
T
C
E
T
0
R
P
N
N
F
1
H
T
A
P
L
M
B
N
M
C
U
E
W
T
S
N
J
E
T
Q
L
E
C
L
E
A
N
R
G
S
M
K
L
R
U
S
U
N
U
K
H
L
T
B
C
L
0
T
A
1
R
V
T
T
E
D
1
C
1
T
S
E
P
E
M
E
E
F
E
R
T
1
L
1
Z
E
R
V
S
S
R
S
L
-------
La mayoria de la poblacion de america del norte
obtiene su agua de una agenda publica. Estas
agendas publicas son companias o departa-
mentos del gobierno que suplen ciertas
necesidades como agua, gas y electricidad al
publico. Estas agendas obtienen el agua de
rios, lagos y pozos. Generalmente el agua
tiene que ser tratada (para limpiarla) para
que sea potable.
Todos podemos usar El Pulgar Azul para
proteger este recurso natural. Nosotros
usamos el agua mas de una vez, pero el agua
se puede contaminar por nuestro mal uso y
el de la industria. Aun las fuentes de agua
subterraneas mas profimdas se pueden
contaminar con acciones en la superficie. Por
ejemplo: muchos productos caseros como la
cera de automoviles, quitador de manchas o
pulimentos para el piso no deben de ser
descartados en el desague de la casa ni se -
deben de botar a la basura. Los productos
quimicos para el jardin y otros productos
toxicos usados fuera de la casa pueden
contaminar el agua que tomamos si son
llevados por la Iluvia la calle y de ahi a formar
parte del agua subterranea o de rios o lagos.
Mantengamos presente todos los dias El Pulgar
Azul y conservemos el agua como un recurso
natural esencial.
,ȣ*+*"
alabra^f
(dibuje un circulo alrededor de cada una
despues de encoutrarla)
(ipuede encontrar mas? jsi hay! por lo
menos 14 mas)
contaminar
toxico
pintura
pozos
gasolina
cera
salideros
baterias
bano
fertilizantes
abono
agua
natural
tomar
quimicos
flientes
reciclar
El Pulgar Azul
s
F
U
E
N
T
E
S
A
S
0
J
1
H
A
1
E
A
R
A
N
1
M
A
T
N
0
C
1
E
S
R
M
A
S
Q
0
L
M
A
S
L
R
L
J
E
T
P
U
M
E
N
0
S
E
B
E
O
0
C
E
1
G
A
S
0
L
1
N
A
T
C
S
C
M
N
L
F
P
N
P
R
R
ISI
A
1
E
1
1
T
0
1
A
0
U
R
A
0
B
X
C
T
U
U
L
N
Z
B
R
A
L
B
P
0
Z
0
s
R
A
A
R
A
A
M
C
U
S
T
U
Y
0
A
M
T
G
E
N
O
1
E
L
1
M
P
1
A
B
U
E
N
0
T
C
N
E H C
L V A
P E 1
U C C
L L U
G U S
ADA
R A L
A R 1
Z U D
U L E
L A R
E R 0
OSS
-------
Jut the letters in the right order to complete a Blue Thumb thought!
All living things need.
to live.
tawer
When water evaporates, it travels into the air and becomes part of a.
dlocu
Less than 1% of all the water on earth is.
water.
We
ikrdn
Check for leaks and save hundreds of.
You'll save water by taking a quick
s e f r h
. water in the liquid form.
glloans
.of water a day.
bowser
Wash bikes and cars with a.
Ask your
mf aiy 1
kecbut
_ to look for ways to save water.
. and sponge instead of a running hose.
ow much water do we use in a day?
^
Taking a bath or shower 15-30 gallons
Watering the lawn 180 gallons
Washing the dishes
Washing clothes
Flushing the toilet
Brushing teeth
Drinking
15-60 gallons
30 gallons
4-7 gallons
1 gallon
1/2 gallon
-------
'onga las letras en orden y complete un pensamiento Pulgar Azul.
Todo lo que vive necesita.
. para vivir.
GAUA
Si el agua se evapora y escapa a la atmosfera se convierte en.
Menos del 1% de toda el agua en la tierra es agua.
SBUNE
L D U E C
Nosotros tomamos agua que es un.
QLIUODI
Cerrando los salideros se pueden ahorrar cientos de _
Ayude a ahorrar agua tomando una.
HACDU
GLNOESA
. rapida.
. de agua.
Lava los carros y bicicletas usando una
Pidale a su
FILIAMA
BTEAUC
que lo ayude a ahorrar agua.
. y una esponja.
cantidad de agua usamos al dia?
Banarnos
Regar la grama
Lavar platos
Lavar ropa
Tomar agua
Lavar los dientes
15 aSOgalones
ISOgalones
15 a60galones
30 galones
1/2 galon
1 galon
-------
Drinking Water
Activities: 8-12
-------
SOURCE WATER PROTECTION:
Surface Water Sources
OBJECTIVES
The student will do the following:
1. Identify sources of contamination to water.
2. Describe management methods to protect water
supply sources.
3. Develop a plan to improve watershed
management.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
SUBJECTS:
Science (Ecology, Physical
Science), Social Studies
(Economics, Government)
TIME:
2 class periods
field trips
MATERIALS:
student sheets
bus for field trip
writing materials
Many towns and cities obtain their drinking water from a nearby river, lake or reservoir. The quality
of this source water is influenced by the quality of streams flowing into it, the land uses and activities
conducted near it, and any air deposition that might occur.
EPA's Source Water Protection (SWP) Program was established to help states and communities
protect their drinking water supply sources. Surface source water protection is a 3-step process
involving: delineating areas contributing water to a surface water intake, identifying potential
contaminant sources that may threaten the water supply, and protecting the supply using a
combination of watershed management strategies for specific communities or watersheds. (Since
water does not flow only within politically-established boundaries, some strategies may extend
beyond these boundaries and address the entire watershed.)
Watershed management strategies incorporate broad concepts such as land use control and/or
management, best management practices, and pollution prevention. They emphasize prevention of
both point source and nonpoint source contamination. Specific watershed management strategies
may include the Mowing or others: protection of inland wetlands that serve as filters for pollutants,
appropriate forestry management practices, erosion controls, control of adjacent zoning and
urbanization, creation of buffer zones along reservoir edges, reservoir access and activity control, and
community education. Homeowners, businesses/farmers, and industries may also be encouraged to
use pollution prevention and best management practices to prevent surface water contamination.
Source: Water Sourcebook; Copies available by calling (770) 426-8936, Ext. 234
or visit www.griffin.peachnet.edu/waterwise/wwe.htm
-------
Terms
best management practices (BMPs): techniques that are determined to be currently effective,
practical means of preventing or reducing pollutants from point or nonpoint sources, in order
to protect water quality. BMPs include, but are not limited to structural and nonstructural
controls, operation and maintenance procedures, and other practices. Usually, BMPs are
applied as a system of practices rather than as a single practice.
buffer zone: an area between the water supply source and the possible contamination sources where
no contamination activities are likely to occur
pollution prevention: preventing the creation of pollutants or reducing the amount created at the
source of generation, as well as protecting natural resources through conservation or
increased efficiency in the use of energy, water, or other materials
Source Water Protection: process that involves delineating areas contributing water to a water well
or surface water intake; identifying potential contaminant sources that threaten the water
supply; and using management strategies to protect the source water from contamination.
Source water protection is applied to both surface water and groundwater supply sources.
watershed: land area from which water drains to a particular surface waterbody
zoning: to divide into areas determined by specific restrictions; any section or district in a city
restricted by law for a particular use
ADVANCE PREPARATION
1. Copy Student Sheets.
2. Arrange for field trips.
PROCEDURE
I. Setting the stage
A. Discuss Background Information with students.
B. Contact the local drinking water treatment plant and find out the water source
in the community.
-------
II. Activity
A. Schedule a visit to the water supply reservoir with a water system representative
and ask about source water protection methods that are used, including upstream
management methods in the watershed, If a field trip is not possible, have a water
system representative visit the class.
B. From local, state, or other sources, define the water supply watershed on a
topographic or other map and locate potential pollutant sources. (Use Student Sheet
to determine potential pollution problems.)
C. Visit each pollutant source, or a location downstream of each one, to determine
the type and extent of pollutants to the reservoir. (Students could be assigned
this as an out-of-class assignment and report to the class.)
D. Note any pollution prevention or best management practices in place or, where none
exist, make notes of recommendations (not just what is needed but how to do what
is needed).
E. Make a compilation of all notes from the class into a report on protection of the water
supply watershed. Include recommendations as to the location and type of pollution
prevention or best management practices used or needed, and other water quality
management steps which should be taken.
HI. Follow-up
Share compiled information or reports with local watershed managers and ask them to
comment on the class ideas.
IV. Extensions
Have students construct a solar evaporator using the materials you have provided or some
they may want to bring to class. They can follow the directions on the Student Sheet or try
their own design. Students should wash hands and dip a finger in salt solution and taste.
Place solar evaporators in a warm, sunny place for 24 hours. Taste water in beaker (glass)
using finger method after washing, and answer questions on Activity Student Sheet. Finally
discuss the findings.
-------
RESOURCES
Arms, Karen, Environmental Science. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., Austin, TX, 1996.
Chiras, Daniel D., Environmental Science, High School Edition, Addison-Wesley
Menlo Park, CA, 1989.
Cunningham, William P. and Barbara Woodworth Saigo, Environmental Science- A Global
Wm. C. Brown Publishers, Dubuque, IA, 1997. " ~
Nebel, Bernard J. and Richard T. Wright, Environmental Science- The Wav The World Works
4th Edition, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1993.
Roberts, Susan A. and S. K. Krishnaswaini, "Protecting the Source," Water Engineering
Management. Scranton Gillette Communication Inc., March 1982, p. 28.
-------
Student Sheet
Activities Harmful to Water Supply Reservoir
1. Unauthorized disposal of sludge, solid, septic and hazardous waste, dredge spoil
2. Erosion/sedimentation
3. Uncontrolled/illegal access
4. Atmospheric transfer of contaminants
5. Unauthorized/illegal impounding of upstream watercourses
6. Unauthorized use of pesticides
7. Accidental loss of hazardous materials from surface storage or transport
8. Discharges of animal wastes/agricultural runoff
9. Urban drainage
10. Point source discharges
-------
Student Sheet
Constructing a Solar Evaporator or Solar Still
1. Follow the illustration to set up your lab materials. The water level should be at least
an inch below the top of the beaker.
2. Be sure that your plastic completely covers the top bucket. The plastic should sag
enough when the weight is placed on It so that a coae shape is formed that points down to
the open beaker. Make sure that the plastic does not touch the mouth of the beaker.
3. Place your apparatus in. the heat of the sun and leave it there for a few hours.
4. During class the next day, remove the plastic covering and taste the water in the beaker.
Results
1. How does it taste? Is it fresh or salty?.
2, What was the energy source that caused the water to change states?
3, What are the three states of water?.
-------
Student Sheet
A SIMPLE SOLAR STILL
SOLAR
ENERGY
CLEAR
PLASTIC
TAPE OR
RUBBER BA
BEAKER
5ALT WATER
D/STILL ED
§ WATER
% WEIGHT
rSf* * + * ^ ^^ ^ _ 4 •* *' S
-------
. Teacher Sheet
Potential sources of surface water/groundwater contamination (based upon lists compiled by U.S.
EPAandADEM)
1. Gas stations/service stations
2. Truck terminals
3. Fuel oil distributors/storage
4. Oil pipelines
5. Auto repair shops
6. Body shops
7. Rustproofers
8. Auto chemical suppliers/wholesalers/retailers
9. Pesticide/herbicide/insecticide wholesalers/retailers
10. Small engine repair shops
11. Dry cleaners
12. Furniture strippers
13. Painters/finishers
14. Photographic processors
15. Printers
16. Automobile washers
17. Laundromats
IS. Beauty salons
19. Medical/dental/veterinarian offices
20. Research laboratories
21. Food processors
22. Meat packers/slaughter houses
23. Concrete/asphalt/tar/coal companies
24. Treatment plant lagoons
25. On-site sewage
26. Railroad yards
27. Storm water impoundment
28. Cemeteries
29. Airport maintenance shops
30. Airport fueling areas
31. Airport firefighter training areas
32. Industrial manufacturers
33. Machine shops
34. Metal platers
3 5. Heat treaters/smelters/descalers
36. Wood preservers
37. Chemical reclamation sites
-------
Teacher Sheet (cont.)
38. Boat builders/refinishers
39. Industrial waste disposal sites
40. Wastewater impoundment areas
41. Municipal wastewater treatment plants and land application areas
42. Landfills/dumps/transfer stations
43. Junk/salvage yards
44. Subdivisions
45. Individual residences
46. Heating oil storage (consumptive use) sites
47. Golf courses/parks/nurseries
48. Sand and gravel mining/other mining
49. Abandoned wells
50. Manure piles/other animal waste
51. Feed lots
52. Agricultural chemical spreading/spraying
53. Agricultural chemical storage sites
54. Construction sites
55. Transportation corridors
56. Fertilized fields/agricultural areas
57. Petroleum tank farms
58. Existing wells
59. Nonagricultural applicator sites
60. Sinkholes
61. Recharge areas of shallow and highly permeable aquifers
62. Injection wells
63. Drainage wells
64. Waste piles
65. Materials stockpiles
66. Animal burial
67. Open burning sites
68. Radioactive disposal sites
69. Saltwater intrusion
70. Mines and mine tailings
71. Other
-------
SOURCE WATER PROTECTION:
Groundwater Sources
OBJECTIVES
The student will do the following:
1. Define a Wellhead Protection Program.
2. List 25 common groundwater pollutants.
3. List 25 potential sources of groundwater pollution.
4. Identify problems involved in starting a Wellhead
Protection Program in a developed area.
SUBJECTS:
Social Studies (Economics,
Government), Science (Physical,
Ecology, Earth, Chemistry), Ethics
TIME:
1-2 class periods
MATERIALS:
copies of student sheets
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
It is important to be aware of the source of your drinking water. If the water is pumped from a well,
the source is groundwater from an aquifer. Just like rivers and lakes, aquifers need to be protected
from contamination. Chemicals spilled on or applied to the ground can move down and eventually
contaminate an aquifer, sometimes making groundwater unsafe to drink. It is especially important
to protect areas immediately around wells from releases of harmful chemicals, because it is from
within these sensitive areas that chemicals can most quickly and profoundly affect the quality of water
pumped from a well.
EPA's Source Water Protection (SWP) Program was established to help states and communities
protect their drinking water supply sources. Wellhead Protection Programs may serve as Source
Water Protection Programs for communities relying on groundwater as their source of drinking
water. Wellhead protection is a 5-step process involving: (1) forming a community planning team;
(2) delineating tlie area contributing groundwater to a water supply well; (3)-identifying potential
contaminant sources within the delineated area that pose threats to the well; (4) using a combination
of management strategies to ensure that identified sources don't impact the well; and (5) developing
a contingency plans in case there is a release of contaminants within the delineated area.
Wellhead protection management strategies incorporate broad concepts such as land use control
and/or management, best management practices, and pollution prevention. Specific strategies may
include the following: zoning controls, local ordinances governing pesticide/herbicide use,
Source: Water Sourcebook; Copies available by calling (770) 426-8936, Ext. 234
or visit www.griffin.peachnet.edu/waterwise/wwc.htm
-------
enforcement of septic tank regulations, and community education. Homeowners, businesses, farmers,
and industries may also be encouraged to use pollution prevention and best management practices
to prevent contamination in the delineated areas. For example, waste oil collection centers may be
set up in convenient locations so that oil can be brought in for proper disposal or recycling (rather
than citizens dumping it illegally onto the ground).
The illustration in Figure 4 shows a wellhead protection area with the zone of influence (Zone I), a
10-year time-of-travel (Zone n), and the rest of the recharge area for the well (Zone III). Potential
pollutants and potential pollutant sources are listed in Student Sheets, Figures 2 and 3 respectively.
Various activities in the recharge area are illustrated in Figure 4.
Terms
Source Water Protection: process that involves delineating areas contributing water to a water well
or surface water intake; identifying potential contaminant sources that may threaten the
water supply; and using management strategies to protect the source water from
contamination. Source water protection is applied to both surface water and groundwater
supply sources.
time-of-travel: the time required for groundwater to move from a specific point beneath the surface
to a well
Wellhead Protection Area: the surface and subsurface area surrounding a public water supply well
through which contaminants are reasonably likely to move toward and reach such well
Wellhead Protection Program (WHPP): a groundwater-based source water protection program
zone of influence: area surrounding a pumping well within which the potentiometric surface has been
changed due to groundwater withdrawal
zoning: to divide into areas determined by specific restrictions; any section or district in a city
restricted by law for a particular use
ADVANCE PREPARATION
A. Copy Student Sheets for each group or individual.
B. Make overhead transparency of Student Sheets.
-------
PROCEDURE
I. Setting the stage
A. Discuss the concept of Wellhead Protection and go over terms.
B. Put up overhead transparencies of Figure 1 and Figure 4.
1. Discuss land use zones and time-of-travel.
2. Discuss groundwater pollutants and potential sources. (Students may- wish to
read over Student Sheets - Figures 2 & 3.)
C. Break into study/discussion groups to complete activities.
II. Activity
A. Assume you are a mayor considering a WHPP. List the considerations (pros and
cons) of establishing such a program.
B. If you are a fanner or businessperson in the same town, what concerns would you
have if this program were instituted?
C. As a citizen drinking the water produced by the well, what concerns would you have?
What form would you prefer the WHPP take? Why?
D. You are an employee of the state environmental agency and would like to see a WHPP
put into place by all small towns. What position would you take relative to this town
after learning the above positions?
E. Is a WHPP a good groundwater protection approach? Why or why not?
HI. Follow-up
A. Each group should have a spokesperson report its conclusions to the class. Allow
some discussion and debate over the "best" policies.
B. Give quiz over groundwater pollutants and potential sources of pollution to
groundwater.
C. Have students write a short essay about what they think they could do to protect
groundwater in the area.
-------
IV. Extensions
A. Students should find out if their state or city has a WHPP and what is or is not being
done in its implementation.
B. Locate a city well and visit it. Have students identify pollutants and potential pollution
sources in the wellhead protection area.
C. Learn about Environmental Ethics. Read "Jay's Situation" and "Ethics". Respond
to the questions. Students should look for ethical, win-win compromise solutions.
RESOURCES
Arms, Karen, Environmental Science. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., Austin, TX, 1996.
Case Studies in Wellhead Protection. EPA Office of Water, EPA 440-6-90-004, April 1990.
