1. Water Cycle, Water Supply, and Wastewater Treatment
Natural Resources Core

2. Essential Questions Where does water come from?
How does the water supply system work?
How is sewage treated?

3. Water Cycle
Where does water come from?

4. The Water Cycle

5. Vocabulary for the Water Cycle
Condensation: process by which water vapor in the air is changed into liquid water
Evaporation: process by which water changes from its liquid state to water vapor (gaseous state)
Precipitation: water released from clouds in the form of rain, sleet, snow, or hail
Transportation: movement of water through the atmosphere, specifically from over the oceans to over land in the form of clouds

6. Vocabulary for the Water Cycle, cont.
Infiltration: process by which water on the ground surface enters the soil
Percolation: process by which water moves downward through porous layers into an underground aquifer
Transpiration: process by which moisture is released from plant leaves in the form of water vapor
Sublimation: process of snow and ice changing into water vapor in the air without first melting into water

7. Thirstin’s Water Cycle
Please watch the following animation.
rcycle.html

8. The Incredible Journey
Time for a game! Please move to one of the following stations:
Mountain
Groundwater
Stream
Ocean
Animal
Cloud
Plant
To play, simply roll the dice and move to the next station!

9. Water Supply System
Where does fresh water come from?

10. Water Supply in Hawaii
Please read through the following interactive display:

11. Artesian Well/Artesian Aquifer

12. Groundwater Aquifers

13. Pitcher Pump Prime pump by moving force rod up and down.
When force rod is pushed down, piston is pulled up, which causes a slight drop in pressure in the air inside the pump.
Air is sucked inside the pump into a small tube.
The extra air increases the volume inside the tube, which pushes down on the water surface.
As a result of the increased pressure, water is pushed up into the pipe. The force rod is now at its lowest point.

14. Where Does Your Drinking Water Come From?
Read handout and do questions.

15. Wastewater Treatment System
What happens to water when it goes down the drain?

16. Five Steps to Clean Water
1. Preliminary Treatment
Bar screening
Large objects (sticks, leaves, trash, etc.) are removed from influent
Grit chamber
Sand, grit, and gravel are removed in the grit chamber, a large tank that slows the flow of influent to allow the grit to drop to the bottom
2. Primary Treatment
Sedimentation
Sedimentation tanks hold influent for several hours, during which time suspended solids such as fine sand drift to the bottom and floating material like oil and grease are skimmed off the top.
As much as 50% of pollutants are removed by the end of this step.

17. Five Steps to Clean Water, cont.
3. Secondary Treatment
Activated sludge
Microorganisms such as bacteria and algae are allowed to feed on the wastes dissolved in the influent
The microorganisms’ natural processing of wastes is “activated” by constant aeration and sunlight
85% to 90% cleaned!
4. Tertiary Treatment
Nutrient removal
Phosphorus is removed by adding aluminum- based chemicals to force it to precipitate out or by using phosphorus-eating bacteria
Nitrogen is removed by conversion to nitrates, then to nitrogen gas
Filtration
Influent is passed through granular filters like sand and coal

18. Five Steps to Clean Water, cont.
5. Disinfection
Any remaining bacteria and viruses are destroyed through exposure to various substances such as:
Chlorine in the form of gas or bleach
UV light
Ozone (oxidizes organic matter)
After: Solids Processing and Handling
Biosolids and sludge are conditioned, thickened, stabilized, and dewatered
Product can then be used beneficially in land applications, composted, incinerated, or placed in landfills

19. Video Time! Tour a wastewater treatment plant
A wastewater treatment “plant”
What is it like to work at a sewage treatment plant?
videos/Monty-Do-My-Job--Wastewater-treatment- plant-worker html