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Example research essay topic: Water Conservation Wastewater Treatment - 3,851 words

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This chapter presents a sampling of programs throughout the Nation that use one or more water conservation and use efficiency practices. It is important to note that the information in the table and in the examples is provided to illustrate the water savings that can be achieved by using a conservation and use efficiency practice or combining a mixture of practices. Many other practices and programs could be cited as well (such as the State of Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, and the City of Denver, Colorado; City of Austin, Texas; Portland, Oregon; and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California) Also note that the information presented is dated material obtained from published reports and might have changed since the date of original publication. Florida Tampa Since 1989, Tampa's water efficiency program has included code changes, revised rate structures, retrofit, promotion of xeriscape landscaping, and education. Within the first 9 months, consumption was reduced from 84. 6 million gallons to 72. 5 million gallons during the dry months of March through June, a 15 - 18 percent reduction in demand. The average reduction for the year was 7 percent.

Tampa has adopted an increasing-block rate structure, irrigation restrictions, landscape codes, and ultra-low-volume plumbing requirements. Voluntary xeriscape programs advocate corporate landscape conversions and state-of-the-art irrigation and landscape design for new construction. In December 1989, water-saving kits were delivered to about 10, 000 Tampa homes. The kits included two toilet tank dams, two low-flow showerheads, two lavatory faucet aerators, some Teflon tape, a pamphlet on finding and fixing leaks with a general water-saving tips card, an installation instruction folder (with a letter from the mayor encouraging participation, and instructions in both Spanish and English), a window display card, and leak detection dye tablets. These materials were packed in a clear plastic bag and hung on the doorknobs of residences. Ninety-four percent of homeowners receiving the kits installed the devices.

The kits were estimated to save 7 - 10 gallons of water per person per day. Tampa estimates that when all the homes in Tampa are similarly retrofitted, more than 2. 1 million gallons of water per day will be saved. Educational efforts in Tampa focus on schools. A number of contests have been conducted. Winning poster and limerick entries are compiled into a water conservation calendar, which is then distributed to the general public. Additional efforts in Tampa include a pilot awareness campaign, an expanded retrofit program, toilet-replacement incentive projects including a rebate program, implementation of water checkups for large residential water users, and enhanced in-school curriculum-based education (RMI, 1991).

South Florida Water Management District In 1992, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD, which includes Palm Beach, Dade County, Florida) joined the St. Johns River Water Management District (in northeast Florida) and Southwest Florida Water Management District (Tampa, Sarasota, etc. ) in sponsoring a statewide mass-media conservation campaign that urges residents to conserve water and use it wisely. The campaign features public service spots that urge residents to use xeriscaping and offers other water-saving tips. Educational brochures and how-to guides, an informative video on how to xeriscape a typical Florida yard, and a quarterly newsletter were all produced to support this educational effort.

The Sfwmd's Six-Point Conservation Policy appeals to local governments to adopt conservation measures. The policy advocates the adoption of local xeriscape ordinances, leak detection programs, ordinances that encourage the residential and business use of low-volume plumbing, rate structures that reward conservation and reduced use, comprehensive public education programs, and daytime irrigation bans. In other programs, the SFWMD offers technical assistance to cities and counties in implementing rain switch ordinances (which require automatic sprinklers to be turned off during rain storms) and water reuse systems, and the district is supporting a statewide Compost Utilization Project. The SFWMD is also a sponsoring member of the states Xeriscape/Water Wise Council Steering Committee, formed to help implement the states Xeriscape Law, passed in 1991. Through conservation partnerships formed in 1992, the SFWMD assisted the Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Lee county governments in developing daytime irrigation ordinances, and it is urging other counties to adopt daytime irrigation bans (Kirchhoff and Nicholas, 1993).