Chiras, Daniel D- Environmental Science. High School Edition, Addison-Wesley,
Menlo Park, CA, 1989.
Cunningham, William P. and Barbara Woodworth Saigo, Environmental Science: A Global Concern.
Wm. C. Brown Publishers, Dubuque, IA, 1997.
Enger, Eldon D, and Bradley F. Smith, EnyironmMtal^sience: A^Study of Interrelationships.
5th Edition, Wm. C. Brown Publishers, Dubuque, IA, 1983.
Nebel, Bernard J. and Richard T. Wright, Environmental Science: The Way The World Works.
4th Edition, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NT, 1993.
-------
Student Sheet
DETERMINING, A WELLHEAD APEA
50n6Nj 1
-------
Student Sheet
COMMON GROUNDWATER POLLUTANTS
FIGURE 2
1. Antifreeze (for gasoline coolant system)
2. Automatic transmission fluid
3. Engine and radiator flushes
4. Hydraulic fluid (including brake fluid)
5. Motor oils/waste fuels/grease lubricants
6. Gasoline, jet fuel
7. Diesel fuel, kerosene, #2 heating oil
8. Degreasers for driveways and garages
9. Battery acid (electrolyte)
10. Rust proofers
11. Car wash detergents, waxes, and polishes
12. Asphalt and roofing tar
13. Paints, lacquer thinners, and brush cleaners
14. Floor and furniture strippers
15. Metal polishes
16. Laundry soil and stain removers
(including bleach)
17. Spot removers, cleaning solvents
18. Disinfectants
9. Household cleaners (oven, drain,
toilet)
20. Cesspool cleaners
21. Road salt (Halite)
21. Refrigerants
22. Pesticides (insecticides,
herbicides, rodenticides)
23. Photochemicals/
Printing ink
24. Wood preservative (creosote)
25. Swimming pool chlorine or bromine compounds
26. Lye or caustic soda
27. Jewelry cleaners
28. Leather dyes
29. Fertilizers (if stored outdoors)
30. PCBs
31. Other chlorinated hydrocarbons, including carbon
tetrachloride)
32. Any other product with "Poison" labels (including
chloroform, formaldehyde, hydrochloric acid,
and other acids)
33. Otherproductsnotlistedthatyoufeelmaybetoxic
or hazardous (please list):
-------
Student Sheet
POTENTIAL SOURCES OF GROUNDWATER POLLUTION
FIGURE 3
1. Truck terminals and service stations
2. Petroleum pipelines, stores, and
tank farms
3. Auto repair, body shop, and auto supplies
4. Rust proofers
5. Pesticide, herbicide wholesalers and
6. Dry cleaners
7. Painters, finishers, furniture strippers
8. Printers, photo processors
9. Auto washes, laundromats
10. Beauty salons
11. Medical, dental, and vet offices
12. Food processors, meat packers, and
slaughter houses
13. Concrete, asphalt, tar, and coal companies
14. On-site sewage disposal
15. Railroad yards, industrial sites
* 6. Storm water impoundment
17. Cemeteries
18. Airport maintenance, fueling
19. Machine shops
20. Metal platers
21. Heat treaters, smelters,
annealers, descalers
22. Wood preservers
23. Chemical reclamation
24. Industrial waste disposal
25. Municipal and private waste retailers
wastewater treatment plants, lagoons
26. Landfills, dumps, and transfer stations
27. Junk, salvage yards, recycle centers
28. Subdivisions, individual
residences
29. Heating oil storage (consumptive use)
30. Golf courses, parks, nurseries
31. Sand, gravel, other mining
32. Abandoned wells, existing wells,
sinkholes
33. Feed lots, manure piles
34. Agricultural chemical storage,
handling, spreading, spraying
35. Construction sites
36. Transportation corridors
37. Fertilized fields, agricultural area
-------
Student Sheet
\NELLtiEAP PROTECTION
-------
Extension/StudentSheet
JAY'S SITUATION
Jay Barlow is sitting with his elbows on his desk. His face is pressed into his hands. He feels a small
hand pull his hand away from his face. "Daddy?" Jay looks down into his daughter's sparkling
brown eyes. He is still her hero, and that trusting smile just increases the pressure he already felt.
Last week Jay was on top of the world. He was hired onto an environmental project as a consultant.
The state of Florida had finally passed a regulation that would require a zone of protection around
wellheads. The state's minimum requirement is a 500-ft. radius around the well. The suburb he lives
in has adopted more stringent measures. He was given a map showing several public wells from
which drinking water is pumped. His task is to recommend a viable zone of protection and report
any potential contamination hazards.
Interestingly, the very area in which he lives is included on the map. He is familiar with a large land
development that has been in construction for two years. His neighbor has told him many details as
he is the construction foreman. The massive construction effort has provided 200 jobs. Jay decides
to meet with a company representative. They discuss the scope of the project. To his dismay, he
discovers that the final two years of the company's project involve developing land directly over the
aquifer within the state's minimum protection zone from the well.
The land developers purchased the land at high cost before the state laws were passed. The company
has invested millions in pre-development and will not respond positively to any attempt to block the
contract. They have plenty of resources to fight a legal battle against the state.
Jay's uncle calls him for advice on a leaking UST (underground storage tank). He thought to call Jay
because Jay knows about environmental issues. His uncle cannot afford to have the tank dug up and
replaced; it would bankrupt his small business. Jay has no idea what to tell his uncle except that the
leaking gasoline is a serious threat to groundwater. Jay's uncle laments that he has owned the station
for 30 years and would have no income without it. As if Jay didn't have enough to think about, he
realizes that his uncle's gas station is also located above the aquifer.
-------
Extension/StudentSheet
1. What do you think is Jay's primary responsibility as an environmental professional?
2. Does Jay have a responsibility to his uncle?
3. Are the construction workers Jay's problem?
4. Should he be worrying about the drinking water in his own region?
5. Should the above concerns affect Jay's recommendations to the state about the wellhead
protection for that particular aquifer? If so, in what way?
-------
Extension/Teacher Sheet
ETHICS
As part of this lesson, the instructor may wish to include a brief discussion on ethics. The
environmental industry is dependent on ethical decision making. For an intensive treatment of this
issue, Michael Josephson's Making Ethical Decisions (1993) is perfect. In Making Ethical
Decisions, Josephson describes "The Six Pillars of Character: (1) Trustworthiness, (2) Respect, (3)
Responsibility, (4) Justice and Fairness, (5) Caring, (6) Civic Virtue and Citizenship."1
Most students of this age will be surprised to learn, that acting with "Caring" (being sensitive to
human suffering such as job loss and family distress) is an integral part of the decision-making process
at the professional level. The teacher will most likely find that the majority of the class will choose
extreme action in one direction or the other. The middle road seems a taboo place to choose; yet,
in reality, it is often the only reasonable one. With the added responsibility of ethics, students will find
achieving that "balance" between the economy and environment a less bitter pill to swallow.
It may be most effective for the ethics treatment to follow the exercise. Since the "balance" method
gives them a standard to shoot for, students should then have the opportunity to reconsider their
answers.
Here is a closure to share with students after they haive completed the activity.
Reality will be frustrating for the generation who has grown up learning to accept environmental
responsibility. The following recount is simplified, but factual, and is a real life example of the
middle road. It should not be discouraging but enlightening. Sometimes when it is impossible to kill
the dragon, be satisfied with knocking a chink out of its armor.... progress is progress is progress!
1 Josephson, Michael, "Making Ethical Decisions in Environmental Practice" Environmental
Manager. Vol. 1, July 1993.
-------
CONCLUSION
There are many different options that Jay might choose. He always has the option of consulting with
other professionals if he has run into an ethical snag.. Generally, they will be objective and a good
source for ideas.
In dealing with land development, companies have to comply with many regulations today and often
have a representative or department that handles that aspect. Jay may opt to call a meeting with this
individual or group of individuals and call attention to the aquifer's vulnerability. Accomplished in
a non-accusing diplomatic way, he may be able to convince the developers to choose double-walled,
lined, or anodized septic tanks in order to head off future liability. While the threat to the aquifer is
still apparent, it can be greatly reduced. The state may even be able to buy back a portion of the land.
However, it is doubtful that the company would relent their construction. In fact, Jay may have to
recommend a compromise or advise the department that they will probably be sued.
Jay's uncle may have some help in dealing with his gasoline leaks. If he is in compliance with other
state and federal regulations for underground storage tanks, he may be eligible to receive assistance
from Florida's leaking UST trust fund. Available in most states, these funds allow small business
owners of USTs to receive assistance in cleaning up leaks. The money for these funds usually comes
/om a tax on gasoline. The sites chosen to receive cleanup funds are based upon how large the risk
is to human health or the environment. Since Jay's uncle's tank is located in an area above a drinking
water aquifer, there is a good chance that his cleanup will be funded.
In Florida, as previously discussed, there is a tremendous need for wellhead protection. In 1980, the
Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) began fighting for wellhead protection.
FDEP was promptly sued by large industrial corporations that had almost unlimited legal resources.
The suit was in court for almost 15 years. FDEP was forced to accept a compromise, a middle-of-
the-road decision, by the judge. They achieved the stipulation of a circular buffer zone 500 feet in
diameter.
Of course, this circular zone has no basis either geologically or hydrologically. Most aquifers are
oddly shaped and miles in length or width. FDEP officials wanted to model individual aquifers and
tailor the needed buffer zones. What good does it do to have a 500-foot circle of protective zone and
a five-mile long cigar-shaped aquifer? It seems nonsensical, but the FDEP rejoiced. They now have
buffer zones. Before May 1994, they had none. Perhaps they should have agreed to a compromise
years earlier and started gathering data for the next fight.
Even state environmental agencies understand that they cannot unduly restrict the state's or nation's
conomy. An unhealthy economy often creates an inadequate tax ba"se, which can ultimately result
in underfunded state agencies.
-------
TEACHER'S
GUIDE
How Clean is Clean?
Introduction
As recently as 20 years ago, the standards for "clean" were
based on aesthetic factors such as taste, odor and color.
Today, we know that there are many things which we can't
taste, smell or see that can still be harmful to us. For this
reason, standards for what is "safe" or "clean" have been set
by the government. This activity is designed to allow
students to experience how difficult it is to "clean" an
aquifer once it has become polluted by simulating hazardous
material accidents which contaminate their aquifers
(sponges).
Objective
Students will investigate how pollutants contaminate ground
water by using a simple model of an aquifer.
General Procedures
1. Each group will need a large cellulose household sponge,
3 -16 oz. clear plastic cups, a paper or foam dinner plate
and a tray or bucket to collect water squeezed from their
sponges. Make several copies of the Student Activity Sheet
on the reverse side of this sheet The class will also need the
following three liquids to represent the pollutants in the
different accident scenarios for each Group:
Group 1 1 ounce of Liquid soap
Group 2 1 ounce of Salad oil (If small graduated
_cylinders are available use 20 mL of oil)
Group 3 1 ounce of Gelatin (dissolve a package in hot
water just before class)
Group 4 1 ounce of an equal mixture of soap, oil and
gelatin
2. Before class pour each "pollutant" in a separate small
paper cup. Locate each group's materials near its work
station or let students collect materials and take them to their
work stations.
3. Divide the class into four random groups, each with four
or five students. If more groups are needed, make extras of
groups 1 and 3, to minimize clean up problems. Pass out
the Student Activity Sheets to each group and jlirect them to
begin collecting the materials as described in Step 1 of the
activity. Those not directly involved in squeezing sponges
should be assigned duties such as predicting how many
rinses it will take for the sponges will become clean,
emptying the cups between squeezes, recording the number
of squeezes, deciding when their group's sponge is clean,
and whether it would be safe to drink the water that has
been squeezed from the sponge.
4. After the students have finished the preparations in Step
1, read over the introduction on the Student Activity Sheet
as a class. Be sure each group understands that the mixture
in the small paper cup represents a "pollutant" released in
the accident described for each group on their Activity
Sheet.
5. Each group should repeat Steps 3 - 6 on their Activity
Sheet until they either decide that the sponge is clean, or
estimate how long it would take to clean the sponge or judge
whether the sponge can be cleaned at all. If they haven't
cleaned the sponge within 10 minutes, it may be best to let
Them make an estimate.
(NOTE: If possible, provide Group 2 with graduated
cylinders. Have them pour each cup of rinse water into the
cylinder and try to measure the volume of the oil layer in
each rinse after the oil separates out)
6. After all groups have recorded the number of rinses
(actual or estimated) needed to clean the sponge, have them
clean up their work stations and return their materials.
Discussion
Have each group report their results to the rest of the class.
As they give their report, ask the following questions:
1. Could they get the water clean?
2. Describe how easy or difficult it was to remove the
pollutant from the sponge. Once the sponge was
contaminated with 1 ounces of a pollutant, how many
more ounces of water were needed to clean the
sponge?
3.If Group 2 used graduated cylinders, ask them how
much oil was recovered from the sponge. Will all of
the oil ever come out of the sponge?
4. How could they tell it was clean? If they cannot see any
pollutant, does that mean it's not there?
5. What reasons can the class give as to why some
pollutants might be easier to clean up than others?
6. For group 4, which pollutant in their mixture would
clean up first, based on what the other groups found?
-------
STUDENT ACTIVITY
How Clean Is Clean?
SHEET
Introduction
In comparison with rivers or streams, water in the ground
moves very slowly and very calmly in rivers that are very
wide - sometimes more than one hundred miles wide. These
slow underground rivers are called aquifers. Many of us get
our drinking water from aquifers. When a pollutant is
spilled on the ground, it slowly seeps down and can get into
an aquifer, making our water unsafe to drink. When our
aquifer gets polluted, we need to get answers to many
difficult questions like how toxic are the pollutants?, how
fast are the pollutants moving in the aquifer?, and how
difficult are they to remove from the aquifer?
In this activity, the class is divided into at least 4 groups.
Each group will experiment with a different kind of
pollutant to find out how difficult it is to remove the
pollutant from a sponge. Aquifers are not really spongy, but
we can still use a sponge to give us some idea of what
happens when an aquifer gets contaminated.
Group 1 will use soap as its pollutant. In this case, the
ground is contaminated when a tanker truck gets into an
accident on the highway and spills the pollutant on the side
of the road. The soap is a lot like real pollutants which
dissolve in water but are not hazardous or toxic.
Group 2 will use salad as its pollutant. Again, a truck
accident has caused the spill as for Group 1 's pollutant The
oil is a lot like gasoline which is hazardous and toxic, but
does not mix well with water.
Group 3 will use gelatin as its pollutant. This time the
pollutant has leaked into the ground from a large old and
rusty underground tank where it has been stored for years.
The gelatin is a lot like pesticides which dissolve in water
and are toxic.
Group 4 will have the worst troubles. An explosion has
occurred at a major chemical plant, and all three types of
pollutants - soap, oil and gelatin - have been spilled onto the
ground.
Objective
You will investigate how pollutants contaminate an aquifer
by using a sponge as a simple model of an aquifer.
General Procedures
1. One student in each group should pre-moisten their
sponge by soaking it in water, then squeezing it until it is
just moist to touch. Other students in each group should be
sure they have the following items at their work station:
One large cup of clean water
Two empty large cups
Tray or bucket for collecting rinse water
One paper or plastic dinner plate
Small cup containing a "pollutant"
After these materials have been collected, wait for the
teacher to read over the Introduction with the class.
2. Place the sponge on the plate and pour the liquid
"pollutant" in the small cup onto the sponge, letting the
sponge soak up as much pollutant as possible.
3. SLOWLY pour clean water onto sponge, letting it soak in
until the sponge is full. Pour back into the cup any excess
water on the plate. You will need to know how many
cupfuls of water are being used to rinse the sponge, so keep
track of all the water you use.
4. Lift the sponge and squeeze it out completely, catching
the water in an empty large cup.
5. Pour more water onto the sponge, letting it soak ia
6. Squeeze out the sponge again, this time using the other
empty large cup to catch the water squeezed from the
sponge.
7. Compare the two cups of polluted water. Decide which
cup seems to have the most polluted water, then empty this
cup. Set aside the cup containing the water which looks less
polluted.
8. Repeat Steps 5, 6 and 7 each time comparing the water in
the two cups to decide whether the water is getting cleaner
each time the polluted sponge is rinsed out. Count the
number of times the sponge is rinsed.
9. Estimate to the nearest 1/4 cup, how many cupfuls of
water were used to rinse the sponge. Convert to ounces
(One cupful equals 16 ounces). How much more rinsing - if
any - must be done before the water squeezed from the
sponge would be "safe" to drink?
101 After you have finished the experiment, return materials
to the proper place, then get ready to report your results to
the class.
Fresh
water
MORE
polluted
7 (discard)
LESS
polluted
(save)
-------
TEACHER'S
GUIDE
Tracking Pollution - A Hazardous Whodunnit
Introduction
This activity presents the student with a real world problem
and provides a simple, but not always accurate tool for
investigating the problem.
The problem is that a town's drinking water is contaminated
In many small towns like Riverville, every home and most
businesses have a private well. Lab results from several
wells showed that the ground water has been contaminated
with a kind of fuel stored by three companies. Of the three
possible suspected sources of contamination, each suspect
has a reasonable argument as to why they are not
responsible for the problem:
1. The Heating Oil Company is the prime suspect since they
store the most fuel and sell it to the other two suspected
companies.
2. The Heating Oil Co. has just tested their tanks and knows
they are safe. They argue that the Trucking Company is the
source of pollution.
3. The Trucking Co. says the source could just as likely be
the Heating Oil Co. or the Gas Station. They claim there is
no proof that they are responsible.
The only way to find out who is responsible is to produce
some evidence to help decide which of these is the actual
source of contamination. Emphasizing the expense of
cleaning up ground water contamination and the need for
certainty before forcing a business to begin cleaning up lets
the student know that there is often a lot at stake in this kind
of investigation.
Objective
Students will make a topographic map, use it to predict
ground water flow and investigate the most likely source of
ground water contaminatioa
General Procedures
1. It will be best for students to work together in groups of
at least two. Each group will need:
a medium sized rubber band about 1/8 inch in width
a ruler, pencil and pen
Student activity sheet
2. Read over with the class the Introduction on the Student
Activity Sheet. Ask them which of the three they think is the
actual source and have them write down their best guess.
Well
Supply
Pump
Underground Storage Tank
3. You might also explore whether anyone can think of any
simpler ways of finding out the source of contamination
than by doing this activity. Point out the fact that another
way of finding put whodunnit is to test the contaminated
wells again to find out which wells have more contaminant
in the water. The wells nearest the source should have the
highest levels; those farthest from the source will be lower.
