Adventure #6:
Thinking About Water Usage
Hello! I am Calea the Conservationist and I'll be guiding you through Adventure #6!
Today you will be learning about water usage and what it means to conserve water. You will explore many ways to save water and learn why it is important to protect our water resources.
What is water used for?
What do you think water is used for? Idaho has many very important uses for water, which of these uses do you think requires the most water?
In your Field Journal, write down your thoughts regarding the questions above. It's ok to be unsure, that's what science is all about!
Activity: Water Usage Pie Chart
Step 1: In your Field Journal, make a list of all the water uses you can think of (examples: cooking, irrigation). Put the largest uses at the top of your list.
Step 2: Using your list, draw a pie chart!
Draw a circle a make a slice for each item on your list and give the largest slices to the items at the top of your list.
Label each pie slice and write down the percentage of the whole pie that each slice represents.
Don't worry, it doesn't have to be exact! Scientists often use estimation as an important thinking tool, just make sure the percentages of all the slices together add up to equal 100%.
Use the example pie chart to the right to help you make your own! Use appropriate labels for the water use items on your list.
Categories of Water Usage
Think about the items on your list. Is there a way to group some of the items together into logical categories? In order to talk about water usage, we have to create broad categories or divisions. Read more about Idaho's primary water usage divisions below.
Source: Flickr, Public Domain, CC license
Agriculture
The agricultural division of water usage is the largest category, it includes all of the water used to provide for crops and livestock. It turns out that our food sources actually use up more water than we actually drink! Without healthy crops and livestock, many people would starve. However, it's also important for farmers to use their water as efficiently as possible. If farmers use too much water, there won't be enough water for all the other divisions of water usage.
Source: Flickr, CC license
Aquaculture
You may not have heard of aquaculture before--it is the process of growing and raising aquatic life for profit. This includes fisheries where they breed and raise fish, as well as farms where they grow aquatic plants. It's no surprise that growing and taking care of fish requires a lot of water! Aquaculture helps to protect natural fish populations from being over-fished.
Source: CC license
Public Supply
Public supply represents all water used by cities and citizens. All of the water used for activities such as showering, bathing, toilet-flushing, dish-washing, drinking, and lawn-watering are labeled under public supply. Public supply only makes up a small percentage of Idaho's water usage!
Source: Pexels, CC license
Industrial
Industrial factories have many uses for water. Factories often rely on water in order to cool, heat, or transport materials in order to create many of the products you buy at the store. Some factories that use water generate steam. When you see a factory with a large billow of white steam, they're probably using lots of water!
Source: Wikimedia commons, CC license
Mining
Water is often used to extract minerals and materials from the earth by keeping equipment cool and pushing excess debris out of the way. This rough mixture of debris and water is a good agent for grinding away rocky materials. However, mineral-rich water (wastewater) can cause environmental problems if not properly managed.
What is Idaho's Water Use?
Consider the pie chart to the left. Based on what you learned about the categories of water, compare this new pie chart to your own pie chart that you created earlier in this adventure! Do you notice any similarities or differences?
In Idaho, public water use only makes up 2% of the total usage of water used by the entire state. That includes all of the water that you use at home on a daily basis, like drinking, showering, washing dishes, etc. But if you live outside of Idaho, your state's water use might be much different.
How many sections on your pie chart do you think would fit under the public supply category?
That sure is a lot of water! How do we manage to access this much water year-round? As you may have already learned in Adventure #3: "Water Storage", humans have become experts at managing and storing water in order to provide enough water for each of the main water divisions! Later in this adventure, we'll discuss what happens to a community when there isn't enough water to go around.