California State of California The State Department of Water Resources provides general information and offers technical assistance with water conservation practices to all local water agencies in California. Agricultural irrigation is the largest water use problem in California, and the Department focuses on agricultural as well as urban water use efficiency programs. The urban program includes the following practices: leak detection, water-efficient landscaping, conservation information, public education, urban water management planning assistance, industrial water conservation planning, and water recycling. The agricultural program includes the following practices: drainage reduction, mobile laboratory program for on-farm irrigation system evaluations, the California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS), and agricultural water management planning assistance (Keith Watkins, California State Department of Water Resources, Office of Water Conservation, February 9, 1994, personal communication). Los Angeles The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has implemented a comprehensive water efficiency plan to address water use by individual households, businesses, and industries. To limit outdoor water use, L.

A. offers a landscape water management program, a water conservation garden contest, an annual spring garden exposition, demonstration gardens, weather network stations, a residential irrigation pilot program, a large-turf water curtailment program, xeriscape requirements for new construction, and production and distribution of lawn-watering guides. L. A.

has water conservation advisory committees, business and industry bulletins and brochures, a free meter loan program, a school incentive program, and an annual business and industry symposium offering awards for excellence in water management. The city also coordinates various conservation efforts with other county and state water agencies. L. A. s residential program includes an ultra low-flush toilet rebate program, home water surveys, and low-interest conservation loans. The educational agenda includes advertising, a water awareness month, water inserts sent out with water bills, exhibits, a speakers bureau, and school education programs.

A city ordinance mandates the installation of low-flow showerheads (3. 0 gallons per minute or less) and toilet tank displacement devices. These fixtures are available free to residential customers; there is a charge to commercial users. The L. A. Department of Water and Power has spent $ 5 million (1990 dollars) thus far on the purchase and distribution of 1. 3 million showerheads and 1. 8 million toilet bags. The program resulted in a 4 percent reduction in water consumption between 1987 and 1990.

L. A. has also adopted a seasonal pricing structure under which water is priced at a higher rate during the summer months. The city hopes to limit the annual growth in sewage flows to 7 Mgal / d and to reduce overall water consumption by 10 percent by 1995 and 15 percent by the year 2000 (RMI, 1991). City of San Jose In 1986, the City of San Jose Office of Environmental Management (OEM) set a 10 -year goal of reducing the Citys wastewater flow by 10 percent, a reduction of 12 Mgal / d .

The implementation of plumbing codes and retrofit programs each reduced flows by more than 25, 000 gpd in 1991. OEM has an active commercial / industrial flow reduction program that includes technical assistance, integrated energy and water audits, a financial incentives program, I. D. E.

A. S. (Innovative Design and Energy Analysis Service program) standards for new commercial and industrial building, and do-it-yourself audit guides (JMM Consulting, 1991). City of Lompoc In January 1990, the City of Lompoc, California, declared a water shortage and initiated a voluntary conservation program. The program achieved a 14. 4 percent cumulative reduction for 1990. The Lompoc city staff conducts a public information program consisting of conservation brochures, displays, the use of local communications media, and classes dealing with water-saving irrigation methods and drought-tolerant planting methods. The city provides water conservation kits (free to low-income households and $ 5. 00 to all other residents), which include two low-flow showerheads, two toilet tank dams, two toilet leak detection tablets, two faucet aerators, and an installation brochure.

The annual operating cost of Lompoc's program is about $ 120, 000 (1990 dollars). The 1990 Lompoc City Ordinance 1312 (90) declares a water shortage in the city and establishes various restrictions and prohibitions on the use of water, including the following: turf watering between the hours of 10: 00 a. m. and 4: 00 p. m. , the use of potable water for washing hard surface areas such as driveways and sidewalks, allowing water to flow from plumbing breaks or leaks for more than 8 hours, washing vehicles with hoses that do not have a positive shut-off nozzle, and serving water to restaurant patrons before they request it. In addition, the water shortage ordinance establishes the mandatory use of ultra-low-flush toilets and urinals in all new commercial, industrial, and public buildings.