This can be expensive though, since lab tests are between
$100 to $200 apiece.
4. The contours of a landscape can be estimated even if the
elevation is known for only a few points, provided the
points are well scattered around the area. The procedure
used here assumes a constant slope between these known
points. If one point is at 10 ft. above sea level and another
point is at 50 ft, then when the distance between the points
is divided into four equal segments, the elevation will
increase 10 ft. over the length of one segment This process
is described in more detail on the next page.
5. The rubber band is used to divide lines into equal
segments, depending on the difference in elevations of the
endpoints of the line. This process of dividing the lines can
be very tedious if done mathematically, and diverts from the
point of the activity. Using the rubberband method
simplifies the process considerably. Cut the rubber band
open and lay it out flat, without stretching it, along the edge
of a ruler. With a pen, make at least five marks 1/2 inches
apart beginning from about the middle of the band. Step 6
on the next page describes how to use it to divide a line.
-------
© Contaminated well
* Uncontaminated well
6. LIGHTLY, with pencil, draw lines between each well and its
nearest neighbors having at least a 20 foot difference in elevation.
To divide these lines into equal segments representing 10 ft.
increases in elevation, stretch the marked rubber band so that a
mark is over each well at the line's endpoints, with the necessary
number of marks between to allow you to count up by tens from
one well to the next For example, a line between the two wells at
© Contaminated well
™ Uncontaminated well
8. Using a PEN, every half inch or so along each contour line,
draw short arrows outward perpendicularly from one contour line
to the contour line having the next lowest elevation. It is important
that these arrows be as perpendicular as possible to give the best
estimate of the direction of ground water flow. Erase the contour
lines and other pencilled-in lines to make the map less confusing.
To get a better sense of overall direction of flow, you might want.
to draw a few longer arrows which average out the shorter ones.
® Contaminated well
Uncontaminated well
10 and 40 ft. needs two marks between the wells. Stretch the
band so that a mark falls at each endpoint on the line and two
marks lie between the endpoints. Make marks on the line at each
of the two intervening marks on the stretched band. Label these
marks 20 and 30 ft. Repeat for each line.
7. LIGHTLY draw smooth curved lines connecting all wells and
marks having the same elevations. These are contour lines.
© Contaminated well
* Uncontaminated well
9. Draw a loop that groups together all of the contaminated wells.
From the flow arrows, note that the plume has spread in two
directions, to the top right corner and to the lower left. It should be
clear that the Trucking Co. (T) is the source of pollution. Also, the
Uncontaminated well found within the cluster of contaminated
wells is a newer, deep well which taps an aquifer protected by an
underground layer of dense rock (shale) which keeps fuel out.
This may serve as a lead-in to the Resource Management Activity.
-------
ST U D E NT
ACTIVITY
SHEET
G'Ve drinfrng, wa/br 4
Tracking Pollution - A Hazardous Whodunnit
Introduction
Riverville is a fictional town with a real problem. Each
week, more citizens are complaining that their drinking
water tastes bad. In many small towns like this one, there is
no central water supply. Every home and most businesses
have a private well. The town's mayor tested the water from
several wells and found that the ground water has been
contaminated with some kind of fuel. The wells that have
been contaminated are marked out on the map on back of
this page.
The mayor thinks the Heating Oil Company is responsible
for this contamination and wants them to start investigating
their fuel storage tanks which are buried underground and to
check the. tanks for leaks. The Heating Oil Go. says they
just tested their tanks and knows they are safe. They think
the Trucking Company is the source of pollution. The
Trucking Co. says the source could just as likely be the
Heating Oil Co. or the Gas Station, since all three places
have underground tanks for storing the same kind of fuel.
So Riverville has a problem and no one is sure who is
responsible. The mayor needs some way of proving who is
causing the pollution and who should clean it up. You will
be the "detective" who helps prove where the
pollutant is coming from.
Cleaning up ground water contamination is a very expensive
job. You should be very sure of the place you choose to
start cleaning up, otherwise the money will be wasted. It is
up to you to solve the mystery.
Objective
You will make a topographic map, use it to predict ground
water flow and investigate the most likely source of ground
water contamination.
General Procedures
To decide which of the suspected businesses is the most
likely source of contamination, the easiest thing you can do
is find out the direction that ground water flows. Since
ground water generally flows downhill, following the slope
of the surface of the land, you can be fairly certain that the
suspected source which is farthest "upstream" is the real
source of contamination.
This activity shows you how to estimate ground water flow
by making a contour map. As in many very small towns,
only a few people in Riverville know the exact elevation
above sea level for their property. To make a contour map,
it usually helps to know the elevations of as many places as
possible. But this simple procedure can be used even
though you only know a few elevations.
The map on back shows the elevations for seven wells and
gives directions for drawing in the contours of the land.
After you have finished this procedure, answer the
questions below.
Questions
1. If the flow of ground water and the pollutants in it follow
the contour of the land, what is the most likely source of the
contamination, the Heating Oil Co., the Trucking Co. or the
Gas Station?
2. The contamination plume will continue to spread slowly
through the ground, much like smoke from a chimney
drifting with the wind. Describe where on your map you
think the plume will move with time.
3. Which of the uncontaminated wells do you expect to
become contaminated in the near future? Do you think the
school's water well will be contaminated?
4. How do you explain the fact that one well within the
plume was not contaminated? Give at least two possible
reasons how this could happen. (Hint: see the Resource
Management Activity)
5. Is it possible you are wrong in assuming that ground
water flow follows the contour of the land? What else could
you investigate to be sure?
6. Assuming that ground water flow does follow the
contours of the land, is it possible that there are two sources
of contamination? What would you expect to find if all three
companies had leaking storage tanks and were actual
sources of contamination?
Extensions
1. Get a map of your own community and use it to chart out
ground water direction. Locate the community's water
supply and any potential sources of contamination. What
kind of precautions should be taken to keep an eye on
potential sources of contamination?
-------
iJncbni&rnlnated well
1. Start with a well with a known
elevation. Using ruler and pencil,
LIGHTLY draw a line from this
well to the nearest wells having at
least a 20-foot difference in
elevation.
2. Cut a rubber band open and lay
it out flat, without stretching it,
along the edge of a ruler. With a
pen, make at least five marks 1/2
inch apart beginning from the
middle of the rubber band. Use the
marked rubber band to help you
divide each line into equal
segments. Your teacher will show
you how this is done.
3. Label each mark on the line
between the known elevations with
the estimated elevations. For
example, if the elevations at each
end of a line are 10 and 40 feet
above sea level, you should make
two marks on the line, dividing the
line into three equal lengths. The
first mark should be labeled 20,
and the next one labeled 30.
4. Connect all marks having the
same elevation with a smooth line.
These are contour lines.
5. Every half inch or so along each
contour line, draw a short arrow
perpendicular from one line out
towards the line having the next
lowest elevation. Ground water
flows in the direction of the arrows.
6. Find all the contaminated wells
and draw a single loop that
contains only these wells and none
of the uncontaminated wells, if
possible. The.area inside this loop
shows how far the contamination
has already spread through the
ground water, and is called the
contamination plume..
7. Use your map to answer
questions on page 1.
-------
STUDENT
ACTIVITY
SHEET
G'Ve dVir\frn£ wafer 3
Resource Management - Protecting your Drinking Water
Introduction
In almost any town, a large variety of chemicals and
wastes are used or disposed of in day-to-day life. We are
now learning that if things like gasoline, road salt,
pesticides or sewage are not used or discarded wisely,
they can contaminate a town's water supply.
We are also learning that some sources of water are easier
to contaminate than other sources. Whether or not your
town's supply is vulnerable to contamination depends
on many different factors. These factors may add together
to protect the supply, or to leave it very vulnerable to
contamination.
To estimate the vulnerability of the ground water flowing
under an area of land, a hydrogeologist measures several
factors which affect how quickly rain water moves
through the ground in that area. Pollutants will usually
move in the same way as rain water.
Once you know something about each of these factors,
you will be able to decide what must be done to be sure
your drinking water will always be safe.
Objective
In this activity, you will use a simple mathematical model
of ground "water vulnerability to estimate the vulnerability
of a small town's water supply.
. .- ..... . -, ,- . .. Table 1 .... . _.. :;i , :-
~Estiiriaf etf ~vaIueT>f five" factors raffKtfifgr
groundwater vulnerability
FACTOR VALUE
L Yearly rainfall
(total amount of rain _^
that falls in one year)
*~ ~v f\
2. Depth to wafer
(vertical depth from
surfac&to aquiferX __ ^
3. AquiferTtype"-v'% -*
(Type of soil/rock ;
aquifer passes through)"
*•
4. Soil type v -
(Main type of soil and
rock above the aquifer)
5. Lay of the land
(The general slope of
surface of the land)
3
2
1
. -i
3
''2
1
.3
•2
I
y
4
3
2
1
3
2
1
^. if more than 40 in.
„. if from 15 to 40 in.
^ ... if less than 15 in.
^" ^T'v'1' ^
. ...*if lessthanlOft.
. _ if from 10 to 75 ft.
... if greater than 75 ft.
"" * * ~. if sand or 'gravel
> ... if limestone
- -™ ..» if bedrock
( ^ v % r
») *• f
~. if sand or gravel
..vif limestone
„. if loam or silt
.,. if clay or shale
~. if flat
... if gently rolling hills
... if steep hillsAnountains
Bedrock
Sand/
Gravel
Shale
Clay
Limestone
Loam
Figure 1. Aquifers form where water-carrying layers of earth,
like sand, cover layers of shale or clay which do not allow water to
pass through. If the layer forming the aquifer is "confined" above
by shale or clay, the aquifer is less vulnerable to contamination.
Confining layers of shale -"*"**A"A.*A"»Tr>.
-------
Model of ground water vulnerability
There are many factors affecting the vulnerability of a -
water supply, but we will only look at the five factors
described in Table 1. A value of 1 means it is harder for
rain water (and pollutants) to reach the supply, while a
value of 3 means it is easier. It may be easy to see that the
greater the depth to water, the longer it will take rain water
to reach the supply. But how does a steep slope make the
area less vulnerable? Figure 1 shows how some of these
factors affect the vulnerability of various aquifers.
Table 2
Directions; Use Table 1 to find out how many points
should be given for each of the five factors.
For example. Table 1 tells you that if the depth to water
is less than IS ft, you should give 3 points for this factor
in Quadrant 1. Values from Table 1 may be averaged.
Fill in the rest of the blanks for each factor, then add them
up to find the vulnerability of each quadrant „. „ ,,,
• Quadrant 1 ^ ^ ;;* -^;, ,~r.,,~.r.;..--..,;.:,. -. .r. :„, ...._
Depth to water
Yearly rainfall
Aquifer type
Sotttype *.'^;
Lav of land •
42ft -'•'-•'-
•-4ST .Y-; ;<"'.
Sand/gravel
•Loam/sand
Flat
f VULNERABILITY SCORE
Quadrant 2
" Depth to water
Yearly rainfall"
- Aquifertype
; Soiltype
7 ~ Lav of land
40ft
45"
Limestone
Limestone/loam
Gentle slope
^VULNERABILITY SCORE
Quadrant 3
•* •* *
Depth to water
Yearly rainfall
Aquifertype
Soiltype
Lav of land
60ft
38"
limestone
Limestone/clay
Rolling hills
VULNERABILITY SCORE
Quadrant 4
Depth to water
Yearly rainfall
Aquifertype
Soiltype
Lav of land
100ft
34"
Sand/gravel
Shale/clay
Steep hills
VULNERABILITY SCORE
How to use the model
You can get a rough idea of the vulnerability of the
underlying aquifer in each of Priceford's four quadrants
by using these five factors to give each quadrant a "score"
on how easy it would be for a pollutant to pass through
the ground to contaminate the aquifer.
Follow the instructions for filling out Table 1. Then use
your results along with the map of the Priceford area to
answer the questions at the bottom of the page. Give
your reasons for each answer!
N
Questions.
1. Discuss how Factors 2-5 described in Table 1 affect the
vulnerability of water supplies at Points B, C and D in
Figure 1. If three towns get their water supplies at Points
B, C and D, which supply would be the most vulnerable?
The least vulnerable?
2, Use Table 3 below to interpret the vulnerability scores
you calculated in Table 2. Which town's water supply
would be most likely to be contaminated if a larger tanker
truck full of a toxic chemical spilled its contents during a
traffic accident on the nearest road?
3. Compare the vulnerability values you calculated hi the
four towns in the above map to Points A, B, C and D in
Figure 1. Which of these towns is most likely to be
located at which of these Points?
4. How would one town's pollutants affect the other
town's supplies? If a wood preserving chemical is found
in Smalltown's water, but not in Riverville's, where is the
most likely area where the source of contamination might
be found?
5
very low
Table 3.
Vulnerability Score
7.5 10 12.5 15
1 1 I '
1 1 I
moderate
Relative Vulnerability
very high
-------
STUDENT
ACTIVITY
SHEET
nr\/0r\£ wafer c»
Decision Making - A Mock Town Meeting
On A Proposed Tank Farm
I Suggested Prerequisite; Resource Management Activity |
Introduction
Your class will represent all of the citizens who live and
work in a small town called Priceford. A major business
development company called Zanec Corporation, has
asked Priceford for permission to install five 10,000
gallon Underground Storage Tanks (USTs) on their
property just outside of Priceford.
This proposed tank farm will supply fuel and
manufacturing chemicals to an existing Ball Bearing
Factory. Your class will divide into several groups each
having very different interests, and will hold a town
meeting to discuss and vote on Zanec's proposal.
Objective
Your class will gain experience in recognizing potential
hazards to a community's water supply and weighing the
risks and benefits of community development, and will
practice decision-making skills in a mock town meeting.
General Procedures
1. After reading over the activity's introduction and
objectives as a class, begin preparing for the town meeting
by randomly dividing your class into five groups.
2. Once the groups are formed, they should take (at home
or in class) the time they need" to:
a) study the facts of Priceford's water resources.
b) elaborate on their own special group's interests.
c), discuss how each item of Zanec's proposal affects
their interests.
The background information each group will need for
these three tasks is given below. Each group should also
select its own spokesperson to represent the group's
interests at the meeting.
3. When each group is ready, the Town Council should
call the town meeting to order, read the Agenda and
introduce the Zanec and Business group to present their
proposal. Each other group should then be allowed to
comment on the proposal.
4. The Council will summarize the issues it believes to be
2&r.- -Jr**£&*£'#&&*T-^>'4^^$ert&:+&&*>£
important, BRIEFLY support or refute each issue and then
vote on the proposal.
Priceford's Water Resources
Priceford gets more than half its water from municipal and
private wells. The vulnerability of the underlying aquifer
in each quadrant of the map below was assessed hi the
Resource Management Activity (use the vulnerability
"scores" calculated for the four quadrants in this activity).
• Quadrant 1 is largely undeveloped in the Priceford area.
A small community, Riverville, is about 25 miles down
the river. This quadrant is least acceptable to Zanec due
to its distance from its property in quadrant 4.
-------
• Quadrant 2 is largely farmland but also contains a small
community which relies on well water.
• Quadrant 3 includes Priceford town center and all the
residential areas for the town's citizens.
• Quadrant 4 contains a factory just north of Bucky's
Comer. Zanec proposes installing the USTs here.
Special Group Interests
1. THE TOWN COUNCIL - You must conduct the
meeting, listen to all the arguments, and to decide what is
best for all citizens. Based on the facts you gather, the
most logical arguments made by any of the groups and
your best judgement, you will vote on whether to:
1) allow Zanec to install the tank farm as proposed, OR
2) allow installation only with certain changes in the
proposal, OR
3) reject the proposal completely.
2. ZANEC and the local BUSINESS GROUP - You must
stress the need to allow the Ball Bearing plant to expand "
and to attract new'businesses for Priceford's economic
well-being.
3. LOCAL HOME OWNERS - You are divided. Some
desire the 'new jobs and prosperity made possible by
developments like this; others worry about the potential
for water, air and noise pollution; still others are
concerned about property values; and others are concerned
about taxes needed to meet the increased solid waste
disposal and sewage demands which are related to
development
4. SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT - Your local chapter of
this national group opposes the installation of any USTs
until extensive testing has been done and sufficient
safeguards are in place. You favor the least vulnerable (but
least accessible) site.
5. THE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT - You are
essentially neutral as long as the proposed installation
complies with all county health laws and procedures. You
must find out whether the proposal meets these standards.
Zanec's Proposal
Zanec is a major development company which has already
invested heavily in the Priceford area. The proposed tank
farm is only one improvement in its existing
developments. Zanec believes its proposal is in the interest
of Priceford for the following reasons:
• The tank farm will allow the Ball Bearing plant to
expand, bringing about 250 new jobs to an area that
has an unemployment rate which is above the state
average.
• The company will bring revenues to Priceford, not only
through wages, but also through property taxes,
income taxes and more consumer spending by its
workers and their families.
• The Ball Bearing plant expansion will be attractively
designed, well-maintained and an asset to the
community.
• The UST Installation will comply with all current
regulations and is critical to whether Zanec can
continue to build in Priceford
• The new jobs will result in new home building and
increased property values.
• Taxes paid by the plant will help finance school and road
improvements while helping to keep home owner's
taxes low.
• 2!anec requests permission to site its tank farm on its
property in Quadrant 4 (see map)
Town Meeting Agenda
This notice was published in the Priceford newspaper
TO ALL CONCERNED PARTIES
-'--••* ~ - •''' • •' -"•• ' '- " * • 1 '" "
and input on Zanec Corporation's proposed
installation of five 10,000 gallon underground
storage tanks on property to the Ball Bearing factory.
AH -interested groups are to have selected
spokespersons who will each be given 4 minutes to
present their views. The public, is invited to comment
onth&fpHowingissues: '-•i.zff?'•-•'• '•'-•' '.:V':'.T¥-v-:-- '•'•:•—•
ff n^what alternative location is acceptable to all
•
,- - • •; ..,. - . *, • ..
t :jWHaf are'the^ risksrelated to the proposal?
^ meeting will consist.of a
questioWand answer period after which the Council
will vote on the proposal. ; a ; , ; :
'-Location: Priceford Town Hall
Time: Friday Afternoon
The town meeting Agenda should serve as a guide for the
Town Council to conduct the meeting. As stated in the
notice the Council should allow each group only 4 minutes
to offer their views on each of the questions on the
Agenda.
When all groups have been heard, each Town Council
member may ask one question of one group. Finally, the
Council will vote on the proposal. The Council's vote
should be based to a large degree on the most logical and
persuasive arguments raised by the groups.
