Los Angeles, California Where do they get their water?

They get their water from the Colorado River, the delta in northern California and the snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains

The Colorado River provides drinking and irrigation water for over 30 million people throughout the Southwest U.S., from the Front Range of

Colorado to Southern California and Mexico. Delta: a triangular tract of sediment deposited at the mouth of a river,

typically where it diverges into several outlets The Sacramento River flows into the delta from the north and the San Joaquin River from the south through Stockton. The Sacramento–San

Joaquin River Delta, or California Delta, is an expansive inland river delta and estuary in Northern California in the United States

Is it a reservoir, lake, river, or underground water source? Los Angeles’s water comes from a variety of sources that include rivers, deltas, and runoffs from the Sierra Nevadas

How does it get to the people/ Is it pumped or due to gravitational flow? • Most of the state’s rainfall occurs from December through April, but the

greatest demand for water is during the dry summer months. The reservoirs capture a large portion of runoff from the Sierra snowpack, which is the state’s largest reservoir of fresh water. In addition to water supply, many of the reservoirs also must provide downstream flood protection. Consequently, large volumes of runoff pass through the dams in order to reserve storage capacity for flood control. Once the flood season passes, the remaining runoff is stored in the reservoirs for later use.

• Before 1900, water development in California was principally undertaken by individuals and private companies. As the population and economic activity of the state grew, cities, irrigation districts, public utilities and large municipal agencies took on the responsibility for developing water supplies for their jurisdictions. Over time, large distribution networks were developed to pipe treated surface and groundwater to homes, businesses, parks, schools and other facilities.

Colorado River

Sierra Nevada Mountains

San Joaquin River Delta

Boston, Massachusetts • Where do they get their water? • Two reservoirs:

– Quabbin Reservoir. – Wachusetts Reservoir.

• Provides 200 million gallons. • Found in Central and Western Massachusetts. • The reservoir is part of a system known as the Metropolitan Boston Water System. • The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) and the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) jointly manage the Metropolitan

Boston Water System. • Includes surface aqueducts, covered storage tanks, treatment facilities and deep rock tunnels. • • Is it a reservoir, lake, river, or underground water source? • Quabbin Reservoir:

– The Winsor Dam and the Goodnough Dike (a sheet of rock that formed in a fracture in a pre existing rock) form the reservoir. – Derives from the Swift River – Part of the Chicopee River Watershed, which in turn feeds the Connecticut River.

• Wachusett Reservoir: – Fed by the Nashua, Quinapoxet, and Stillwater rivers.

• Located in Worcester. • Water leaves the plant through the Metrowest Water Supply Tunnel and is stored in covered storage tanks, such as Norumbega Reservoir in Weston,

Massachusetts, and the Loring Road Tanks, where it is held for deliver to the BWSC service networks. • • How does it get to the people/ Is it pumped or due to gravitational flow? • The water from both reservoirs are transported to the people using the Cosgrove and/or Wachusett Aqueducts and treated at the MWRA

(Massachusetts Water Resources Authority) John J. Carroll Water Treatment Plant at Walnut Hill in Marlborough. • Water leaves the plant through the Metrowest Water Supply Tunnel and is stored in storage tanks in places like the Norumbega Reservoir and the

Loring Road Tanks, where it is then delivered to the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) networks of pipes. • Also provided for Worcester, Providence, Lowell.

Swift River

Quabbin Reservoir

Wachusetts Reservoir

Miami, Florida Where do they get their water? • The Biscayne Aquifer is located just below land surface in South Florida. It is made out of porous

rock with tiny cracks and holes. Rain water then seeps in and fills these tiny cracks and holes. • Aquifers are permeable because of the porous rock. • Most of the aquifer rocks consists of limestone because the permeability • This water is often referred to as groundwater or the water table, and provides virtually all of the

water that is used by South Florida residents, visitors and businesses. This water is generally clean due to the effects of natural filtration.

• Aquifer: a body of permeable rock that can contain or transmit groundwater. Is it a reservoir, lake, river, or underground water source • The water comes from aquifers. • The water is actually flowing like an underground river at a very slow rate. It travels in an east-

southeasterly direction at a rate of only about two feet per day. However, where there are very large openings or man-made canals the flow rate can increase substantially.