The 1990 Lompoc City Ordinance 1319 (90) provides for the use of gray water (used water from clothes washers, bathtubs, showers, and bathroom sinks) for irrigation of fruit trees, ground cover, and ornamental trees and shrubs, but not for irrigating vegetable gardens and lawns or washing off hard surfaces. It also provides for the use of reclaimed water for dust control and compaction at construction sites, under limited conditions. The 1990 Lompoc City Ordinance 1334 (90) establishes the one-to-one zero impact retrofit condition for new development in the city. Under this ordinance a developer has the option to either (1) carry out a retrofit program of existing housing, resulting in a zero projected net increase in water consumption resulting from the new construction or (2) pay an in-lieu fee to the city. Funds from such fees are then directed to the citys retrofit rebate program. The 1990 Lompoc City Ordinance 4000 (90) sets guidelines for the citys retrofit rebate program.

Under this program, revenues from the in-lieu fees are used to fund a city-run retrofit / rebate program for showerheads, kitchen and bathroom sinks, and toilets (NEOS Corporation, 1990). Connecticut Since October 1, 1990, Connecticut law has required standards for water-efficient fixtures manufactured and sold in the state. Showerheads must use less than 2. 5 gallons per minute; urinals, 1. 0 gallon per flush; faucets, 2. 5 gallons per minute; and toilets, 1. 6 gallons per flush. The state has also organized a retrofit program that requires all water distributors to give away free water-efficiency kits. Each kit contains one low-flow showerhead, two faucet aerators, one pair of toilet tank dams, one package of toilet leak detection tablets, and written information.

The cost of the kits, $ 6 -$ 7 each, is absorbed by water users through their rates (RMI, 1991). New York City New York Citys water efficiency program is a comprehensive one. The program includes a survey of all 33. 6 million feet of water mains with computerized sonar leak detection equipment. Areas of the city that are served by wastewater treatment plants are inspected by sonar once every 9 months. All other areas are inspected once every 3 years.

The New York City Department of Housing, Preservation, and Development and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection test the benefits of retrofitting with water-efficient fixtures on city buildings. New York City offers free water efficiency surveys to homeowners. City inspectors check for leaking plumbing, provide water conservation tips, offer advice on retrofitting with water-efficient fixtures, and distribute two free faucet aerators and two free low-flow showerheads. Landlords are notified of leaks and given 3 days to repair them and have the repair confirmed.

New York City has made over 60, 000 of these inspections, eliminating more than 4 Mgal / d in leaks (RMI, 1991). A Toilet Rebate Program was initiated on August 1, 1994. Residents can file an application for a rebate if they have had a new water-conserving toilet installed by a New York City licensed plumbing company. New York City has also installed magnetic locking hydrant caps to deter people from turning on hydrants in the summer.

The new locked hydrants not only conserve water, but also reduce the amount of urban runoff going into the sewer systems. Under an Advanced Flow Monitoring Program, New York City has installed flow monitoring devices in large sewer mains that lead to wastewater treatment plants operating at high capacity. The program helps detect patterns of new leaks and where those leaks originated. By 1997, all residential and commercial buildings will be metered to follow consumption rates. To date, about two-thirds of all one- or two-family homes and about 15 percent of apartment buildings are metered. (Warren Leibold, New York Department of Environmental Protection, December 29, 1994, personal communication. ) Washington, DC High growth rates in Washington, DC, have resulted in a need to find solutions to the resulting increased flows to the Districts wastewater treatment plant. A water conservation program has been developed by the District of Columbia Department of Public Works to reduce the rate of flow to the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant, a regional facility servicing Washington and its suburbs.