-------
EPA ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
WATER FILTRATION
BACKGROUND: Water in lakes, rivers, and swamps often contains impurities that make it look and
smell bad. The water may also contain bacteria and other microbiological organisms that can cause
disease. Consequently, water from surface water sources must be "cleaned" before it can be
consumed by people. Water treatment plants typically clean water by taking it through the following
processes: (1) aeration; (2) coagulation; (3) sedimentation; (4) filtration; and (5) disinfection.
Demonstration projects for the first four processes are included below.
OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the procedures that municipal water plants use to purify water for
drinking.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
5 liters of "swamp water" (or add 2 Vz cups of dirt or mud to 5 liters of water)
1 two-liter plastic soft drink bottle with its cap (or cork that fits tightly into the neck)
2 two-liter plastic soft drink bottles—1 with the top removed, 1 with the bottom removed
1 one-and-one-half-liter (or larger) beaker (or another soft drink bottle bottom)
20 grams of alum (potassium aluminum sulfate—approximately 2 tablespoons)
(Hint: should be available in pharmacy or spice aisle in grocery store)
Fine sand (about 800 ml in volume)
Course sand (about 800 ml in volume)
Small pebbles (about 400 ml in volume)
(Hint: washed natural color aquarium rocks will work)
1 large (500 ml or larger) beaker or jar
1 coffee filter
1 rubber band
1 tablespoon
1 clock with a second hand (or a stopwatch)
PROCEDURE:
1. Pour about 1.5 liters of the swamp water into a 2-liter bottle. Have students describe the
appearance and smell of the water.
2. Aeration is the addition of air to water. It allows gases trapped in the water to escape and adds
oxygen to the water. Place the cap on the bottle and shake the water vigorously for 30 seconds.
Continue the aeration process by pouring the water into either one of the cut-off bottles, and then
pour the water back and forth between the cut-off bottles 10 times. Ask students to describe any
changes they observe. Pour the aerated water into a bottle with its top cut off.
3. Coagulation is the process by which dirt and other suspended solid particles are chemically
"stuck together" into floe so that they can be removed from water. With the tablespoon, add 20
grams of alum crystals to the swamp water. Slowly stir the mixture for 5 minutes.
4. Sedimentation is the process that occurs when gravity pulls the particles of floe (clumps of alum
and sediment) to the bottom of the cylinder. Allow the water to stand undisturbed in the cylinder. Ask
-------
students to observe the water at 5 minute intervals for a total of 20 minutes and write their
observations with respect to changes in the water's appearance.
5. Construct a filter from the bottle with its bottom cut off as follows:
a. Attach the coffee filter to the outside neck of the bottle with a rubber band. Turn the
bottle upside down and pour a layer of pebbles into the bottle—the filter will prevent
the pebbles from falling out of the neck.
b. Pour the coarse sand on top of the pebbles.
c. Pour the fine sand on top of the coarse sand.
d. Clean the filter by slowly and carefully pouring through 5 liters (or more) of clean tap
water. Try not to disturb the top layer of sand as you pour the water.
BEAKE
FINE SAND
COARSE SAND
PEBBLES
COFFEE FILTER
6. Filtration through a sand and pebble filter removes most of the impurities remaining in water after
coagulation and sedimentation have taken place. After a large amount of sediment has settled on the
bottom of the bottle of swamp water, carefully—without disturbing the sediment—pour the top two-
thirds of the swamp water through the filter. Collect the filtered water in the beaker. Pour the
remaining (one-third bottle) swamp water back into the collection container. Compare the treated and
untreated water. Ask students whether treatment has changed the appearance and smell of the
water.
Advise students that the final step at the treatment plant is to add disinfectants to the water to
purify it and kill any organisms that may be harmful. Because the disinfectants are caustic
and must be handled carefully, it is not presented in this experiment. The water that was just
filtered is therefore unfit to drink and can cause adverse effects. It's not safe to drink!
-------
THUMB
CLASSROOM
ACTIVITY:
WAT E R
T H ;U M B
G'Ve drir\frn$ wa/fer 3
CONTAMINATION
The following activity is offered to help students under-
stand how they can sive drinking water a hand.
Objective
Students will create a miniature well so they can observe
the effects of ground water contamination.
Taxonomy Level
Comprehension
Time Needed
30 minutes
Teacher's Notes
Approximately 53 percent of the population in the
United States gets its water from underground aquifers.
An aquifer is a geological (created by rocks) formation
containing water. Like the holes in a sponge, an aquifer
has openings or pores that can store water. Water for
drinking is drawn up to the surface by a well or spring.
The world's largest aquifer is the Ogallala Aquifer which
extends from Nebraska to Texas.
Since water seeps down through soil into the aquifer, the
soil filters the water. But, many activities threaten the safety
of this source of drinking water. Gasoline and other harmful
liquids have been allowed to leak from underground
storage tanks into the ground water supply. Pollutants can
seep into ground water from poorly constructed landfills
or septic systems. Ground water can also be polluted by
runoff from fertilized fields or livestock areas. Homeowners
unknowingly contribute to ground water contamination by
dumping toxic chemicals down the drain or pouring them
on the ground.
Materials Needed
Cup for each student
6 inches (150 millimeters) of nylon net per student
Plastic tie for each student
One eyedropper for every three students —
One bottle of vegetable-oil food dye (red, green, or blue)
for every three students
Enough water to fill each student's cup
Enough potting soil to fill each student's cup
Pencil for each student
Activity Directions
Students should wrap the nylon around their pencil and
secure it with the plastic tie. Put the nylon-wrapped pencil
in the middle of the cup, so it can act as a "well." Carefully
place the soil in the cup around the nylon-wrapped pencil.
Finally, untie the plastic tie and slip the pencil out of the
soil (allowing the nylon to remain in the hole) and pour
water into the cup.
After a few minutes, the water should appear in the
opening of the well. Students should remove water with
the eyedropper and see that it is clear in color. After
returning the water to the well, students can add a drop
of food dye to the surrounding soil to represent contami-
nation. After a few minutes, remove water again with the
eyedropper. This time the water should have color in it
from the dye.
Questions to Expand Students' Thinking
What would happen to the lakes and rivers that are fed
by water from this aquifer?
What types of things in your household, if poured on the
ground, might contaminate drinking water?
Should you throw toxic household items in the trash?
Source: Intermediate Te 3DX, American Water Works Association,
6666 West Quincy Avenue, Denver, CO 80235.
-------
T H U M B
CLASSROOM
ACTIVITY:
PUBLIC
T H:U M B
Give. drinjk'r\g wfer
INVOLVEMENT
The following activity is offered to help students under-
stand how they can give drinking water a hand.
Objective
Students get a Blue Thumb by surveying public
understanding of drinking water.
Taxonomy Level
Synthesis
Time Needed
30 minutes for survey preparation; 2 evenings for data
collection; 30 minutes for classroom discussion
Teacher's Notes
Using the scientific method as a format, students will
develop a 10-question survey. The survey will help the
students collect data from the public about what people
know about their drinking water. Once the students pro-
cess the results, they may design a poster or write a essay
to inform people about their drinking water.
Materials Needed
General information about the local water agency
Pencil and paper
Information about the water source, source protection,
and conservation from the local water district.
Activity Directions
Have the students generate 10 questions, either as a group
project or individually, that will assess the public's under-
standing of drinking water issues. Try to have as many "yes"
and "no" answers as possible. Suggested questions might
be as follows:
• Do you know the source of your drinking water?
• Do you know how water is treated?
• Do you know who runs your water department?
• Do you know where the water goes after it has been
used in the home?
• Do you try to conserve water?
• Does your hose have an automatic shut-off valve?
• Is water an important issue in our community?
Once the questions have been chosen, have the students
decide on their hypothesis, such as "our survey shows
that many people in the community think water is an
important issue" or "most people try to conserve water."
The hypothesis should directly relate to what the students
think that the results of their survey will be. You can let the
students' hypothesis be very general (if they are not used
to working with a scientific method) or very specific. Next,
have the students decide on the target group-those
people that you will ask the questions. Some possible
target groups are parents, family members, fellow students,
or neighbors.
Now comes the fun part-gathering the data. Have the
students talk to their audience face-to-face, in order for
them to get a feel for what the public is thinking about
water. Decide together on how many people each student
will need to talk to in order to get a substantial finding.
The students should record the answers to their questions
and bring the answers back to the class.
At the conclusion of the survey, the students will need to
compare and contrast the responses.
Questions to Expand Students' Thinking
Do the answers the students got back from their survey
agree with their hypothesis?
Nvtiat was the most surprising result that the students
found from their survey?
What can the students do to make sure everyone gets a
Blue Thumb?
Source: Intermediate Teachers' Guide to Story of Drinkins Water, Second Edition,
Dale, 1991, Catalog 70003DX, American Water Works Association, 6666 West
Quincy Avenue, Denver, CO 80235.
-------
Give, drin frog W»fer 4 (v>rx/.
Instructions for distributing the Blue
Thumb Game
1. Make copies of the Blue Thumb Game instruc-
tions on colored paper.
2. Use the blanks to type in questions and
answers that are specific to your area, like:
I Q: What is the largest river in (insert name
of state)?
> Q: Annual precipitation in (insert name of state)?
> Q: What three types of pollution threaten (insert
name of source)?
3. Make copies of the Blue Thumb Cards on heavy
colored paper (card stock). One side will have the
Blue Thumb graphics and the other side •will be the
questions and answers. You will have double-sided
sheets when you are done.
4. Attach the instruction sheet to the three double-
sided Blue Thumb Card sheets. The Blue Thumb
game can be included with other materials sent to
teachers, youth groups, etc.
National Drinking Water Week Headquarters, 6666 West Quincy Ave., Denver, Colorado 80235
-------
infrnfc wafer 4 fvW.
Instructions to play the Blue Thumb Game
Objective: Students will become more familiar
with water-related topics including:
(1) sources of water, (2) the hydrologic cycle, and
(3) water treatment.
Materials: Blue Thumb cards, a timer or clock,
paper and pencils.
Procedure: This game is similar to the game show
Jeopardy, except there is only one topic — water.
In the first round correct responses are worth five
points, and in the second round correct responses
are worth 10 points. In the final round, each team
decides how much of their total score they want to
wager on the last question. The team with the most
points after the final round is the winner. To play
the game:
1. Decide on the length of the first and second
rounds—either the number of cards that will be read
or a time limit for each round,
2. Divide the class into teams and select some-
one to keep score for each of the teams.
3- Explain how the game will work. Then
begin by reading the answer on one of the Blue
Thumb cards. For example, "The scientific term for
the study of water."
4. The first person who raises his or her hand,
when acknowledged, gets to try to give the correct
response in the form of a question. For example,
"What is hydrology?"
5. If no one raises a hand within ten seconds,
continue with the next card.
6. If the person answers correctly, his or her
team is awarded the point value of the question. If
the person answers incorrectly, the team has to sub-
tract the point value of the question from their score.
Note: All responses must be in the form of a ques-
tion to be correct.
7. When a person responds incorrectly, mem-
bers from the other teams may then raise their hands
and when acknowledged, try to give the correct
answer.
8. After completing two rounds of play, it is
time for the final round. Have each team write
down how much of their score they want to wager
in the final Blue Thumb round.
9. Read the final Blue Thumb answer, and give
the teams one minute to write down their responses
(in the form of a question). You may want to
remind them not to talk during the final round, oth-
erwise, members of another team might overhear
their response.
•m
Source: North Dakota State University
Extension Service
-------
A The percent-
age of the
earth's water that is
fresh water?
Qwhat is
.3%?
A The five
• Great Lakes.
Qwhat are
•the Huron,
Ontario, Michigan,
Erie, and Superior?
A The capacity
• of porous
materials, such as
sand and gravel, to
transmit water.
Qwhat is
•permeability?
A The source
•of energy for
the hydrologic or
water cycle.
Qwhat is
•the sun?
A The process by
•which a vapor
becomes a liquid
or a solid.
Qwhat is
• condensation?
A A term used
• to describe
the area drained
by a river and its
tributaries.
Qwhat is a river
•basin? (Water-
shed would also be an
acceptable answer.)
A Two possible
•sources of
groundwater
contamination.
Qwhat are land-
• fills and septic
tanks? (Other accept-
able answers include
feed lots, human
wastes, animal wastes,
fertilizers, and aban-
doned wells.
A The wearing
• down or
washing away of
soil and land by the
action of water, wind,
or ice.
Qwhat is
•erosion?
A Tanks used
• to hold waste
from homes when a
sewer line is not
available.
Qwhat are
•septic tanks?
A The chemical
•symbol for
water.
Qwhat is
• H2O?
A The constant
•circulation of
water from the
atmosphere to the
land and the oceans,
and back again.
Qwhat is
• the water
(hydrologic) cycle?
A Water that car-
• ries waste from
homes, businesses
and industries; a mix-
ture of water and dis-
solved or suspended
solids.
Qwhat is waste
•water?
(Sewage would also
be an acceptable
oncTiror ^
A The name for a
•smaller stream
that flows into a
larger stream.
Qwhat is a
• tributary?
A The act
• of adding
water to crops.
Qwhat is
•irrigation?
A An odorless,
•tasteless, color-
less liquid formed by
a combination of
hydrogen and oxy-
gen molecules that
makes up a major
portion of all living
things.
Qwhat is
•water?
A The three
• largest oceans.
Qwhat are
•the Atlantic,
Pacific, and Indian?
A The move-
• ment of water
down through the
earth's surface.
Qwhat is
• infiltration?
(Percolation would
also be an acceptable
answer.)
A A pit, hole,
• or shaft sunk
into the earth to tap
an underground
source of water.
Qwhat is a
•well?
-------
(vndl
G>ue drin/fr^ k^fer 4
Give drinfcrfc wafer 4 tax/.
GiW.
Give dnn/Jr^ wafer 4 |v>nd.
Give dHnfc'r^ wafer
Give drin/sn£ wafer 4
Gat dHn/jr.j wafer 4 \#nd.
njfej w»/fer 4 hW.
-------
A A change in
•the quality of
water that makes it
unsuitable for certain
uses.
Q What is
•pollution?
(Contamination
would also be an
acceptable answer.)
A The percentage
•of the human
body composed of
water.
Qwhat is
•65%?
A.
Q.
A Water-saturated
•lands where
aquatic plants and
animals live.
Qwhat are
•wetlands?
A The percentage
•of the earth
covered with water.
Qwhat is
.80%?
A.
Q.
A A place where
•water is treated
to make it safe to
drink.
Qwhat is a
•water
treatment plant?
A The average
• number of
gallons of water
treated in the United
States for each
person every day.
Qwhat is about
.180 gallons?
A.
Q.
A This element is
• added to water
to prevent tooth
decay.
Qwhat is
•fluoride?
A The tempera-
•ture at which
water changes from a
solid into a liquid
or vice versa.
Qwhat is 32
•degrees
Fahrenheit or 0
degrees Celsius?
A.
Q.
A Lack of
•precipitation
for a long period
of time.
QWnat is a
• drought'
A The tempera-
•ture at which
water changes from a
liquid to a gas or vice
versa.
Qwhat is 212
•degrees
Fahrenheit or 100
degrees Celsius?
A.
Q.
A On average,
•almost 40%
of the water used
in a home is used
to do this.
Qwhat is flush
•the toilet?
A.
Q.
A.
Q.
-------
Water Kiddle Answers
Early
Egyptians
considered
tine Nile River
the source of
life itself. For
this reason,
Egypt is often
called, "Gift
of the Nile."
1. An icicle
2. Ice
3. Ariverbank
4. The sea
5. Water, from a tap or a river
Blue Thumb Word §earcli Answers
D
.*-v
*«*•
M
1
S
S
1
S
S
1
P
P
1
"A
'.,'
Y
•~*k
>~\
O
X
3
Z
i
-s
'VI
••/
CJ
H
;5
,-i
R
1
O
G
R
A
N
D
E
S
.,~
u
i
j
-
,'•,,
N
"D
i
'/
'—
E
./
Zj
D
E
5
C
A
M
O
T
O
P
G
~2.
-r
~~.
S
C
•—
N
C
-
D
N
A
M
A
Z
0
N
-
E
N
1
E
S
A
,"*
'•/• (
R
H
1
N
E
O
E
:-
A
' /
^
G
R
I
M
j
W
,-j
T
i
R
, t
i*™»
Z
-•
G
D
IT
O
X
G
,-i
•d
__
— »
w
A
T
\f
R
N
R
L
N
s
V
O
L
G
A
B
G
T
A
1
D
0
p
Q
R
NI
1
T
L
i
N
M
r
L
K
C
J
S
E
M
A
H
T
Z
A
\ «
' V i
B
E
Z
1
:^
,'"•.
'C
T
•-s
i
S
N
Y
O
M
i,
K
T
R
e
s
u
D
N
1
-------
Mere fun >vith Water
Water Kiddles
Share these silly water riddles with friends and family.
1. What lives in winter, dies in summer, and grows with its root upward?
2. What three letters mean "stiff water"?
3. What kind of bank needs no money?
4. What runs and has no feet, roars but has no mouth?
5. What runs but never gets tired?
Clue Thumb Word Search
In this word search, look for the names of great rivers.
When finished, talk about their geographic location and
importance in the lives of people near and far, past and
present.
D
C
M
1
S
S
1
S
S
1
P
P
1
A
J
Y
Q
O
O
X
B
Z
J
M
Y
B
H
S
R
R
1
O
G
R
A
N
D
E
S
F
U
Q
T
J
P
X
N
B
V
Y
L
E
O
R
D
E
B
C
A
M
O
T
O
P
G
G
Z
E
S
C
N
X
G
N
C
K
D
N
A
M
A
Z
0
N
P
E
N
1
E
S
A
O
W
R
H
1
N
E
Q
E
F
A
V
G
R
J
N
J
W
H
T
R
H
Z
P
G
D
F
O
X
G
H
E
L
P
W
A
T
Y
R
N
R
L
N
B
V
O
L
G
A
B
G
T
A
1
D
O
P
Q
R
N
1
T
L
1
N
M
T
L
K
C
J
S
E
M
A
H
T
Z
A
M
B
E
Z
1
P
0
E
T
S
L
S
N
Y
O
M
1
K
T
R
E
S
U
D
N
1
Amazon
Colorado
Congo
Ganges
Hudson
Indus
Jordan
Mekong
Mississippi
Niagra
Nile
Potomac
Rhine
Rio Grande
St. Lawrence
Seine
Thames
Volga
Yangtze
Zambezi '
Water
Proverbs
A proverb is a short phrase
or saying that expresses a
simple truth or idea. Many
proverbs are rooted in a
country's ancient cultural
heritages or religion. Read
each proverb and discuss
its meaning.
