water use and management

what are examples of residential water use

water use in a home

what is xeriscaping

drought tolerant species; in texas for example

how much of the world’s freshwater use is for irrigating crops

2/3

sprinkler irrigation loses what percent of water to evaporation

30-50%

what amount of water is used to manufacture goods, dispose waste, and generate power

1/5

what is desalination

removing salt from seawater to make fresh water

what is thermal desalination

water is heated up, then evaporates and leaves salt, a desalination plant moves the salt to water nearby (known as brine discharge)

what is reverse osmosis desalination

pressurized seawater forced through membranes to separate salt out, uses energy

what are the order of the steps to make water potable

intake, coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, disinfection

what is intake

large objects are removed with screens

what is coagulation

chemicals are added to help particles stick together/ negative charged particles need to stick so chemicals are added to create neutral charge

what is flocculation

particle binders are added, slow mixing facilitates clumping

what is sedimentation

clumped particles settle to the bottom

what is disinfection

pathogens (bacteria, viruses, parasites) are killed through chlorination, UV light, or ozone gas before being stored for use.

what is water reclamation

the process of converting municipal wastewater (sewage) into reclaimed water that can be reused

what is the order of wastewater treatment process flow

pump station, bar screens, grit/sludge removal, primary sedimentation, aeration and biological reduction, final sedimentation, and finally disinfection final treatment

what is primary sedimentation

things that aren’t sludge but still heavy, settling

what is aeration

adding oxygen to water so organic molecules can be broken down