What? No Toilet?

Wednesday, April 6

Before beginning today, let's review some ideas from yesterday:

1. What is a watershed?

2. What is runoff?

3. What is infiltration?

4. Describe at least three things you have seen on the ground that you would not want to end up in your drinking water.  

5. Explain why you think it is important for us to make sure that our watersheds have healthy populations of fish.

Today, we will watch two segments of the video linked here, but first, discuss these questions to get started:

1. What would you do if one day, you woke up and found that all toilets in their house had disappeared?

2. What if none of their neighbors had toilets either? What would you do?

3. What suggestions do you have for how you might try to deal with this problem so that you could live in a clean and sanitary way?

Part 1: Watch up to time marker 5:50

Question: Before sewer networks were constructed, where did the waste often end up?

We have massive waste management systems that have solved this problem for us. These systems were designed by engineers. We didn’t always have them. 

Watch the next segment of the video that describes how filthy cities used to be and how these waste management systems came into being. You may find that the process was pretty amazing and pretty surprising. Think about what it must have been like to be facing the problems that the engineers at the time were facing. 

Part 2:  Watch the next segment to the time mark 09:55

After viewing, discuss the two video segments with your partner. 

1. What did you find surprising or interesting in the video?

2. Back before they had the sewer system, all the vehicles were horses that pooped in the street. Human waste ended up in the street as well. Other than that just being gross, what are some real problems that could arise from such a situation? 

3. Think about what we have learned about watersheds. Where would all that stuff eventually end up? 

4. If they didn’t have a sewer system back then, they certainly did not have drinking water treatment plants like we have now. So, now, where could all that stuff really end up?

5. The city had hired the engineer to come up with a solution. How do you think city officials may have reacted when he told them they would have to lift up the city and put a system of pipes underneath it?

Check Google Classroom for a "Question" assignment for this lesson. "What? No Toilet?"