• You can't leam to swim
in a field. (Spanish)
• No snowflake ever falls
in the wrong place.
(Zen) . ;
• One step too few is
enough to miss the
ferry, (Chinese) ^_,
• Help your brother's
boat across and lo!
your own has reached
the shore. (Hindu)
• A small hole can sink a
big ship. (Russian)
• To rule the mountains
is to rule the river.
(Chinese)
-------
Water Questicns & Answers
Q. Is it okay to substitute other drinks for the recommended six to eight
glasses of water needed each day to maintain good health?
A. Juice, milk, and soft drinks are almost all water, so they do count toward
the required daily fluid intake. Nutritionists often recommend tap water
because some beverages contain chemicals like caffeine and alcohol that
do not help the body maintain fluid balance as well as other drinks.
Q. Why does dishwater or the dishwasher leave spots on glasses?
A. The spots that may appear on glassware after washing and air-drying are caused
by nontoxic minerals that remain on the glass when the water evaporates. Spots
on glass shower doors appear for the same reason. Commercial products are
available that allow the water to drain from glassware more completely.
Q. What is a watershed?
A. A watershed is the region of land where all water drains-—or "sheds"—to
the same river, reservoir, or other body of water.
Q. In towns and cities, what is the major cause of pollution of drinking
water sources?
A. The major source of pollution in towns and cities is rainwater that flows into
street catch basins (called urban runoff or stormwater runoff). While the rain-
water alone is not necessarily harmful, it frequently carries untreated waste
products from our streets and yards directly to rivers, lakes, and streams —
our drinking water sources.
Q. Why Is ocean water salty?
A. Rainwater doesn't contain any salt, but when it falls on the ground, salt
from the soil dissolves in the water as it flows back to the ocean. When
this water evaporates from the ocean, the salt stays behind. This process
has been going on for more than a billion years. Over that very long period
of time the ocean got more salt in it with each cycle.
Q. Why does drinking water often look cloudy when first taken from a
faucet and then clear up?
A. The cloudy water is caused by tiny air bubbles in the water similar to the
gas bubbles in carbonated soft drinks. After a while, the bubbles rise to the
top and are gone. This type of cloudiness occurs more often in the winter,
when the drinking water is cold.
Q. Why Is some drinking water stored In large tanks high above the ground?
A. Two reasons. First, this type of water storage ensures that water pressure
and water volume are sufficient enough to fight fires, even if the electricity
that normally pumps water is turned off. The second reason is to provide an
extra source of drinking water during the day when water use is high. The
water storage tanks are refilled at night when drinking water use is low.
These questions and answer are from Plain Talk About Drinking Water: Questions and Answers
About the Water You Drink by Dr. James M. Symons, published by American Water Works
Association, copyright © 1997.
Q. He \& France's
most famous
oceanographer,
author, and
environmentalist?
A.Jacques
Cousteau
-------
Fccus cn Water
To keep water clean or to make sure there is plenty to drink, we need to
understand where water comes from, how it flows, and how it's used at home,
in schools, on farms, and in the community. In other words, it's time to get to
know your watershed!
What to Do
Go outside and look at your surroundings. You can start anywhere—
at your home, school, farm, or even downtown. Go to the highest
point you can see within easy walking distance. If possible, go to the
highest point in your community.
Look over the land and the way the ground slopes down from this
high point. If it rained, where would water flow? You're looking at a
watershed or several watersheds. That is the area of land where all
water drains or "sheds" to the same body of water. Walk around this
area. Look for the following things in your watershed.
In my watershed, water flows to:
O low points a gutters a storm drains
O ditches O lakes/streams/rivers CJ culverts
a a a
13.
On its way, it passes:
O bare soil
O streets
a industry
O litter
a
O grass/trees/shrubs
O shopping centers
O school
O farms
O
c.
Does anything you see look like a possible water concern?
^- For example, is there bare soil? Is there erosion with soil washing
into waterways?
Can you find places where water has been carefully protected?
^ For example, is grass planted on paths to keep soil from washing
away?
Write down things you like and things that don't look right. If you
aren't sure which things are helpful or are problems, just record what
you do see for now. Later, you can share what you found with a nat-
ural resources expert in your community.
Brainstorm a list of the ways you can affect water. Be sure to think of
activities inside and outside. See how many ideas you can come up
with. Two examples are: watering the grass and having a school car
wash.
^- What activities use water?
^ What activities create wastewater?
^ What do you already do to conserve or protect water?
Adapted from Give Water A Hand, © 1996 University of Wisconsin Board of Regents.
UWEX-Environmental Resources Center
D.
O wells
O parking lots
O houses
O animals
O
-------
General Information
-------
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Water
Washington, D.C. 20460
EPA 570/9-91-100
Fact Sheet:
21 Water Conservation Measures
for Everybody
The earth is covered with water, yet only one percent is available for drinking.
Unfortunately, many of us take this small percentage for granted. The average
adult needs only 2-1/2 quarts of water per day to maintain health, but in the
United States, we each use 125 to 150 gallons per day for cooking, washing,
flushing, and watering. That's over 40 percent more water than we need to ac-
complish these tasks. Our wasteful habits not only deplete clean water reser-
ves faster than we can replenish them, but they pollute many waterways,
rendering them unfit for human consumption. They also stress aging drinking
water and sewage treatment facilities beyond their capacities. In each of the
past few years, wastewater treatment systems dumped an estimated 2.3 trillion
gallons of inadequately treated sewage into U.S. coastal waters, destroying
beaches, fisheries, and other marine life.*
We waste water both by practicing bad habits, like leaving the water running
when we brush our teeth, and by using antiquated equipment not built with
water conservation in mind. Bad habits can be difficult to change, but new ones
can save thousands of gallons of water per year per person. Installing new
water-saving equipment and small devices also can save significant amounts
of water per household without requiring us to change our daily routines. Many
devices are inexpensive, available in local hardware stores, and easy to install.
They can save energy (and energy bills) too! By following a few simple steps,
a typical family of four can save an astounding 50,000 to 100,000 gallons of
water per year. What are we waiting for?
For Every Room in the House
• Repair leaky faucets, indoors and out. One leaky faucet can use up to
4,000 gallons of water per month.
• Install faucet aerators. These inexpensive devices can reduce water use
up to 60 percent, while maintaining a strong flow.
In the Kitchen
• When cooking, save 10 to 15 gallons of water per meal by peeling and clean-
ing vegetables in a large bowl of water instead of under the running tap.
• When handwashing dishes, save 15 gallons of water by soaking dirty
dishes in the basin, then rinsing them off.
• Run full-toad dishwashers to save 15 gallons per toad and hot water costs, too.
• When buying a new dishwasher, select one with a "light-wash" option.
Newer models use 20 percent less water than older ones.
'Congress of the United States, Office of Technology Assessment, 1987. Waste in the Marine
Environment, Washington, D.C.
Printed on Recycled Paper
-------
In the Bathroom
• Take short showers instead of baths. Showers use an average of 5 to 7
gallons per minute, three times less than the water used to take a bath.
• Install a low-flow showerhead. This will cut water use in the shower to just
3 gallons per minute and still provide an invigorating flow.
• Turn off the water to brush teeth, shave, and soap up in the shower. Filling
the sink to shave uses only 1 gallon, while letting the water run can use 10
gallons per shave or moire. Turning off the water when you brush your
teeth can save 4 gallons of water each time.
• Repair leaky toilets to save more than 50 gallons of water per day. Add 12 drops
of food coloring into the tank. If color appears in the bowl one hour later, the unit
is leaking.
• Install a toilet displacement device to save thousands of gallons of water
per year or 5 to 7 gallons; per flush. Place one to three weighted plastic
jugs into the tank, making sure the jugs don't interfere with the flushing
mechanism or a suitable flow. Or, instead of jugs, use toilet dams that hold
back a reservoir of water during each flush, saving 1 to 2 gallons. Don't
use bricks because they can chip and foul the flushing mechanism.
• When buying a new toilet, select a low-flush model that uses less than 1 -1/2
gallons of water to flush, saving over 7,000 gallons per year per person.
On Wash Day
• When purchasing a new washing machine, buy a water-saving model that
can be adjusted to load-size and has a "suds-saving" option. New models
use 40 percent less water than older models.
• For old and new machines, run full loads only.
Taking Water Conservation Outdoors
• Mow your lawn with water retention in mind. Set mower blades on a high
setting (2- to 3-inch grass length as opposed to golf-course short) to pro-
vide natural ground shade and promote water retention by the soil.
• Water lawn and garden in the morning when evaporation is lowest.
• Water no more than 1 inch per week, applied slowly to prevent runoff.
Place several empty cans around the yard when watering to determine
how long it will take to water 1 inch.
• Collect rainwater for watering plants using a barrel covered with a screen.
• Plant indigenous species suited to your area and save as much as 54 per-
cent of the water used to care for outdoor plants. Ask your local nursery for
plant and grass species that require less water.
• When washing your car, turn off the nose between rinses to save up to 150
gallons per washing.
Sweep down decks and driveways instead of hosing them down.
-------
Give drinking, wafer 4
1. Waiting a week to fix a leak.
Assume little leaks only waste a little water?
You can lose up to 200 gallons of water a day
from a leaking toilet. And a faucet can drip
604,800 drops while you're waiting.
4. Taking a shortcut and using the hot water
tap when cooking.
That's taboo, and it can shortcut your health.
Lead can dissolve into hot water from lead
pipes and solder. Cold water is better. Heat
it on the stove when cooking or making
baby formula.
2. Slipping used motor oil into a storm
sewer or burying it in the trash.
Hey slick, oil can leach into lakes, rivers, and
wells. Just one pint can expand over an acre of
water. Take your used oil to a recycling center.
5. Tossing toxics in the trash.
How tacky! Consider batteries, a common
throw-away. They contain lead and mercury.
Some ordinary household cleaners have other
poisons that contaminate water. Here's a tip,
drop them off at a special collection site.
3. Watering your lawn at high noon.
Caught with your sprinkler on? The hot sun
will evaporate the water your lawn needs. Bet-
ter water early in the day.
6. Using your garbage disposal all the tune.
Want to show good taste after a meal? With
your disposal using one gallon of water a
minute, compost those food scraps. Another
benefit, you'll be creating a great soil conditioner.
-------
6'Ve drin /t'Y\& wafer
7. Failing to check for the recycled mark on
paper before buying it.
Still think recycled paper only helps trees?
Recycled paper reduces water pollution from
paper production by 35 percent. It saves water
too — 7,000 gallons for every ton of paper.
To find out more, order the "Blue Thumb
Basics" brochure listing more than 50 additional
ways to conserve and protect your drinking
water. Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope
to "Blue Thumb Basics," Public Information
Department, American Water Works Association,
6666 W. Quincy Ave., Denver, CO 80235.
8. Using electricity as if it didn't affect
•water.
It's time to shed some light on this. It takes
more than 130 billion gallons of water a day to
generate electricity in the U.S. Conserving
energy is conserving water.
9- Thinking you can't make a difference.
It's never a blooper to take a stand for clean
water, through your actions and through your
words. So put your Blue Thumb knowledge to
work and give drinking water a hand every day.
National Drinking Water Week Headquarters, 6666 West Quincy Ave., Denver, Colorado 80235
© American Water Works Association
Permission is granted to the media and the following
organizations and their members to reprint the Blue Thumb
Bloopers in whole or in part: American Water Works Association,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, American Ground Water
Trust, U.S. Department of Agriculture Extension Service,
The League of Women Voters, Water Education Foundation,
National Geographic Society, Association of State Drinking
Water Administrators, National Association of Water Companies,
Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, and the American
Library Association.
-------
G'Ve drinjk'ns wafer 4
. Know Your Drinking Water
Understand where your water supply comes from.
Write your water supplier and request the list and
schedule of water quality tests required by the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency. Study local well codes
and ask your County Health Department for assis-
tance before you drill a new well. Always hire a
licensed driller for water well drilling and
pump installation.
2. Test Your Well
There are more than 13 million wells supplying
drinking 'water to people in the United States — most
wells produce safe drinking water, but contamina-
tion can occur. If you have a well, have it regularly
tested for contamination. The fact that a neighbor's
well tests safe does not mean that your well is safe.
Overloaded septic systems may be a source of well
contamination. Ask your County Health Department
for assistance.
3. Plug Abandoned Wells
Identify the abandoned water wells in your area
or on your property and have them plugged by a
licensed well driller. An open, abandoned well can
draw contaminants directly from the surface into the
aquifer below. In the past, some abandoned wells
have been used for waste disposal.
. Septic System Maintenance
If you have a septic system, pump it out every
one to three years. Do not flush grease, caustics,
and non-biodegradable materials into the system.
Before installing a new septic system, read local
code requirements. Have your system installed by a
licensed individual. Do not use septic tank cleaners.
They are not needed and can prove harmful.
5. Yank that Tank
Those old rusty underground storage tanks for
oil and gasoline have become a menace. Federal
law requires that abandoned underground storage
tanks be removed from the ground and that leaking
tanks must be replaced. If you have an underground
tank on your property, have it checked for leaks.
. Healthy Farming and Gardening
Pesticides and fertilizers leach down through the
soil and into the groundwater below. If you farm or
garden, practice the best livestock manure manage-
ment practices available and test the soil to avoid
over-application of fertilizers. Follow label recom-
mendations for proper pesticide application. Do not
apply chemicals if heavy rain is forecast. Learn
about IPM (Integrated Pest Management).
Contact your County Extension Office for
further information.
-------
7. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
These are the three R's for those who are environ-
mentally conscious. By molding our lifestyles after
these three words, we can help prevent contamina-
tion of our groundwater resources. Remember,
what goes into our garbage goes into our ground,
and what goes into our ground goes into
our groundwater.
8. Buy Recycled Products
9. Become a Green Consumer
You can buy products which do not tax the
environment or push toxins into your groundwater.
A green product is one that has environmentally
sound contents or is wrapped in environmentally
sound packaging. Buy in bulk. Buy the economy
size. Take your grocery bags back for a second trip.
By becoming a green consumer you will save money
by not purchasing packaging you will throw away
as soon as you get home. SAY NO! to products that
are over-packaged.
Unless we demand recycled products there will not
be a market for them. To strengthen the market,
request recycled products at the local grocery store.
Products made from recycled materials use only
about half as much energy to produce. Paper made
from recycled fibers reduces air pollution, saves
trees, and creates five times as many jobs as paper
made from virgin wood. Ask your local store to carry
recycled products.
We all have it within our power to protect
our drinking water.
Source: Michigan Tip of the Mit Watershed Council, adapted from
the GEM Regional Groundwater Center "Ten Steps to Protect
Your Drinking Water" poster.
National Drinking Water Week Headquarters, 6666 West Quincy Ave., Denver, Colorado 80235
-------
Instructions:
(fill in answers, "white-out" directions, duplicate or
print, and distribute)
Drinking Water Source(s):
Give. d/ifi/s'(\g wafer 3 fend.
Number of tests done to test water quality:
Possible types of pollution:
Does the finished water meet or exceed
USEPA standards?:
Programs in place to protect the source:
What are the key issues in terms of assuring
the high quality of the community's
water supply?:
How can the community join with the
professionals to work on those issues?
Water provider:
Number of households receiving water:
Please contact the following organizations
for more information.
Types of treatments used:
-------
Be Hydro-Logical
FACT: More water is used in the bathroom
than any other place in the home.
ACTION: Turn off the water when you
brush your teeth and shave. Install low-flow
toilets, shower heads and faucet aerators and
you'll save thousands of gallons/liters of
water a year. It's a savings that should
reduce your water bill.
FACT: Today there are many more people
using the same amount of water we had 100
years ago.
ACTION: Don't waste water. Use it
wisely and cut back wherever you can.
FACT: A dripping faucet can waste up to
2,000 gallons/7,600 liters of water a year. A
leaky toilet can waste as much as 200
gallons/260 liters of water a day.
ACTION: Check your plumbing and repair
any leaks as soon as possible.
FACT: Lead in household plumbing can
get into your water.
ACTION: Find out if your pipes are lead or
if lead solder was used to connect the pipes.
If you have lead in your plumbing system,
when you turn on the tap for drinking or
cooking, let the water run until it's cold.
Never use water from the hot tap for cooking
or drinking.
FACT: What's dumped on the ground,
poured down the drain, or tossed in the trash
can pollute the sources of our drinking
water.
ACTION: Take used motor oil and other
automotive fluids to an automotive service
center that recycles them. Patronize
automotive centers and stores that accept
batteries for recycling. Take leftover paint,
solvents, and toxic household products to
special collection centers.
FACT: On average, 50% - 70% of
household water is used outdoors for
watering lawns and gardens.
ACTION: Make the most of the water you
use outdoors by never watering at the hottest
times of the day or when it's windy. Turn
off your sprinklers when it's raining. Plant
low-water use grasses and shrubs to reduce
your lawn watering by 20% - 50%.
FACT: Lawn and garden pesticides and
fertilizers can pollute the water.
ACTION: Reduce your use of pesticides
amd fertilizers and look for safer alternatives
to control weeds and bugs. For example,
geraniums repel Japanese beetles; garlic and
mint repel aphids; and marigolds repel white
flies.
FACT: Although most people get their
water from regulated community water
supplies, others rely on their own private
wells and are responsible for their own water
quality.
ACTION: If you own a well, contact your
local health department or Cooperative
Extension Service representative to find out
how to test the quality of your well water.
FACT: Your city government and state
officials regularly make decisions that affect
the quality of your drinking water resources.
ACTION: As the population grows and
housing and industrial interest expand,
eittend local planning and zoning meetings
emd ask what's being done to protect water
resources from contamination. Let elected
officials know that you expect them to use
their hydro-logic to protect the water.
FACT: Public water utilities regularly test
the quality of the drinking water they
provide to customers.
ACTION: Call your water utility and ask
for a copy of their latest water quality report.
-------
Water Myths & Realities
Myth: We have less water today than we did 100
years ago.
Reality: There is the same amount of water on
Earth today as there was when the Earth was
formed three billion years ago. The difference is
that today many more demands are placed on
water. Because our demands on water continue to
grow but our supplies don't, everyone should lend
a hand to conserve, protect, and get involved with
decisions that affect our water resources.
Myth: We don't have to think about drinking
water.
Reality: We can no longer take our drinking
water for granted. Public participation is vital to
protecting our water resources, building adequate
treatment plants, improving water delivery,
analyzing costs versus risks, and enacting
appropriate legislation.
Myth: Once you use water, it's gone.