In a 1985 agreement, users of the Blue Plains facility agreed to limit the flow of wastewater to the facility to 6. 5 cubic meters per second (m 3 /s) or 148 Mgal / d by January 1, 1996. In 1991, the flow to the facility was approximately 7. 2 m 3 /s, or 163 Mgal / d . It has been determined that if flows to the facility are not reduced to those set forth in the agreement, an increase in the treatment capacity of the facility will be necessary. Studies conducted in the metropolitan area indicate that as much as 1. 3 to 2. 6 m 3 /s, or 30 to 60 Mgal / d , is wasted primarily because of careless use and defective plumbing systems in older buildings. Washington, DC, officials determined that the development of a water conservation program would be the most cost-effective way to address the wastewater treatment problem. The water conservation program developed by the District of Columbia Department of Public Works includes public information and education, a comprehensive database on water use, amendments to the plumbing code, guidelines for retrofitting and plumbing repair, and possible restructuring of water and sewer rates.

The education program informs water users of the benefits of water conservation and includes a media campaign, the development of a water conservation handbook and video, the use of coloring books on water conservation for school children, and plumbing clinics and training programs. The revisions to the plumbing code require the use of water-saving fixtures in new construction and substantial renovation projects. The water consumption database will provide information for comparing water flow to sewer flows, identifying water losses, and developing conservation strategies that are practical and effective. It was estimated in 1991 that the water conservation program for Washington, DC, would cost the district approximately $ 8 million over a 5 -year period. The conservation program is considered to be cost-effective, however, because wasted water in the Blue Plains service area is estimated to cost the districts water and sewer customers millions of dollars per year (Padmanabha, 1991). Stillaguamish Tribe in Arlington, Washington The Stillaguamish Tribe in Arlington, Washington, developed a water conservation program to help reduce problems associated with a failing community septic tank and drain field system.

The tribal trust consists of a 30 -home development on a 20 -acre parcel of land that is serviced by five separate drain field areas and two community drinking water wells. Within the first 5 years following the construction of the development, two of the five drainfield's servicing the project have had to be replaced due to failure. A water conservation program was developed, with a $ 14, 000 EPA grant, to reduce the community use of drinking water from the tribes system. The reduction in water use would result in a reduction in the amount of water loaded into the septic tank drain field system.

In 1991, the conservation program arranged for the retrofitting of standard toilets with ultra-low-flush toilets, the installation of flow restriction devices on all faucets, and the development and implementation of a water conservation education program for the homeowners in the housing development. In 1992, nonfunctioning water meters were replaced so that individual water usage could be measured and leaks within the water distribution system could be identified. The water conservation program has resulted in a reduction in the average community water use from 250, 000 gallons per month to 200, 000 gallons per month. In the first 9 months following the adoption of the conservation program, water usage dropped approximately 35 percent per home, resulting in a community water savings of over one million gallons.

Operation and maintenance costs for the two water supply wells have dropped as a result of the reduction in water demand, and surfacing stage in the tribes drainfield's has not been a problem since adoption of the conservation program (Eddy, 1993). Texas House Bill No. 2, passed by the Texas legislature in 1985, is a comprehensive water conservation package designed to implement sections of the Texas Water Plan. Two constitutional amendments were contained in the conservation package, one that increased the Water Development Fund by $ 980 million and another that created the Agricultural Water Conservation Program. Political subdivisions within the state are now required to submit a water conservation plan to the Texas Water Development Board when they apply for financial assistance from the Water Development and Water Assistance Funds. Since the passage of House Bill No. 2, 21 new Underground Water Conservation Districts have been delineated, most of which are located near the City of San Angelo and the City of San Antonio, which relies exclusively on the Edwards Aquifer for its water supply. Applicants for water supply loans are required to develop a water conservation plan and adopt a water conservation program that can include the following: restrictions on discretionary water use, water-saving plumbing code standards for new construction, retrofit programs for existing structures, education programs, universal metering, conservation-orientated water rate programs, drought contingency plans, and distribution system leak detection and repair.

