Water Treatment Plant Assignment

On Friday we visited the water treatment plant and walked through the process by which water is taken from the Buffalo pound watershed and cleaned so it is healthy enough for human consumption.

At points in the tour, it was difficult to hear the information being shared due to the noise levels of the plant itself. However, lucky for you I took pictures! This assignment asks you to work through the photographs of the different components of the plant to (re-)familiarize yourself with the process of how our drinking water is cleaned for our consumption.

The pictures below are in the correct order in which we saw each component of the plant.

Part 1: PhotosYour task is to:

1. Look through all of the pictures2. Beside each picture, write:

a. a 2-3 sentence description of what processes take place at each of these sites. b. Note what the picture is ofc. Why this component is included in the water treatment process

A.

B.

Description:

What picture is of:

Why this component is included in the water treatment process:

Description:

What picture is of:

Why this component is included in the water treatment process:

C.

D.

Description:

What picture is of:

Why this component is included in the water treatment process:

Description:

What picture is of:

Why this component is included in the water treatment process:

E.

F.

Description:

What picture is of:

Why this component is included in the water treatment process:

Description:

What picture is of:

Why this component is included in the water treatment process:

G.

H.

Description:

What picture is of:

Why this component is included in the water treatment process:

Description:

What picture is of:

Why this component is included in the water treatment process:

Part 2: Questions1. Where does the water cleaned at the water treatment plant come from?

2. Which watershed feeds into the lake that our treatment plant gets water from?

3. The watershed from question 2 is said to be much cleaner than the watershed we use. Name 1 physical aspects of our watershed that makes it lower quality?

4. The water treatment facility has to be run 24/7. Name 1 reason why it has to be run so consistently, then name 1 reason why it has to be constantly monitored.

5. The door to the water treatment facility had a keypad lock on it. Name 2 reasons why this security precaution would be taken.

6. The general manager, Ryan Johnson, said that they call working at a water treatment facility to be “an important job”. Explain in 2-3 sentences why he might have said this.

7. The treatment facility also had a laboratory on site. Explain in 2-3 sentences what the purpose of the laboratory was and why it is a vital component to the treatment facility, despite having computer which constantly monitor the water quality.

Part 3: EvaluationBelow, fill in the chart to evaluate the trip.

Water Treatment Plant Field Trip EvaluationRatings

1 = Poor 2 = Fair 3 = Satisfactory 4 = Good 5 = Excellent

Knowledge of the Tour Guide

Comments

Ability to hear the presenter

Comments

Was the presentation interesting?

Comments

Length of presentation

Comments

Suitability of Presentation to information learned in class?

Comments

Next year’s class go on this trip

Comments

Overall Rating (average the rating numbers above)

EvaluationADDITIONAL COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE TRIPS