Reality: After water is used, it's recycled ...
innumerable times. Some water is recycled for use
within a week, other water may not be used again
for years. Water is resilient and responds well to
treatment. However, using water and abusing
water by contaminating lakes, streams, and wells
with toxic chemicals are two different things. To
keep our drinking water safe, we need not only
appropriate treatment, but also appropriate source
protection.
Myth: If lead is in your water, it's the treatment
plant's fault.
Reality: The most common source of lead in
drinking water is plumbing in your home. Your
plumbing may have lead pipes or lead solder in the
connections. Lead is a contaminant that is
particularly harmful to pregnant women and young
children. If you are concerned about lead in your
water, contact your local health authorities or
water utility to find out how you can have your
water tested by a certified laboratory. If tests
reveal that the lead content of your water is above
15 parts per billion, you should reduce your
exposure to it. Hints: 1. Since warm water
absorbs more lead than cold, always use cold water
when you cook. 2. Because water standing in
pipes tends to absorb lead, clear the pipes before
drinking by letting your tap run until the water is
cold.
Myth: There are more pollutants in drinking
water today than there were 25 years ago.
Reality: Not necessarily. Twenty-five years ago,
we did not have the technology to know what was
in our drinking water. Today, we have
sophisticated testing instruments that enable us to
know more about our water than ever before. The
drinking water community is continually
improving treatment processes as it learns more
each year.
Myth: Using a home water treatment device will
make tap water safer or healthier to drink.
Reality: Some people use home water filters to
improve the taste, smell, or appearance of their tap
water, but it does not necessarily make the water
safer or healthier to drink. Additionally, all home
treatment devices require regular maintenance. If
the maintenance is not performed properly, water
quality problems may result.
Myth: Bottled water is safer than tap water.
Reality: Not necessarily. Unlike tap water, the
quality of finished bottled water is not
government-monitored. Studies have shown that
microbes may grow in the bottles while on
grocers' shelves. You don't need to buy bottled
water for safety reasons if your tap water meets all
federal, state, or provincial drinking water
standards. If you want water with a different taste,
you can buy bottled water, but it costs up to 1,000
times more than tap water. Of course, in
emergencies, bottled water can be a vital source of
drinking water for people without water.
Myth: "New" water is better than treated water.
Reality: There is very little water on Earth that is
new. Most of our water has been touched by some
type of human or animal activity. Even in remote
wilderness areas, studies have found bacteria
contaminating water. Therefore, it's always best to
drink water that you know has been treated.
Before drinking water from a stream, boil it for
one minute at sea level or three minutes at higher
elevations. This will completely kill all bacteria,
viruses, and germs.
-------
Water Q & A
Q. Can I tell if my drinking water is okay by
just looking at it, tasting it, or smelling it?
A. No. None of the chemicals or microbes
that could make you sick can be seen, tasted,
or smelled.
Q. When I'm working in the yard, I'm
tempted to take a drink from my garden hose.
Is this safe?
A. No. The water is safe, but a standard vinyl
garden hose has substances in it to keep it
flexible. These chemicals, which may get into
the water as it goes through the hose, are not
good for you. In addition, the outside thread
openings at the end could be covered with
germs.
Q. If I travel overseas, in which countries is
the water safe to drink?
A. Besides the United States and Canada, the
water is generally safe to drink in western
Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.
In other countries, you should insist on
carbonated bottled water for drinking and
brushing your teeth.
Q. Is the fluoride and chlorine in my drinking
water safe?
A. Yes. When added or naturally present in
the correct amounts, fluoride in drinking water
has greatly improved the dental health of
American and Canadian consumers. Many
tests have shown that the amount of chlorine
found in treated water is safe to drink,
although some people object to the taste.
NOTE: even in the correct amounts, fluoride
or the disinfectant chloramine in drinking
water makes the water unsuitable for use in
kidney dialysis machines or aquariums.
Q. Water often looks cloudy when first taken
from a faucet and then it clears up. Why is
that?
A. The cloudy water is caused by tiny air
bubbles in the water similar to the gas bubbles
in beer and carbonated soft drinks. After a
while, the bubbles rise to the top and are gone.
Q. What is "hard" water?
A. The answer may surprise you. Hardness in
drinking water is caused by two nontoxic
chemicals-usually called minerals — calcium
and magnesium. If either of these minerals is
present in your water in substantial amounts,
the water is said to be "hard," because making
a lather or suds for washing is "hard"
(difficult) to do. Thus cleaning with hard
water is difficult. Water containing little
calcium or magnesium is called "soft" water.
(Maybe it should be called easy, the opposite
of difficult.) Water that does not contain
enough calcium or magnesium may be "too
soft."
Q. What is the cost of the water I use in rny
home?
A. Prices vary greatly around the United
States and Canada, but the typical cost is about
$2 for 1,000 gallons/3785 litres. At that price
you get approximately 5 gallons/20 litres of
tap water for a penny.
Q. Many areas near the ocean do not have
large supplies of fresh water. Why can't
ocean water be treated to make drinking water
A. Ocean water can be treated, but the process
is expensive. The cost of converting salt water
to drinking water has been estimated at $5 to
$7 for each 1,000 gallons/3785 litres instead
of the $.30 to $.50 for treating 1,000
gallons/3785 litres of fresh water.
Q. Why is ocean water salty?
A. Rainwater doesn't contain any salt, but
when it falls on the ground, salt from the soil
dissolves in the water as it flows back down to
the ocean. When this water evaporates from
the ocean, the salt stays behind. This has been
going on for more than a billion years. That is
why the ocean is now very salty.
From Plain Talk About Drinking Water:
Questions and Answers About the Water You
Drink by Dr. James M. Symons, published by
American Water Works Association.
-------
Water Facts of Life
"Ride the Water Cycle" with these fun facts.
• There is the same amount of water on Earth as there was when the
Earth was formed. The water from your faucet could contain
molecules that dinosaurs drank.
• Water is composed of two elements, Hydrogen and Oxygen.
2 Hydrogen + 1 Oxygen = H2O.
• Nearly 97% of the world's water is salty or otherwise undrinkable.
Another 2% is locked in ice caps and glaciers. That leaves just 1% for
all of humanity's needs — all its agricultural, residential,
manufacturing, community, and personal needs.
• Water regulates the Earth's temperature. It also regulates the
temperature of the human body, carries nutrients and oxygen to cells,
cushions joints, protects organs and tissues, and removes wastes.
• 75% of the human brain is water and 75% of a. living tree is water.
• A person can live about a month without food, but only about a week
without water.
• Water is part of a deeply interconnected system. What we pour on the
ground ends up in our water, and what we spew into the sky ends up in
our water.
• The average total home water use for each person in the U.S. is about
50 gallons a day.
• The average cost for water supplied to a home in the U.S. is about
$2.00 for 1,000 gallons, which equals about 5 gallons for a penny.
• Water expands by 9% when it freezes. Frozen water (ice) is lighter
than water, which is why ice floats in water.
-------
Give drinj!ft\& uafer a
Here are 20 quick questions to find out if you
know how to give drinking water a hand.
Mark the following true or false and compare your
answers with those on the back of this sheet.
TRUE FALSE ,.
D D 1. Installing a low-flow toilet can save a
family of four more than 45 gallons of water
a day.
n n
T F
n n
T F
n n
T F
n n
T F
n n
T F
D D
D D
T F
D D
Z. More than 75 percent of the water in
the United States is located underground.
3. Reading the labels on common
household products won't tell you what
products are harmful to water.
4. Americans improperly dispose of more
oil in a year than the Exxon Valdez spilled.
J. Even when a recipe calls for using warm
or hot water, you should draw cold water
from the tap and heat it on the stove or in
the microwave.
O. It's safe to drink water directly from
remote streams.
/. There are ways to landscape that use
between 30 - 80 percent less water than
traditional landscaping.
O. If you have your own well, you can be
sure your water is safe.
y. You can drink more than 4,000 eight-
ounce glasses of tap water for the same cost
as a six-pack of soda pop.
n n
T F
n n
T F
D D
T F
n n
T F
n n
T F
n n
T F
n n
T F
n n
T F
n n
T F
n n
T F
n n
T F
1 U . Common outdoor bug and weed killers
can contaminate underground water or end
up in your local river or lake.
1 1 . The quality of U.S. drinking water is
not regulated by the federal government for
safety.
. Two-thirds of the water you use at
home you use in the bathroom.
. Trash and debris around a lake won't
affect water quality.
14. It's better for water if you dry out
leftover household products such as furniture
polish, car wax, or latex paint, before
disposing of them.
. More than 800,000 new water wells are
drilled each year for domestic, commercial,
and industrial use.
1 0 . Letting the water run while you brush
your teeth or shave is water wise.
1 / . New water sources are being
discovered every day.
1 0 . An abandoned well can be left
unsealed without jeopardizing the ground-
water source.
1 y . You can ignore a leaky faucet at work
or at school... it's only worth saving water at
home.
. You can influence decisions your
community makes on drinking water.
-------
1. True.
2. True.
3. False.
4. True.
5. True.
6. False.
7. True.
8. False.
9. True.
10. True.
11. False.
12. True.
13. False.
14. True.
That's 1,350 gallons a month!
However, 50 percent of U.S. drinking
water is from surface sources.
Don't buy products that say
"poisonous, toxic, corrosive," etc.
Heat can dissolve lead from pipes and
solder into your water. New houses
with lead-free solder are not as likely
to have lead problems.
Giardiasis can be caused by animal
wastes in remote untreated streams.
It's called Xeriscape™.
Contaminants can seep through the
ground — have your well tested for
contaminants by your local Health
Department.
In some cities, the number of glasses
can go as high as 15,000.
They can seep into the water under
ground or rain can wash them into
surface water.
The U.S. government regulates quality
and currently has standards for more
than 80 contaminants.
Showers and toilets are the major
users.
Even though some landfills have a
protective lining, leakage can occur
and contaminate groundwater.
15. True. Many are drilled to monitor water
quality in aquifers and in areas around
dump sites.
16. False. It wastes water.
17. False. We have identified or are using most
water sources in the U.S.
18. False. All unused wells should be capped.
Open wells can provide a route for
contaminants to reach aquifers.
19- False. It's smart to save water no matter
where you are.
20. True. Call your water utility company, speak
up at public meetings, write a letter to
your City Council — you can
affect decisions!
© American Water Works Association
Permission is granted to the media and the following
organizations and their members to reprint the Blue Thumb
Quiz in whole or in part: American Water Works Association,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, American Ground Water
Trust, U.S. Department of Agriculture Extension Service,
The League of Women Voters, Water Education Foundation,
National Geographic Society, Association of State Drinking
Water Administrators, National Association of Water Companies,
Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, and the American
Library Association.
National Drinking Water Week Headquarters, 6666 West Quincy Ave., Denver, Colorado 80235
-------
Witome&teom
,^;^^
,
because of rts
-^^Hv^:^2^v;.,,>-,.,^;^^
'honsellke neSghir
-Kjse&.£r.''..*-'i''' ••;*-&•'•• »-
-------
The Chinese
discovered
the purifying
effects of
boiling water.
Blue Thumb Tips and
Tricks
Get Involved and use these Blue Thumb Tips and Tricks
to help conserve and protect water,
our most precious natural resource.
Tip: Recycle water from fish tanks.
Trick: Use it to water plants. Fish emulsion is a good, inexpensive fertilizer high
in nitrogen and phosphorous.
Tip: Check faucets for leaks.
Trick: Do-it-yourself and replace worn washers periodically.
Tip: Promote water pollution prevention in your neighborhood.
Trick: Organize the cleanup of a river, lake, stream, or canal in your .community.
Tip: When watering the lawn, avoid watering the house, sidewalk, or street.
Trick: Adjust sprinklers so only the lawn is watered.
Tip: Don't let the tap run ever/ time you want a drink.
Trick: F]l) a pitcher with tap water and put it in the fridge.
Tip: Never pour toxic chemicals down the drain, on the ground, or in the trash.
Trick: Choose natural household cleaners like borax,-ammonia, vinegar, and
baking soda and recycle hazardous household waste at waste collection
centers.
Tip: Promote water conservation by watering trees and plants only once a week.
Trick: Place a layer of mulch around trees and plants to retain water.
Tip: Know how often your lawn needs watering.
Trick: Use a moisture indicator to tell when your lawn needs watering and when
it doesn't.
Tip: Get involved and voice your opinion about water issues in your community.
Trick: Attend a water board or planning commission meeting.
-------
Be Hydro-Logical
FACT: More water is used in the bathroom
than any other place in the home.
ACTION: Turn off the water when you
brush your teeth and shave. Install low-flow
toilets, shower heads and faucet aerators and
you'll save thousands of gallons/liters of
water a year. It's a savings that should
reduce your water bill.
FACT: Today there are many more people
using the same amount of water we had 100
years ago.
ACTION: Don't waste water. Use it
wisely and cut back wherever you can.
FACT: A dripping faucet can waste up to
2,000 gallons/7,600 liters of water a year. A
leaky toilet can waste as much as 200
gallons/260 liters of water a day.
ACTION: Check your plumbing and repair
any leaks as soon as possible.
FACT: Lead in household plumbing can
get into your water.
ACTION: Find out if your pipes are lead or
if lead solder was used to connect the pipes.
If you have lead in your plumbing system,
when you turn on the tap for drinking or
cooking, let the water run until it's cold.
Never use water from the hot tap for cooking
or drinking.
FACT: What's dumped on the ground,
poured down the drain, or tossed in the trash
can pollute the sources of our drinking
water.
ACTION: Take used motor oil and other
automotive fluids to an automotive service
center that recycles them. Patronize
automotive centers and stores that accept
batteries for recycling. Take leftover paint,
solvents, and toxic household products to
special collection centers.
ACTION: Make the most of the water you
use outdoors by never watering at the hottest
times of the day or when it's windy. Turn
off your sprinklers when it's raining. Plant
low-water use grasses and shrubs to reduce
your lawn watering by 20% - 50%.
FACT: Lawn and garden pesticides and
fertilizers can pollute the water.
ACTION: Reduce your use of pesticides
and fertilizers and look for safer alternatives
to control weeds and bugs. For example,
geraniums repel Japanese beetles; garlic and
mint repel aphids; and marigolds repel white
flies.
FACT: Although most people get their
water from regulated community water
supplies, others rely on their own private
wells and are responsible for their own water
quality.
ACTION: If you own a well, contact your
local health department or Cooperative
Extension Service representative to find out
how to test the quality of your well water.
FACT: Your city government and state
officials regularly make decisions that affect
the quality of your drinking water resources.
ACTION: As the population grows and
housing and industrial interest expand,
attend local planning and zoning meetings
and ask what's being done to protect water
resources from contamination. Let elected
officials know that you expect them to use
their hydro-logic to protect the water.
FACT: Public water utilities regularly test
the quality of the drinking water they
provide to customers.
ACTION: Call your water utility and ask
for a copy of their latest water quality report.
-------
United States
Environmental Protection Office of Water EPA 810-F-95-001
Agency 4601 April 1995
WATER TRIVIA FACTS
1. How much water does it take to process a quarter pound of hamburger?
Approximately one gallon.
2. How much water does it take to make four new tires?
2,072 gallons
3. What is the total amount of water used to manufacture a new car, including new tires?
39,090 gallons per car
4. How many households use private wells for their water supply?
17,000,000 households
5. Water is the only substance found on earth naturally hi the three forms.
True (solid, liquid, and gas)
6. Does water regulate the earth's temperature?
Yes (it is a natural insulator)
7. How long can a person live without food?
More than a month
How long can a person live without water?
Approximately one week, depending upon conditions.
8. How much water must a person consume per day to maintain health?
2.5 quarts from all sources (i.e., water, food)
9. How much water does a birch tree give off per day in evaporation?
70 gallons
10. How much water does an acre of corn give off per clay hi evaporation?
4,000 gallons
11. How many miles of pipeline and aqueducts are in the US and Canada?
Approximately one million miles, or enough to circle the earth 40 times
12. What were the first water pipes made from hi the US?
Fire charred bored logs
13. How much water is used to flush a toilet?
2-7 gallons
14. How much water is used in the average five-minute shower?
25-50 gallons
15. How much water is used to brush your teeth?
2 gallons
16. How much water is used on the average for an automatic dishwasher?
9-12 gallons
-------
17. On the average, how much water is used to hand wash dishes?
20 gallons
18. How many community public water systems are there in the United States?
56,000
19. How much water do these utilities process daily?
34 billion gallons
20. Of the nation's community water supplies, how many are investor-owned?
32,500
21. How much water does the average residence use during a year?
107,000 gallons
22. How much water does an individual use daily?
50 gallons
23. What does a person pay for water on a daily basis?
National average is 25 cents
24. How much of the earth's surface is water?
25. Of all the earth's water, how much is ocean or seas?
97%
26. How much of the world's water is frozen and therefore unusable?
2%
27. How much of the earth's water is suitable for drinking water?
1%
28. Is it possible for me to drink water that was part of the dinosaur era?
Yes
29. If all community water systems had to be replaced, what would it cost?
In excess of $175 billion
30. What does it cost to operate the water systems throughout the country annually?
Over $3.5 billion
31. How much does one gallon of water weigh?
8.34 pounds
32. How many gallons of water would it take to cover one square mile with one foot of water?
219 million gallons
33. How much water is in one cubic foot?
7.84 gallons
34. How many gallons of water do you get per acre, when it rains one inch?
27,000 gallons per acre
35. At what temperature does water freeze?
32 degrees F, 0 degrees C
36. At what temperature does water vaporize?
212 degree F, 100 degrees C
-------
37. What is the most common substance found on earth?
Water
38. How much of the human body is water?
66%
39. How much of a chicken is water?
75%
40. How much of a pineapple is water?
80%
41. How much of a tomato is water?
95%
42. How much of an elephant is water?
70%
43. How much of an ear of corn is water?
80%
44. How much water does it take to process one chicken?
11.6 gallons
45. How much water does it take to process one can of fruit or vegetables?
9.3 gallons
46. How much water does it take to process one barrel of beer?
1,500 gallons
47. How much water does it take to make one board foot of lumber?
5.4 gallons
48. How much water does it take to make one pound of plastic ?
24 gallons
49. How much water does it take to make one pound of wool or cotton?
101 gallons
50. How much water does it take to refine one barrel of crude oil?
1,851 gallons
51. How much does it take to produce one ton of steel?
62,600 gallons
52. How much water does it take to process one ton of cane sugar to make processed sugar?
28,100 gallons
53. How much water does it take to process one ton of beet sugar to make processed sugar?
33,100 gallons
-------
The Decision Process for Drinking Water.
Source
• Does the drinking water
come from lakes, rivets,
or wells?
• How dean is the source?
• How much is there?
• How do we finance it?