The requirement for an approved water conservation plan can be waived by the Water Development Board if an emergency exists, if the amount of the assistance is less than $ 500, 000, or if the applicant can demonstrate that the plan is not necessary to promote conservation or conservation measures. As of 1990, the Texas Water Development Board had approved water conservation plans for 165 political subdivisions in the state, many of which are located in Harris, Galveston, and Brazoria Counties. A pilot program was also set up prior to full implementation of the Agricultural Water Conservation Program. As of 1990, the Program had distributed $ 8, 065, 000 in low-interest loans to farmers for the purchase of water-efficient irrigation equipment. The single most expensive purchase was a $ 27, 102 irrigation demonstration system for the North Plains Underground Water Conservation District (Schoolmaster and Fries, 1990). Oregon In December 1990, the State of Oregon adopted a water conservation policy that is implemented through conservation planning requirements for water suppliers and major water users, subbasin water planning at the local level, and extensive state assistance and support for implementation.

The state also passed legislation to facilitate water sales and the lease of conserved water, but the transfers are taxed for a set-aside of water for instream flows rather than as a complete reallocation to another private party. In 1991 the state Water Resource Commission was also considering incorporating the requirement for efficiency standards and conservation practices into its operating definition of beneficial use for water allocation decisions (Dyballa and Connelly, 1991). Arizona In Arizona, public water suppliers located in areas where ground water withdrawals exceed recharge capacity are required to limit water consumption to state-established maximum water use rates. The water use rates are expressed in gallons per capita per day. Water suppliers are required to negotiate a water conservation plan that meets the states targeted rates if they do not achieve established rate limits (Dyballa and Connelly, 1991).

Phoenix has implemented a conservation program to meet state-established ground water limits. The elements of the program include an education program, residential audit and retrofit programs, a mail order retrofit program, limits on turf irrigation, low-flow plumbing standards, and landscape requirements for large new buildings Dyballa and Connelly, 1991). The implementation of the water conservation program in Phoenix has resulted in a reduction in water use from 267 gal / cap /day in 1980 to 234 gal / cap /day in 1990. The City of Tucson has also implemented a water conservation program that has resulted in large reductions in peak water demand. The elements of Tucson's program include public information and education, an increasing block rate price structure, and the use of water-saving plumbing fixtures. Looking Ahead Water is a resource that we often take for granted.

We watch the rain fall or stand on the bank of a river and assume that our water needs will be taken care of that water is a free good readily available to all. But a closer look reveals that its not that simple. In many dry areas, water is a very limited resource; in other areas, water is being contaminated by various sources of pollution. Now that nonpoint source (NPS) pollution has been recognized as a major contributor to declining water quality, the search is on for ways to eliminate or reduce this type of pollution.

This document proposes one important approach not usually considered to reduce NPS pollution reducing the quantity of water used. Using less water can reduce: On-site disposal system failures Polluted runoff from irrigated agricultural and urban lands The need for additional reservoir capacity and associated habitat alterations Surface water withdrawals or diversions that result in degraded habitat and wetlands Water use efficiency has other benefits, too, such as saving money. For example, a leak caused by a faulty flush valve in a toilet tank can waste as much as 10 gallons of water an hour, costing $ 100 per year at $ 1. 20 / 1, 000 gallons. More than 40 states now have some type of water conservation program, and more than 80 percent of water utility customers are willing to use some form of water conservation measure.

The groundwork has already been laid for new and expanded programs to encourage water use efficiency. A number of practices, programs, and strategies described in this document can be implemented now. Some involve engineering practices based on modifications of plumbing, fixtures, or operating procedures. Others involve behavioral changes in water use habits. They range from the very simple (a dam in the toilet tank or a new hose nozzle) to the complex (the installation of multiple submitters in an apartment building). From coast to coast from the tribal trust homes of the Stillaguamish Tribe in Washington State to the water mains beneath the City of New York water conservation and use efficiency practices are saving water and reducing nonpoint source pollution.

Whats being done to conserve this precious resource where you live? And what more can you and others do?


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