How does it get to the people/ Is it pumped or due to gravitational flow? • Biscayne Aquifer:

– Runs through streams, lakes, canals and reservoirs. – Pumped into people’s homes by the South Florida Water Management District through a combination of

canals and pumping stations.

Chicago Illinois • THE PROCESS • Water from Lake Michigan enters the intake crib at depths of 20 to 30 feet. • Water enters the purification plant's intake basin(a circular container with

a greater width than depth, becoming smaller toward the bottom, used chiefly to hold water or other liquid) through a tunnel beneath the lake bed.

• Water is filtered through eight traveling screens to catch debris. • Water is pumped by low lift pumps up to 25 feet for the first chemical

treatment. • Water flows from the chemical application channels. • Water flows through mixing basins to begin the flocculation process. • Flocculated water passes into settling basins to sit for hours allowing floc

to settle. • Water is filtered through precisely graded sand and gravel performing a

"natural polishing". • Filtered water flows into clearwells for its final chemical application. • From finished water reservoirs water flows to the distribution system.

Houston, Texas

The City of Houston is the regional water provider for Harris County and portions of the seven surrounding counties. The City of Houston has sufficient water supplies for its wholesale and retail customers through approximately year 2050 through a combination of over 1.2 billion gallons per day of reliable surface water rights and over 150 million gallons per day (mgd) of available groundwater supplies. The City of Houston owns a 70% share of Lake Livingston, a 70% share of Lake Conroe, 100% of Lake Houston and a 70% share of the future Allens Creek Reservoir. Groundwater is pumped from wells that are on average 750 feet deep. In the Metroplex, when someone flushs their toilet, or gives their dog a bath, or washes their dirty laundry, that water gets treated according to a certain set of criteria that allows it then to be put back into the Trinity River. Once in the Trinity River the water is washed downstream where it enters the reservoir at Lake Livingston. This reservoir is a major source of drinking water for the Houston area

Seattle, Washington • The Cedar River Municipal Watershed is 90,563

acres of land owned by the City of Seattle. The watershed is carefully managed to supply clean drinking water to 1.3 million people in the greater Seattle area as well as downstream water flows for salmon, lakes, and locks.

• Melting snow and rain are gathered and stored in two reservoirs -- Chester Morse Lake and the Masonry Pool, which was created by the Masonry Dam.

Atlanta • -Atlanta gets 70% of its water from the

Chattahoochee River • -Flows through a series of reservoirs

Philadelphia • Philadelphia Receives most of its water from the

Delaware River and the Mouth of the Delaware Bay

• Philadelphia also receives water from the Schuylkill River

• These 3 bodies of water from the Delaware watershed, Philadelphia's primary source of water

• The water is filtered through a series of reservoirs located in three different states, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania

Washington DC • -All of DC’s water comes from the Potomac

River, with over 5 million people living within the watershed

• -It is treated at the Dalecarlia Reservoir by the Washington Aqueduct

• -Washington Aqueduct uses a rapid sand filter, which moves water through and traps pollutants in what’s called a “sand matrix”.

What is wastewater?as a water use because it is so interconnected with the other uses of water. • Treatment plants reduce pollutants in wastewater to a level nature can

handle. • Wastewater is used water. It includes substances such as human waste,

food scraps, oils, soaps and chemicals. • In homes, this includes water from sinks, showers, bathtubs, toilets,

washing machines and dishwashers. Businesses and industries also contribute their share of used water that must be cleaned.

• Wastewater also includes storm runoff. Although some people assume that the rain that runs down the street during a storm is fairly clean, it isn't. Harmful substances that wash off roads, parking lots, and rooftops can harm our rivers and lakes.

• Why treat it? – Fisheries: It is important to the fishing industry, sport fishing enthusiasts, and

future generations. – They are critical habitats for hundreds of species of fish and other aquatic life.

Migratory water birds use the areas for resting and feeding – Visitors are drawn to water activities such as swimming, fishing, boating and

picnicking. – If it is not properly cleaned, water can carry disease. Since we live, work and

play so close to water, harmful bacteria have to be removed to make water safe.

The Primary Treatment Process

1. Screening: • Wastewater entering the treatment plant

includes items like wood, rocks, and even dead animals. Unless they are removed, they could cause problems later in the treatment process. Most of these materials are sent to a landfill.