• How do we protect it?
• What type of recreational
uses are appropriate?
Transport
How far must the water
travel?
Over what type of land?
What is the cost to
move it?
Treatment
• What type of treatment
does the water need?
• Are the facilities
adequate?
• How do we finance
treatment?
B Is more research needed?
Testing
• What federal and state
tests are required?
• How safe is the water?
• What must the public
be told?
Delivery
• Where must the
water go?
• Is the delivery system
adequate?
• Does the system allow
the community to grow?
B How is the system
financed?
Home
• Do you ever run out
of water?
• Do you have lead pipes
or solder?
• Do you know how to
reduce lead in your
water?
• Do you waste water?
• How much do you value
your water?'
-------
Science Projects
-------
5 EPA
United States Office of Water
Environmental Protection 4601
Agency
EPA 570/9-90-007
April 1990
Science
Demonstration
Projects in
Drinking Water
(Grades K-12)
-------
introduction
This pamphlet includes a brief selection of science demon-
stration projects related to drinking water for K-12 students.
The projects are organized according to the following grade
categories: primary (K-4); middle/junior high (5-8); and
secondary (9-12). The divisions between grade categories
are arbitrary. The projects are essentially applicable to all
grade levels. By simply varying the vocabulary and expand-
ing or contracting the background and discussion sections,
each project can be made relevant to a specific grade level.
The general areas covered by the demonstration projects
include the chemical/physical aspects of water, contamina-
tionand treatment of drinking water, distribution and supply
of drinking water, and water conservation. While the projects
presented are complete activities, teachers are encouraged to
expand the projects to meet the needs and goals of their
respective teaching situations.
The demonstration projects included in this pamphlet are
representative of many such projects developed by talented
professionals in the science, engineering, and education
communities. The projects have been reprinted in whole or
in part with the permission of the appropriate publishers.
Reference and/or credit information is included with each
activity. In addition, a list of organizations that have devel-
oped or are developing projects related to drinking water are
included at the back of this document.
-------
primary
The Never Ending
Cycle of Water
Background
Water is very abundant on Earth. It circulates continu-
ously between the air, the ground, and plants and
animals. This constant circulation of water is known as
the water cycle. Water is carried through air where it
eventually condenses into small droplets which form
clouds. From the clouds, water falls to the Earth in the
form of rain or snow (precipitation). This water is
absorbed into the ground or runs over the surface of the
ground into rivers and lakes. Plants and animals use the
water to live. Water then evaporates from soil, the
leaves of plants, the lungs and skin of animals, and from
the surface of puddles, streams, and lakes to the air.
Evaporation
Condensation }/J' //(
Woodland plants (e.g., violets, ferns, or mosses—gathered in
backyards or available from nurseries)
Water
Light source or a sunny window sill
Tight-fitting jar lid (or plastic wrap secured by rubber band
or masking tape)
Procedure
1) Place a one-inch layer of gravel on the bottom of
the clear glass jar. Cover this layer with one of
sphagnum or peat moss, followed by a layer of
soil (see illustration at right).
2) Set woodland plant(s) into the soil mixture.
3) Water terrain lightly.
4) Cover glass jar tightly with lid (if available) or
with plastic wrap secured by a rubber band or
masking tape and place
under or near a light
source.
5) Observe the glass jar
over several hours.
Discussion
DWhat collected on the
sides of the glass jar? (con-
densed moisture)
2) Where did the moisture
on the sides of the glass jar
come from? (evaporated
water from plants)
3) What provided the en-
ergy for the changes ob-
served in the water's form?
(the sun)
Objective
To demonstrate that water moves in a continuous cycle.
Source: Science Activities far Children
Suggested Activities
Materials
Large, wide-mouthed clear glass jar
Gravel*
Sphagnum or peat moss*
Soil*
Prior to conducting this activity, the teacher may wish
to more fully demonstrate the processes of precipita-
tion, evaporation, and condensation. In addition, a
discussion or demonstration of water in its three states
(solid, liquid, gas) might also be useful. Samples of such
experiments can be found in the source material noted
below.
'(available from hardware stores or nurseries)
-------
primary
Sources
Activity #1
Background information adapted with permission from: Objective
Srd yaTbS°Y™fS P ' Bfrsn^n1; ?d""?<£? ^ f°r To illustrate how a reservoir works.
Children. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1983). p. 47.
Activity adapted with permission from: Materials
Water Wizards. (Boston, MA: Massachusetts Water Resources Au- „, ,. ,
thority.l983).pp.2.4. Plashcbox
"Water: We Can't Live Without It." National Wildlife Week Educators' Spray bottle
Guide. (Washington, DC: National Wildlife Federation, March 18-24, p,,j,]ui-c
1984). p. 7. r somes
Soil
Sand
Leaves
Source: National Wildlife Week Educators' Guide
How People Get Their Water
Background
Nearly 80 percent of the Earth's surface is water, yet less
than one percent can be used for drinking water. Water
moves in a continuous cycle between the air, the ground,
and plants and animals (see previous activity). Most
water does not naturally exist in a pure form or in a form
that is safe for people to drink. Consequently, water
must be cleaned prior to consumption. Water utilities
provide such treatment before water is sent through
pipes to homes in the community.
The demand for water by people varies. The availabil-
ity of water also varies in different areas of the country.
Consequently, utilities store extra water in spaces known
as reservoirs. Water is usually contained in reservoirs
by a dam. Reservoirs help ensure that communities do
not run out of water at any given time regardless of the
communities' total water use.
Source: Water Wizards
Procedure
1) Construct a model of a reservoir using a clean,
clear plastic box (see illustration). Line the
bottom of the box with small pebbles and then
layer sand, soil, and leaves on top (sloping the
material downward toward the edges of the
box).
2) Carefully spray water on the four corners of the
model until the soil mixture is saturated and the
water has seeped through to the open area—the
reservoir.
Discussion
1) What are the sources of water for a reservoir?
(precipitation in the form of rain and snow)
2) How does water get into a reservoir? (It seeps over
and through the soil above the reservoir.)
3) What contains or holds water in a real reservoir?
(dams)
4) What kind of treatment does water receive in a
reservoir? (natural filtration through leaves, grass,
and soil; also some settling occurs in the reservoir)
-3-
-------
primary
Activity #2
Source
Objective
To build a model of a water delivery system from source
to user.
Materials
Large piece of paper or cardboard
Paper towel tubes
Different sizes of pasta (linguini, spaghetti, manicotti)
Glue
Reservoir built in Activity #1 (optional)
Procedure
1) Using the pasta and paper towel tubes, create a
community pipe system (see illustration). Connect
the "pipes" with glue and lay out on the large sheet
of paper or cardboard.
2) Either use the reservoir constructed in the previous
activity or draw one on the cardboard; also draw
houses, schools, and other buildings that receive
water from the delivery system.
Discussion
Students should consider how water gets from reser-
voirs to distribution systems and to individual homes.
(The circumference of pipes decreases as the distribu-
tion system expands into the community. As water
travels through a distribution system, it is continuously
diverted down different pathways. These pathways
lead to individual homes and businesses. The circum-
ference of a pipe determines the quantity of water that
can be contained in the pipe at any one time and deter-
mines, in part, the rate at which the water will travel
through the pipe. As the distribution system expands
to homes and businesses, the volume of water needed
per home or business represents only a portion of the
total volume leaving the treatment plant. Consequently,
smaller pipes are needed in these areas of the distribu-
tion system, whereas larger pipes are needed near the
treatment plant. Water treatment plants generally pump
water from the reservoir to holding or water towers.
The water flows by gravitational force from the water
tower and throughout the distribution system.)
Activities adapted with permission from:
Water Wizards. (Boston, MA: Massachusetts Water Resources Au-
thority, 1983). pp. 10-14.
Source; Water Wtzarcfe
Conserving Water for
The Future
Background _^__^__
Water is very valuable to us. We all need approximately
2 liters of water each day. We can live several weeks
without food, but can only live several days without
water. Water makes up our body's blood (which is 83%
water), transports bodily wastes, and helps us digest
our food. We get most of our body's daily requirement
of water from food. But water is a limited resource,
which means that there is only so much water on Earth
available for use. In order for water to be available when
needed, it must be conserved.
-4-
-------
primary
Objective
To emphasize the need for water conservation.
Materials
One 12 ounce clear glass
Water
Question and answer sheet for each student
Procedure
4) What other conservation measures can you think
of that would save glasses of water? (Answers will
vary.)
5) How thirsty do you feel after not receiving water
the entire morning or afternoon? (Answers will
vary.)
6) How do you think you would feel if you could only
have several ounces of water each day? (Very
thirsty, sick, and eventually dead.)
1)
Explain to the students that they are conducting an Suggested Activities
experiment that will test what it is like to not have
a drink of water. Inform the students that they may
not drink water the entire morning or afternoon
preceding the conclusion of the activity.
2)
Place the glass of water on a desk in the front of the
classroom to visually remind students of water.
3) About one half-hour before lunch or the conclusion
of the school day, provide students with the
following questions to answer individually or as a
group.
Discussion
1) An average glass can hold 12 ounces of a liquid
such as water. An average drip from a sink can
waste 5 gallons of water per day or 240 ounces per
day. How many glasses of water could be saved
per day by fixing the leak? (Answer: 20)
2) An average bathtub uses 36 gallons of water while
the average short shower uses only 25 gallons — a
difference of 11 gallons or 1408 ounces. Approxi-
mately how many glasses of water could be saved
if a person took a short shower instead of a bath?
(Answer: 117.3)
3) Do you think that some glasses of water could be
saved if people filled dishwashers or washing
machines with partial rather than full loads? (No.
Most dishwashers and washers use the same
amount of water, no matter if there is a full or
partial load; in some models the cycle can be
changed.)
Many other activities can teach students about water
conservation, including "water audits" of personal,
family, and even school-wide water use. A variation of
the "Water Use Analysis" project presented later in this
pamphlet may be appropriate to demonstrate how
people use water differently. A discussion of how vari-
ous cultures (e.g., desert versus city dwellers) value
water as well as spend time and effort obtaining it might
also be useful.
Source
Activity adapted with permission from:
Wafer and Water Conservation Curriculum. (Aurora, CO: Aurora
Utilities Department), p. 197.
-5-
-------
middle
How Substances are
Measured in Water
Background
We often find references to parts per million, parts per
billion, and even parts per trillion in our everyday
reading and news reports. What do they mean? Most of
us have difficulty imagining large numbers of objects.
How many stars can you see in the clear night sky far
away from the smog and lights of the city? What does it
mean when we read that an insecticide has been found
in our groundwater at a concentration of 5 parts per
billion? Developing an understanding of extremely
large and extremely small numbers is very difficult.
Objective
To visualize the concept of extremely small numbers.
Material
1 bottle of food coloring
1 medicine dropper
1 white egg carton (6 or 12 eggs) or six small clear
plastic cups
2 other containers to hold food coloring and water
Procedure
1) Prior to conducting the activity, ask students to
consider the following:
a) What is the largest number of things you can
clearly visualize in your mind? [Most of us can
handle 5,10, perhaps even 20 if we use all of
our fingers and toes.]
b) Can you visualize a group of 100 people? [Many
people think they can by describing a party or
community meeting. If you try to visualize a
group of 80 or 120 differently from the 100, it
soon becomes apparent that our visualization
is not that clear. The Rose Bowl full of people
represents about 100,000. Trying to pick out
just 1 individual in that crowd would be find-
ing 1 in 100,000.]
c) Food coloring from the store is usually a 10%
solution. What does 10% mean? [It means 10
parts (by weight) of solid food coloring dye is
dissolved in 100 parts (by weight) of solution.
For example, 10 grams of dye dissolved in 90
grams of water make a total of 100 grams of
10% solution.]
2) Put some food coloring (5 or 6 drops from the
bottle) into one small container and some tap water
into the other.
3) Use the medicine dropper to place one drop of 10
percent food coloring (as it comes from the store)
into the first container. [Since 10% means 10 parts
of food coloring per 100 parts of solution, it is the
same as 1 part food coloring in 10 parts of solution.]
4) Use the medicine dropper to add 9 drops of water
to the first container. Stir well. What is the concen-
tration of the food coloring? [You have 1 drop of the
original food coloring in 10 drops of the new solu-
tion. Thus the concentration of the new solution is
1/10 of the original. The original was 1 part in 10,
so the concentration of the food coloring is now 1 /
10 of 1 part in 10. This is 1 part in 10 x 10, or 1 part
of food coloring in 100 parts of solution.]
5) Use the medicine dropper to transfer 1 drop of
solution to the next container. Add 9 drops of
water. Mix. You have again changed the concentra-
tion by a factor of one-tenth. What is the food
coloring concentration in this container? [1 /10 of 1
part in 100 is 1 part in 10 x 100, or 1 part in 1000 parts
of solution.]
6) Transfer one drop of the 1 part in 1000 parts of
solution into the next container. Add 9 drops of
water. Mix. What is the concentration? [1 part in
10,000 parts of solution.]
7) Continue to dilute 1 drop of each solution by add-
ing water as before to obtain 1 part in 100,000 and
then 1 part in 1,000,000. Your final solution is one
part per million.
Discussion
1) In which cavity do you first observe no visual
evidence that food coloring is present? [This gener-
ally occurs in the final container, which is 1 ppm of
food coloring.]
2) Since you cannot see any color present, ho w do you
know there is indeed food coloring present?
3) Can you think of an experiment that you could do
to prove there is food coloring present in each cup?
Doit.
-6-
-------
middle
4) Which is more concentrated, one part per million
or 200 parts per billion? [A billion is a thousand
million. Therefore, 1 ppm is 1000 ppb. 1 ppm is
more concentrated than 200 ppb.]
Sources
Activity adapted with permission from:
Chemicals in Society Participant's Guide. (Berkeley, CA: Chemical
Education for Public Understanding Program, University of Califor-
nia at Berkeley, 1989). pp. 5-6.
Materials
Conserving the Nation's
Water Resources
Background
People require an average of 2 L of water per day to
sustain life. However, the average American uses about
100 times more water than this every day at home. An
average family of four in the United States might use
about 900 L'of water per day for the purposes identified
in the table below.
Approximate daily water use by a family of
four in the U.S.
Use
Liters per Day
Drinking and cooking
Dishwasher (3 loads per day)
Toilet (16 flushes per day)
Bathing (4 baths or showers per day)
Laundering clothes
Watering houseplants
Rinsing garbage into disposal unit
30
57
363
303
130
4
13
Total dally use:
900 L
(A reminder: 1 gallon = 3.8 L; 26.3 gallons = 100 L. The total
daily water use of 900 L is equal to about 237 gallons.)
Source: Earth- The Water Planet
Objective
To provide a real-life model of how much water a family
typically uses on a daily basis; to allow participants to
experience firsthand how much effort is required to
transport water; and to illustrate that when people
desire, they can sharply reduce their water usage.
A schoolyard or large room with a water source
Two 122 L (32 gallon) trash cans
Empty milk jugs and/or buckets (as many as possible)
100 L of water
A watch or clock with a second hand
A meter stick (optional)
The story begins:
One cold January, the Smith family rent a house in the
mountains for a ski vacation. The house, though old,
has all the comforts of home — three bathrooms, a
complete laundry room, dishwasher, and garbage dis-
posal, plus a newly installed solar hot water heating
system. Unfortunately, the weather gets so cold one
night that a water main in town breaks, and the Smiths
find out that the house will have no water service from
the local utility for the entire week What should they do
— go back home or try to find another water supply?
Mr. Smith learns from a neighbor that there is an unfro-
zen spring 100 m from the house that could still be used
for drinking water. Mrs. Smith, who is a mechanical
engineer, discovers that if the municipal water line
coming into the house were shut off, the water in the
storage tank for the solar water heater could be routed
directly into the plumbing system. The water system in
the house will work as long as the storage tank is kept
filled with water from the spring.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith discuss the situation with their two
children Alice (14) and Sam (12). The family decides to
form a "family bucket brigade" from the spring to the
house, fill the storage tank each day, and continue their
vacation. The storage tank can hold about 900 L of
water.
Procedure
1) Place the two trashcanslOOm apart (measure with
a meter stick or the distance is equal to approxi-
mately 150 paces for an average size adult).
2) Place 100 L of water in one of the trash cans. This
can will represent the spring.
3) Select four students to represent the Smith family;
equip each person with as many buckets and milk
jugs as he/she can carry; and have students trans-
fer the 100 L of water from the spring to the house
(the house being represented by the second trash
can located 100 m away).
-7-
-------
middle
4) Have students record the time when the Smith
family begins and finishes carrying the first 100 L
of water. Students should then determine the total
time that was required for the Smith family to
transfer all of the water.
5) The Smiths may feel a little tired after transferring
the 100 L of water. Thus far, they have only carried
11 percent of the water required to fill the tank.
They still have 800 L to go. To save water (since this
is role playing), have the Smiths bring the same 100
L back from the house to the spring rather than
getting additional water out of the faucet being
used.
6) The Smiths should continue carrying the water
back and forth until the 100 L of water has changed
cans a total of nine times, and the Smiths have
carried the equivalent of 900 L of water 100 m to the
house.
7) Have students record the time when the Smiths
finish moving the entire 900 L of water from the
spring to the house. Ask students the total amount
of time (probably will be about 30 minutes) that
was required to move the 900 L of water.
The story continues:
After carrying all of the water, the Smiths are too tired
to ski very much. They come home early, have spaghetti
for lunch, wash the dishes, and launder their bucket
brigade clothes (which got muddy at the spring). After
eating dinner, washing more dishes and clothes, water-
ing the houseplants, and taking long, hot showers, they
go to bed.
It is snowing too hard the next day to ski, so the Smiths
stay in the house all day. When Mr. Smith tries to start
the dishwasher after lunch, he discovers that the family
is out of water! Sam and Alice groan and say that they
would rather be grounded until they are 21 than carry
900 L of water to the house every day. They point out
that they haven't even been in the house a full 24 hours
since previously carrying the water.
Discussion
Have students identify and defend water conservation
measures. What steps could the Smiths have taken to
conserve water and save their ski vacation? (Some
conservation measures include washing clothes less
frequently, running the dishwasher once per day, fixing
any leaking plumbing fixtures, taking quick showers,
not flushing toilets after every use, reducing the amount
of water required for toilet flushing, etc.)
Source
Activity adapted with permission from:
Jack E. Gartrell, Jr., Jane Crowder, and Jeffrey C. Callister. Earth: The
Water Planaet. (Washington, DC: The National Science Teachers
Association, 1989). pages 85-89.
