Water for all?

Focus Question: What effect does human activity have on groundwater and surface water in a watershed? Prediction:

Brainstorm: list how many ways & times that you use water (examples: drinking, flushing the toilet, taking a shower or bath, brushing teeth, washing dishes, doing laundry, watering the yard, giving pets water, cleaning, swimming, etc.)

Fact: Although 70% of the Earth is covered with water, only about 3% is not saltwater. Most of this 3% is frozen- ice and glaciers- and the little that is left for consumption is becoming more scarce due to increased populations and pollution. What are some sources of water pollution? Oil spills, bacteria and other organisms, toxic chemicals, litter, run-off from streets, industrial waste, human waste, agricultural waste, etc

Many people around the world do not have running water in their homes, or even access to clean water. They must gather water from sources near their homes such as communal wells, sewers, rivers, streams, ponds, lakes or swamps. What do you think they find in this water? Fish, plants, other wildlife, trash, wastes, chemicals, etc

What is a watershed? We all live in a watershedWe all live in a watershed — the area that drains to a common waterway, such as a stream, lake, estuary, wetland, aquifer, or even the ocean — and our individual actions can directly affect it. Working together using a watershed approach will help protect our nation's water resources. Site: a watershed approach will help protect our nation's water resourceshttp://cfpub.epa.gov/surf/locate/index.cfm

Answers to yesterday’s video review sheet 1. Conserving water means to not waste it or unnecessarily dirty it so that more clean water is available. 2. Water gets polluted by runoff that carries sediment, fertilizers, pesticides, litter, trash, oil, and chemicals that leak from vehicles. It is also polluted by waste from factories or directly from things that people dump into it.

3. A wetland is a place that is sometimes covered with water and other times it is dry. 4. People run water while brushing their teeth or waiting for it to heat up. People over-water lawns, overlook leaky pipes; take baths instead of showers; and wash clothes and dishes when the load isn’t full.

5. Water down the drain goes to a water treatment plant, or a septic tank to treat it. 6. Runoff into storm drains often goes directly to creeks and rivers and then into lakes or oceans. 7. A watershed is an area where all water drains into one spot such as a stream, lake, or river.

8. If all water got polluted, we would have to spend enormous amounts of money, time and energy to clean it, otherwise life would not continue as we know it. 9. Water is found in oceans, lakes, glaciers, streams, ponds, creeks, rivers, aquifers, wells, clouds, rain, snow, sleet, hail, and everywhere as water vapor. 10. An ecosystem is a community where all living creatures share water and resources and depend on each other for survival.