2. Pumping: • The wastewater system relies on the force of

gravity to move sewage from your home to the treatment plant. So wastewater-treatment plants are located on low ground, often near a river into which treated water can be released. If the plant is built above the ground level, the wastewater has to be pumped up to the aeration tanks (item 3). From here on, gravity takes over to move the wastewater through the treatment process.

3. Aerating: • One of the first steps that a water treatment facility can do is

to just shake up the sewage and expose it to air. This causes some of the dissolved gases (such as hydrogen sulfide, which smells like rotten eggs) that taste and smell bad to be released from the water. Wastewater enters a series of long, parallel concrete tanks. Each tank is divided into two sections. In the first section, air is pumped through the water.

• As organic matter decays, it uses up oxygen. Aeration replenishes the oxygen. Bubbling oxygen through the water also keeps the organic material suspended while it forces 'grit' (coffeegrounds, sand and other small, dense particles) to settle out. Grit is pumped out of the tanks and taken to landfills.

4. Removing sludge • Wastewater then enters the second section or

sedimentation tanks. Here, the sludge (the organic portion of the sewage) settles out of the wastewater and is pumped out of the tanks. Some of the water is removed in a step called thickening and then the sludge is processed in large tanks called digesters.

5. Removing scum: • As sludge is settling to the bottom of the sedimentation tanks,

lighter materials are floating to the surface. This 'scum' includes grease, oils, plastics, and soap. Slow-moving rakes skim the scum off the surface of the wastewater. Scum is thickened and pumped to the digesters along with the sludge.

• Many cities also use filtration in sewage treatment. After the solids are removed, the liquid sewage is filtered through a substance, usually sand, by the action of gravity. This method gets rid of almost all bacteria, reduces turbidity and color, removes odors, reduces the amount of iron, and removes most other solid particles that remained in the water. Water is sometimes filtered through carbon particles, which removes organic particles. This method is used in some homes, too.

6. Killing bacteria: • Finally, the wastewater flows into a 'chlorine contact'

tank, where the chemical chlorine is added to kill bacteria, which could pose a health risk, just as is done in swimming pools. The chlorine is mostly eliminated as the bacteria are destroyed, but sometimes it must be neutralized by adding other chemicals. This protects fish and other marine organisms, which can be harmed by the smallest amounts of chlorine.

• The treated water (called effluent) is then discharged to a local river or the ocean

R. Wastewater Residuals: • Another part of treating wastewater is dealing

with the solid-waste material. These solids are kept for 20 to 30 days in large, heated and enclosed tanks called 'digesters.' Here, bacteria break down (digest) the material, reducing its volume, odors, and getting rid of organisms that can cause disease. The finished product is mainly sent to landfills, but sometimes can be used as fertilizer.

Using treated wastewater for other purposes: • The use of reclaimed wastewater helps people in two

ways: • Reclaimed water can supply needed water for some

purposes • Reclaimed wastewater frees up fresh water that can be

used somewhere else, such as for drinking water • California is a good place to go to to see how reclaimed

wastewater is being used. The East Bay Municipal Utility District has a working water reclamation project that benefits the community in these ways:

• Conserves drinking water • Reduces pollution into San Francisco Bay • Provides water for irrigation and industrial purposes

Process: Screening

– removal of wood, rocks, dead animals from the wastewater as it enters the plant Pumping

– wastewater systems are often located on low grounds near rivers so the treated water can be put into the rivers after it’s gone through the treatment system. If the systems are not located on low grounds, the wastewater has to be pumped into the systems on high ground.

Aerating – the first process is shaking up the sewage water and exposing it to the air. Naturally this releases

some of the trapped gasses from the water. Removing sludge

– sludge - the organic portion of the sewage water – sludge settles out of the wastewater and is pumped out of the tanks

Removing scum – the lighter materials in the water begin to rise to the surface – scum - grease oils plastics and soaps – slow moving rakes skim the top of the water and remove the scum

Killing bacteria – wastewater flows into “chlorine contact” tank where chlorine is added to kill all the bacteria in the

water – chlorine is mostly eliminated after the bacteria is killed, sometimes must be neutralized by adding

other chemicals Wastewater residuals

– The remaining waste in the water is still solid. To get rid of it, the rest of the wastewater is kept in large heated tanks called "digesters" for 20 to 30 days. Here, bacteria can break

– down the material, reducing its volume, odors and getting rid of the organisms that can cause disease.

- The finished product is mainly sent to landfills but can be used as fertilizers.