How Water Is Cleaned
Background
Water in lakes, rivers, and swamps often contains
impunities that make it look and smell bad. The water
may also contain bacteria and other microbiological
organisms that can cause disease. Consequently, water
from surface sources must be "cleaned" before it can be
consumed by people. Water treatment plants typically
clean water by taking it through the following proc-
esses: 1) aeration; 2) coagulation; 3) sedimentation; 4)
filtration; and 5) disinfection. Demonstration projects
for the first four processes are included below.
Objective
To demonstrate the procedures that municipal water
plants use to purify water for drinking.
Materials
5 L of "swamp water" (or add 2 VI cups of dirt or mud to
5 L of water)
One 2 L plastic soft drink bottle with its cap (or cork that
fits tightly into the neck of the bottle)
Two 2 L plastic soft drink bottles — one bottle with the top
removed and one bottle with the bottom removed
-8-
-------
middle
One 1.5 L (or larger) beaker or
another soft drink bottle
bottom
20 g of alum (potassium
aluminum sulfate —
approximately 2 tablespoons;
available at a pharmacy)
Fine sand (about 800 ml in
volume)
Coarse sand (about 800 ml in
volume)
Small pebbles (about 400 ml in
volume)
Fine sand
Beaker
Source: Earth: The Water Planet
A large (500 ml or larger)
beaker or jar
A small (approximately 5 cmx 5 cm) piece of flexible nylon
screen
A tablespoon
A rubber band
A clock with a second hand or a stopwatch
Procedure
1) Pour about 1.5 L of "swamp water" into a 2 L bottle.
Have students describe the appearance and smell
of the water.
2) Aeration is the addition of air to water. It allows
gases trapped in the water to escape and adds
oxygen to the water. Place the cap on the bottle and
shake the water vigorously for 30 seconds. Con-
tinue the aeration process by pouring the water
into either one of the cut-off bottles, then pouring
the water back and forth between the cut-off bottles
10 times. Ask students to describe any changes
they observe. Pour the aerated water into a bottle
with its top cut off.
3) Coagulation is the process by which dirt and other
suspended solid particles are chemically "stuck to-
gether" into floe so that they can be removed from
water. With the tablespoon, add 20 g of alum
crystals to the swamp water. Slowly stir the mixture
for 5 minutes.
4) Sedimentation is the process that occurs when
gravity pulls the particles of floe (clumps of alum
and sediment) to the bottom of the cylinder. Allow
the water to stand undisturbed in the cylinder. Ask
5)
students to observe the water at 5 minute intervals
for a total of 20 minutes and write their observa-
tions with respect to changes in the water's
appearance.
Construct a filter from the bottle with its bottom cut
off as follows (see illustration at left):
a) Attach the nylon screen to the outside neck of
the bottle with a rubber band. Turn the bottle
upside down and pour a layer of pebbles into
the bottle—the screen will prevent the pebbles
from falling out of the neck of the bottle.
b) Pour the course sand on top of the pebbles.
c) Pour the fine sand on top of the course sand.
d) Clean the filter by slowly and carefully pouring
through 5 L (or more) of clean tap water. Try not
to disturb the top layer of sand as you pour the
.water.
6) Filtration through a sand and pebble filter re-
moves most of the impurities remaining in water
after coagulation and sedimentation have taken
place. After a large amount of sediment has settled
on the bottom of the bottle of swamp water, care-
fully — without disturbing the sediment — pour
the top two-thirds of the swamp water through the
filter. Collect the filtered water in the beaker. Pour
the remaining (one-third bottle) of swamp water
into the collection bucket. Compare the treated
and the untreated water. Ask students whether
treatment has changed the appearance and smell of
the water. [Inform students that a water treatment
plant would as a final step disinfect the water (e.g.,
would add a disinfectant such as chlorine gas) to
kill any remaining disease-causing organisms prior
to distributing the water to homes. Therefore, the
demonstration water is not safe to drink.]
Discussion
1) What was the appearance of the swamp water?
(Answers will vary, depending on the water source
used. Water from some sources may be smelly
and/or muddy.)
2) Does aeration change the appearance or smell of
water? (If the original water sample was smelly, the
water should have less odor after aeration. Pouring
the water b*ck ?r>d forth ?11-v.vs some of the foul-
smelling gases trapped to escape to the air of the
room. Students may have observed small bubbles
-9-
-------
middle
suspended in the water and attached to the sides of
the cylinder.)
3) How did the sedimentation process effect the
water's appearance? Did the appearance of the
water vary at each 5 minute interval? (The rate of
sedimentation depends on the water being used
and the size of alum crystals added. Large particles
will settle almost as soon as stirring stops. Even if
the water contains very fine clay particles, visible
clumps of floe should form and begin to settle out
by the end of the 20-minute observation period.)
4) How does the treated water (following filtration)
differ from the untreated swamp water? (After
filtration, the treated swamp water should look
much clearer than the untreated water. It probably
will not be as clear as tap water, but the decrease in
the amount of material suspended in the water
should be quiteobvious. The treated sampleshould
have very little odor when compared to the starting
supply of swamp water.)
Suggested Activities
A field trip to a local water treatment plant.
Have the State or a certified testing laboratory
conduct analyses of the students' treated and
untreated water for various contaminants.
Source
Activity adapted with permission from:
Jack E. Gartrell, Jr., Jane Crowder, and Jeffrey C. Callister. Earth The
Water Planet (Washington, DC: The National Science Teachers Asso-
ciation, 1989). pp. 97-101.
How a water treatment system works.
Source: The Official Captain Hydro Water Conservation Workbook
-10-
-------
secondary
Concentrations of Chemical
Pollutants in Water
Background
Concentrations of chemical pollutants in water are fre-
quently expressed in units of "parts per million" (ppm)
or "parts per billion" (ppb). For example, chemical
fertilizers contain nitrates, a chemical that can be dan-
gerous to pregnant women even in quantities as small
as 10 parts per million. Trichloroethylene (TCE), a
common industrial solvent, is more dangerous than
nitrates and when present in drinking water in quanti-
ties as small as 5 parts per million can cause a higher
than normal incidence of cancer among people who
drink the water regularly.
Objective
To demonstrate the concept of ppm and ppb as these
units are used to explain chemical contaminant concen-
trations in water; to explain how chemicals may be
present in very small amounts in water such that they
cannot often be detected by sight, taste, or smell; though,
still possibly posing as a threat to human health.
Materials
Solid coffee stirrers or tooth picks
Clean water for rinsing the dropper
Medicine dropper
Red food coloring (for "contamination")
Set of 9 clear containers
Clean water for diluting
White paper
Procedure
1) Line up the containers side-by-side and place a
piece of white paper under each one. From left to
right, number the containers 1 to 9.
2) Place 10 drops of food coloring into container #1
(food dye is already diluted 1:10).
3) Place one drop of food coloring into container #2.
4) Add 9 drops of clean water to container #2 and stir
the solution. Rinse the dropper.
5) Use the medicine dropper to transfer 1 drop of the
solution from container #2 into container #3. Add
9 drops of clean water to container #3 and stir the
solution. Rinse the dropper.
6) Transfer 1 drop of the solution from container #3 to
container #4. Add 9 drops of clean water to con-
tainer #4 and stir the solution. Rinse the dropper.
7) Continue the same process until all 9 containers
contain successively more dilute solutions.
8) Complete the discussion questions below.
Discussion
1) The food coloring in container #1 is a food coloring
solution which is one part colorant per 10 parts liq-
uid. What is the concentration for each of the
successive dilutions? (Have students use the table
below; each dilution decreases by a factor of 10—
MO, 1/100, MOOD, etc.)
2) What is the concentration of the solution when the
diluted solution first appeared colorless? (Usually
occurs in container #6,1/1,000,000 or 1 ppm.)
3) Do you think there is any of the colored solution
present in the diluted solution even though it is
colorless? Explain. (Yes. The solution is still pres-
ent but has been broken down into such small
particles that it cannot be seen.)
4) What would remain in the containers if all the
water were removed? (Residue from the food
coloring.)
Suggested Activities
1) Allow the water in the containers to evaporate and
have students record their observations on what
remains in the containers.
2) Discuss chemical contamination of drinking water.
Use the list of maximum contaminant levels (MCLs)
on the following page for some toxic or carcino-
genic chemicals in drinking water (as regulated by
Container No.
Concentration
1
1/10
2
1/
3
1/
4
V
5
V
6
V
7
V
8
V
9
V
-11 -
Source: Water Wisdom
-------
secondary
i \ +
the US. Environmental Protection Agency). These
MCLs represent the maximum amount of a chemi-
cal that can occur in drinking water without the
water being dangerous to human health. [Note:
Some of the MCLs listed are subject to revision by
EPA shortly.]
Substance Concentration (ppb) Substance Concentration (ppb)
Arsenic
Barium
Cadmium
Mercury
50
1,000
10
2
Nitrate
Selenium
Endrin
2,4-D (herbicide)
10,000
10
0.2
100
Note: The above substances do not represent a complete list of
regulated drinking water contaminants.
3) Explain the relationship between ppm and ppb
and the conversion of these units to milligrams and
micrograms per liter. For example: 1 ppm = 1000
ppb; 1 ppm = 1 mg/1; and 1 ppb = 1 ug/1.
contaminated aquifers are quite costly.
Objective
To illustrate how water flows through an aquifer, how
ground water can become contaminated, and how diffi-
cult it is to clean up contamination.
Materials
6"x8" disposable aluminum cake pans or plastic boxes
2 lb$. non-water soluble plasticine modeling clay or floral clay
3-4: Ibs. white aquarium gravel
Pen gravel
Small drinking straw
Food coloring
6 oz. paper cups (no larger)
Water
4) Relate the previous conversions to the drinking Procedure
water regulations. [MCLs are established in milli-
grams per liter (mg/1)]. Convert the numbers in the
above chart from ppb to mg/1.
1)
Source
Activity adapted with permission from:
Water Wisdom. (Boston, MA: Massachusetts Water Resources
Authority, 1989). Exercise #16.
Contamination of an Aquifer
Background
Many communities obtain their drinking water from
underground sources called aquifers. Water suppliers
or utility officials drill wells through soil and rock into
aquifers for the groundwater contained therein. Unfor-
tunately, the groundwater can become contaminated
by harmful chemicals that percolate down through soil
and rock into the aquifer—and eventually into the well.
Groundwater contamination by chemicals is caused
mainly by industrial runoff and/or improper manage-
ment of chemicals, including improper disposal of
household chemicals such as lawn care products and
cleaners. Such contamination can pose a significant
threat to human health. The measures that must be
taken by utilities to either protect or clean up
Set up a model aquifer as shown in the diagram
below. If a disposable aluminum baking pan is
used, make a small hole in one end and insert a
section of a drinking straw to serve as the drain
spout. Seal the hole around the straw, with glue or
clay. In addition, seal the day layers of the model
against the side of the container.
2) Place 10 drops of food coloring on the surface of the
model near the highest end. This dye represents
chemicals or others pollutants that have been spilled
on the ground.
3) Slowly pour one 6-ounce cup of tap water on the
aquarium gravel areas as shown in the diagram.
Collect the water as it runs out of the straw. Repeat
this process starting with 6 ounces of tap water and
continue the flushing process until all the food
coloring is washed out and the discharge water is
\dd food coloring and flush water here,
Aquarium flrav
Clay IJIJXT
Source: Water Wisdom
-12-
-------
secondary
clear. (Collecting the water in white paper cups or
in test tubes held up against a white background
will enable students to detect faint coloration.)
4) Record the number of flushings required until an
output with no visible color is reached (may re-
quire up to ten flushes). [Note: 6 ounces of water in
this model equals about 1 inch of rain.]
Discussion
Source
Before the Activity
1) Where does the water go that falls on the surface of Background
an aquifer? How about any chemicals or other
pollutants that fall on the ground? (Some chemi-
cals/pollutants are washed away by rain, some
become attached to rocks and soil, and some end
up in the groundwater.)
Activity adapted with permission front:
Water Wisdom. (Boston, MA: Massachusetts Water Resources
Authority, 1989). Exercise #11.
Water Use Analysis
2) What things might influence the time needed to
flush an aquifer clean? (Depth and volume of the
water table, type of underlying rock and soil, nature
and concentration of the pollutant.)
After the Activity
1) After flushing, is the water in the model aquifer
completely free of food coloring? (Probably not;
trace amounts may remain.)
2) Estimate how much contamination remains in the
model aquifer. (Refer to previous exercise.)
3) What keeps the chemical contamination in the
demonstration from reaching the lower levels of
the model aquifer? (The clay layer.)
4) What are some of the problems that might result
from a major chemical spill near a watershed area?
(Answers will vary.)
5) What steps could be taken to avoid damage to an
aquifer? (Answers will vary.)
Suggested Activities
1) Discuss the need for proper disposal of hazardous
industrial wastes and harmful household chemi-
cals, including used motor oil.
2) Simulate nitrate pollution due to fertilizer runoff.
Pollute the aquifer with a small amount of soluble
nitrate and perform a standard nitrate test after
each successive flushing (be sure to wear safety
glasses).
Although household and other municipal water use
accounts for only about 9 percent of total water use in
the United States, delivering adequate quantities of
water of sufficient quality for this purpose is becoming
in
-------
secondary
Discussion
Source
Ask students to identify ways in which their families Activity adapted with permission from:
could reduce their water consumption. American Chemical Society. Chemistry in the Community. (Dubuque,
v IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., 1988). pp. 11,16-17.
Average water volumes required for typical
activities
Use Volume of Water
(in liters and gallons)
Tub bath
Shower (per min)
Washing machine
Low setting
High setting
Dish washing
By hand
By machine
Toilet flushing
130L (35 gal)
19 L (5 gal)
72 L (19 gal)
170L (45 gal)
40 L (10 gal)
46 L (12 gal)
11 L (3 gal)
Reprinted with permission ftomdiemstry in Ike Community. C1988, American Chemical Society
Data Table
Number of persons in family
Number of baths
Number of showers
Length of each in minutes
Number of washing machine loads
Low setting
High setting
Dish washing
Number of times by hand
Number of times by dishwasher
Number of toilet flushes
Other uses and number of each:
Cooking
Drinking
Making juice and coffee
1
Days
2
3
V ?;" teprinl^^tb^m^lMirowCfit*d^mfaCtwwnity.t>%9M,Attri&nCteTr^SoaiSy •;•:••:•;.
*»£••*,.' % - »- - •• •• V. - •• •• ••"• ** <• w». \*" t «_
-14-
-------
references
The organizations below have developed or are in the process of developing science projects related to drinking water for K-12 students. This list is not
intended to be inclusive.
American Chemical Society (ACS), 1155 16th St., NW, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 872-4600 [Chemistry in the Community-
Secondary 9-12].
American Water Works Association (AWWA), 6666 West Quincy Ave., Denver, CO 80235, (303) 794-7711 [Primary K-4; Middle/
Junior 5-9].
Chemical Education for Public Understanding Program (CEPUP), Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley,
CA 94720, (415) 642-8718 [Middle/Junior 5-8].
City of Aurora, Utilities Department, 1470 South Havana St., Aurora, CO 80012, (303) 695-7381 [Middle/Junior 5-8].
City of Seattle, 710 2nd Ave., Dexter-Horton Building, Seattle, WA 98104, (206) 684-5883 [Middle/Junior 5-8].
East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), P.O. Box 24055, Oakland, CA 94623, (415) 835-3000 [Primary K-4; Middle/Junior 5-
8].
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Charlestown Navy Yard, 100 First Ave., Boston, MA 02129, (617) 242-6000 [Upper
Primary 3-4; Middle/Junior 7-8; Secondary 9-12].
National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), 1742 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20009, (202) 328-5800 [Middle/
Junior 5-8].
National Wildlife Federation (NWF), 140016th St., NW, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 797-6800 [Primary K-4; other citizen oriented
material].
South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority, 90 Sargent Dr., New Haven, CT 06511, (203) 624-6671 [Primary and Middle
K-6].
suppliers
The following are some firms that provide general supplies and equipment for all areas of science teaching and also specific items for chemistry teaching.
Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 2725 Sand Hill Rd., Menlo Park, CA 94025, [800-447-2226].
Aldrich Chemical Co., P.O. Box 355, Milwaukee, WI53201, (414) 273-3850, [800-558-9160].
Carolina Biological Supply Co., 2700 York Rd., Burlington, NC 27215, (919) 584-0381 [800-621-4769].
Central Scientific Co., 11222 Melrose Ave., Franklin Park, IL 60131-1364, (312) 451-0150.
Connecticut Valley Biological Supply Co., Inc., 82 Valley Rd., Southampton, MA 01073, (413) 527-4030 [800-628-7748].
Edmund Scientific Co., 101 East Gloucester Pike, Barrington, NJ 08007, (609) 573-6250 [800-222-0224].
Fisher Scientific Co., Educational Materials Division, 4901 West LeMoyne St., Chicago, IL 60651, (312) 378-7770 [800-621-4769].
HinnSdentificInc.,P.O.Box231,917WestWilsonSt.,Batavia,IL60510,(31^
manual on chemical safety, storage, and disposal.]
Frey Scientific Co., 905 Hickory Lane, Mansfield, OH 44905, [800-225-FREY].
Hach Chemical Co., Box 907, Ames, IA 50010. [Test kits for environmental studies.]
Lab-Aids, Inc., 249 Trade Zone Dr., Ronkonkoma, NY 11779, (516) 737-1133.
Lab Safety Supply, 3430 Palmer Dr., P.O. Box 1368, Janesville, WI 53547-1368, (608) 754-2345. [Specialize in safety equipment and supplies.]
LaMotte Chemical Products, Box 329, Chestertown, MD 21620, (301) 778-3100. [Test kits for environmental studies.]
Nalgene Labware Division, P.O. Box 367, Rochester, NY 14602. [Specialize in transparent and translucent plastic laboratory equipment.]
NASCO, 901 Janesville Ave., Ft. Atkinson, WI 53538, (414) 563-2446 [800-558-9595].
Ohaus Scale Corp., 29 Hanover Rd., Florham Park, NJ 07932, (201) 377-9000 [800-672-7722].
Sargent-Welch Scientific Co., 7300 North Linder, Skokie, IL 60077, (312) 677-0600.
Science Kit and Boreal Laboratories, Inc., 777 East Park Dr., Tonawanda, NY 14150-6782, (716) 874-6020 [800-828-7777].
Wards Natural Science Establishment, Inc., 5100 West Henrietta Rd., P.O. Box 92912, Rochester, NY 14692, (716) 359-2502.
[The majority of suppliers listed above appeared in Chemistry in the Community, American Chemical Society. (Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt
Publishing Co., 1988).]
-16-
------- |