Water

WATER

Water is a very essential resource in our everyday lives. There would be no life or civilization without the existence of water!

CONSERVATION OF WATER

People can live without food for weeks, but only days without water

Water is very crucial for our existence on the earth, therefore we have to use it wisely and efficiently in order to conserve it

The world’s population is increasing everyday! However, our water resources are limited so water conservation is the key to our survival, not only today, but for the future generations to come.

BENEFITS OF WATER CONSERVATION/ON/E EFFICIENCY

Some of the advantages of water efficiency and conservation include:

Reduction of water pollution

Reduction in costs, lower water bills

Reduction in sewage overflows

Reduction in energy needed to treat wastewater

WATER CONSERVATION TIPS

Don't use the toilet as a waste bin because flushing garbage such as tissues down the toilet wastes water

Do take a shower instead of a long bath- a full bath tub requires about 70 gallons of water, while taking a five-minute shower uses 10 to 25 gallons. If you take a five-minute shower twice a day, instead of using a full bath tub, you save about $335.3985 to $447.198 per year

Don’t rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher

WATER

CONSERVATION

TIPS

Big savings with high-efficient WaterSense products

You can make more savings if you use high-efficiency plumbing fixtures such as aerated faucets and showerheads. Visit http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense

You can save more than 500 gallons of water per year by installing WaterSense labeled bathroom sink faucets or faucet accessories

You can save more than 2300 gallons of water per year by installing WaterSense labeled showerheads

You can save more than 4000 gallons of water per year by installing WaterSense labeled toilets

Fix all leakages, drips, and spilled water.

Repair leaking faucets, pipes and toilets.

Leaks provide water sources for rats/mice, roaches and mold all of which can make you sick – especially those suffering from asthma.

Leaky faucets that drip at the rate of one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons of water each year

A leaky toilet can waste about 200 gallons of water every day, about 73,000 gallons per year

Problem with Pests? . . . Fix Those Leaky Pipes!

WATER

CONSERVATION

TIPS

Conventional washing machines use 41 gallons of water per wash.

WATER

CONSERVATION

TIPS

*Wash only full loads of laundry. (same goes for your dishwasher)

*Invest in a high- efficiency front- loading washing machine which on average uses less than 28 gallons per load.

Turn off water while brushing your teeth

WATER

CONSERVATION

TIPS

Turning off the tap while brushing your teeth in the morning and at

bedtime can save up to 8 gallons of water per day, which equals 240

gallons a month!

The average bathroom faucet flows at a rate of 2 gallons per minute.

BENEFITS OF WATER CONSERVATION/ON/E EFFICIENCY

Water efficiency usually leads to the conservation of water

Some of the advantages of water efficiency/conservation include:

Reduction of water pollution

Helps you to save money by paying less for your water bills

Reduction in sewage overflows

Reduction in energy needed to treat wastewater

NEW YORK CITY WATER SUPPLY

Did you know that more than one billion gallons of water is delivered daily to about nine million New Yorkers?

Have you ever wondered where all this water comes from?

=> WATERSHEDS!

New York Watershed

A watershed is an area of land that drains into the body of water New York City has three major watersheds:

1. Croton Watershed2. Catskill Watershed3. Delaware Watershed

Catskills/Delaware Watersheds

Croton Watershed

TRANSPORTATION OF WATER

Is New York City's water directly delivered to our homes from the watersheds?

No! Water goes through a series of channels before it can be finally drawn from our faucets!

Water from the watersheds is collected and stored in reservoirs; New York City has a total of 19 reservoirs.

Fact: Did you now that each reservoir holds up to about 548 billion gallons of water? That's about a yearly supply of water for New York City!

Next, the water from the reservoirs is delivered to our city through 3 giant aqueducts and 2 giant tunnels

=>tunnel #3 currently in construction is scheduled to be completed in 2020. Learn more

An aqueduct is a man-made channel constructed to transport water

A tunnel is a passage-way used to transport water Finally, the water travels through a series of mains and

plumbing before it eventually reaches our faucets.

WATER DOWN THE DRAIN

Where does the water go after we take a shower, flush our toilets or wash our dishes? The water goes underground into New York City’s sewage system. The water is transported to one of New York City’s 14 treatment plants

through the sewer pipes. The water is then treated in the water treatment plants. Finally, the clean water is deposited into waterways such as lakes,

bays, streams and rivers

New York City’s sewage system contains both wastewater and stormwater

However, during wet weathers such as heavy rains or snows, the capacities of the sewage systems and treatment plants can be exceeded

This results in Combined Sewage Overflows (CSOs) The water is usually discharged to waterways without being

treated Annually, about 460 CSOs occur in NY Each year, about 27 billion gallons of combined sewage

overflows are discharged into our city’s waterways

COMBINED SEWAGE OVERFLOW

Diagram of a Combined Sewage System

By-pass system activated when facility is overwhelmed, usually during heavy storm events.

CSOs usually contain domestic sewage, stormwater and industrial wastewater.

CSOs have a negative impact on our environment because:=>stormwater usually washes street pollution such as litter and toxic chemicals into the sewage system=>domestic sewage usually contains concentrations of suspended and dissolved organic and inorganic solids, bacteria and micro-organisms. =>industrial wasterwater usually contains toxic chemicals, metals, refractory organics, BOD and TSS

EFFECTS OF COMBINED SEWAGE OVERFLOWS

CSOs can lead to the pollution of bays and rivers they are discharged into.

CSOs can affect the health of humans and aquatic life

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has proposed to reduce CSOs by:=>using green infrastructure in public places;for

instance, installing green roofs reduces stormwater runoffs; rain barrels can be used to capture stormwater from our roofs, which we can store for future use such as watering our gardens

=>improving existing grey infrastructure such as storage tanks and tunnels

You can help reduce the pollution in our combined sewage systems by:=>not littering on the streets=>not pouring harmful substances down the drain=>disposing garbage and household chemicals properly

MINIMIZING CSOs AND ITS EFFECT ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Green Roof on Brooklyn Brownstone

FILTRATION AVOIDANCE

New York City has a reputation of having clean drinking water.

It is among one of the five largest cities in U.S subject to Filtration Avoidance Determinations.

Under the Safe Water Treatment Rule (SWTR), a water system can be exempted from filtration if it meets the 40 CFR §141.71 criteria.

SOME CRITERIA FOR FILTRATION AVOIDANCE OF A WATER SYSTEM

It is not a source of water-borne diseases

A watershed control program is designed toprotect the microbial source water from contamination

Activities around the watershed that could affect the quality of the source water is monitored and controlled (such as real estate development).

WATERSHED PROTECTION PROGRAM

The Program is funded and implemented by NYC Department of Environmental Protection. It includes:

=>Land Acquisition=>Agriculture and Forestry programs=>Partnership programs=>Wastewater Infrastructure=>Reservoir Clean-ups

NEW WATER FILTRATION PLANT

In 2012, NYC will start filtering its water supply from the Croton watershed.

The Croton water supply currently meets the health-based water quality standards and regulations but it frequently violates the aesthetic standard for color

The Croton water supply is usually more colored than the Catskill and Delaware Systems.

The Croton water supply has to be filtered in order to:=>meet the public health needs of New Yorkers=>comply with the state and federal drinking water

standards and regulations.