EarthComm Earth's Natural Resources: Water Resources and Your Community Activity 6

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Water Treatment

  • "Drinking Water Treatment" - EPA
    View step-by-step animaton on how water is treated and delivered to your home or business as water that is safe to drink. Your drinking water is inexpensive comparied to other household costs. Learn why it is important to keep the environment clean and find out what you can do to protect our nation's sources of drinking water.
  • "Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water" - EPA
    This site gives a brief overview of the steps to take to disinfect water if their is an emergency supply shortage.
  • "Current Drinking Water Standards" - EPA
    Table outlines the EPA's standards for safe drinking water, defining levels of contaminants and listing possible sources of these contaminants.
  • "Contaminant Transport in Massachusetts Bay" - USGS
    Site shows how scientists at the USGS used information about the distribution, severity, and fate of contaminated sediments in the Massachusetts Bay to help in making informed management decisions about multiple uses of a coastal environment, including water treatment issues.

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Part C: Water Treatment in Your Community, to complete the investigation, each student group will need:

  • Copy of your community's water quality report:
    • EPA Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water  
      Click on your state to be taken to a new page that gives an overview of your state's drinking water and links to additional information. To view your water quality report, click on the "water quality report" link to view a list of reports that are available online.

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To learn more about recycling water in space, visit the following web sites:

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To learn more about desalination, visit the following web sites:

  • MCWD Sea Water Desalination - Marine Coast Water District, Marina, California
    Short article covers the steps of the desalination process used to assure that water is safe to drink. Click on link to view a color graphic of the desalination process.

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To learn more about different water analyses, visit the following web sites:

  • "Ground Water Studies" - USGS Fact Sheet 058-95
    Contains a review of the threats to our nation's water supply and the steps the USGS is taking to minimize the effects of natural hazards and environmental damage caused by human activities on groundwater supplies.
  • "National Field Manual for the Collection of Water Quality Data" - USGS
    Online publication contains links that describe the basic techniques of water resource investigations, including water sampling. Click on links to open table of contents for a chapter on the particular technique. One chapter is devoted to preparations for water sampling, including tips on materials to take into the field, tips on field trip responsibilities, and advice on how to select sampling sites. There is is also a chapter that reviews the techniques involved in the actual process of collecting water samples.

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