Water Conservation

A) The water from my hometown in the Greater Cincinnati region is produced by the Miller Treatment Plant, which takes surface water from the Ohio River and is responsible for providing almost all of the region’s drinking water. Water is first tested before entering the treatment plant and the region has a number of alerts in place to allow it to proactively monitor the water situation.

For example, there is a detection system used on the Ohio River that “warns treatment plants downstream about spills so that measures can be taken before the spill reaches water intakes” (GCWW, 2017). Since the Ohio River is susceptible to contamination, it is important that these detection systems be in place to avoid any problems in the treatment process. To protect drinking water, the Greater Cincinnati Waterworks (GCWW) can turn off the intake and water in storage while pollution dissipates and passes in the river.

It can also effect a different treatment solution so that whatever contaminant is in the water will be treated and removed from the drinking water. GCWW also uses granular activated carbon in its treatment plants, which removes the chemicals typically found in the Ohio River (GCWW, 2017). References GCWW. (2017). Where does my water come from? Retrieved from https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/water/about-greater-cincinnati-water-works/water-sources-resource-protection/ B) An article by Fountain, Patel and Popovich (2018) entitled “2017 Was One of the Hottest Years on Record.

And That Was Without El Nino” in The New York Times focuses on how the earth’s temperature increased in 2017. What is surprising about this is that scientists at NASA ranked 2017 as the second hottest year since record-keeping began over a century ago. (The hottest year came in 2016, suggesting that a trend is shaping). More surprising still is the fact that there was no El Nino to contribute to the warm weather.

In other words, the environment appears to be warming even without this considerable factor in past years. With that in mind, it is difficult for anyone paying attention to the statistics to argue that global warming and climate change is not taking place. The figures are presented in the article alongside graphs and charts to show as much. References Fountain, H., Patel, J. & Popovich, N. (2018). 2017 Was One of the Hottest Years on Record. And That Was Without El Nino. The New York Times, 18 Jan 2017.

Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/01/18/climate/hottest-year-2017.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimate&action=click&contentCollection=climate®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront C) My own water habits are very poor.

I take long showers, do not try to conserve water when I wash dishes (often letting the faucet run while I wash plates, forks, etc., and do not think much about watering the garden with the hose or washing the car, or getting an efficient washing machine for washing clothes.

However, now that I have been introduced to more ideas about water, especially from the lecture and from the video (After the Storm, 2010) as well as from other student “confessions,” it has me thinking more about what I can do to conserve water and be more mindful about conserving this precious resource. First off, I can limit my showers to just a few.