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JACKMAN UTILITY DISTRICT
WATER FACTS
Now that’s a lot of water.
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One inch of rain falling on 1 acre of ground is
equal to about 27,154 gallons and weighs 113 tons.
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One inch of snow falling on 1 acre of ground is
equal to about 2,715 gallons of water (considering the rule that 10 inches
of snow equals 1 inch of water).
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One acre-foot (water covering 1 acre to a depth
of 1 foot) equals 326,000 gallons and weighs 2.7 million pounds. Big Wood is 2,150 acres and varies in
depth from 20-80 feet deep and averages about 24.5 billion gallons of
water.
There is plenty of
water…right?
·
96.5% earth’s water is salt water; 2.8% is
fresh. Of that 2.8%, 0.76% is groundwater and only 0.01% of that is found
in lakes and stream. The other 1.75%
is found in glaciers, icecaps or as water vapor.
How much water am I using?
It takes about…
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2-5 gallons of water to brush your teeth
·
50 gallons to wash the car
·
15-30 gallons to run the dishwasher
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3.5-7 gallons to flush the toilet
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20-30 gallons to take a shower
·
20-45 gallons to run the washing machine per
load
I’m not polluting the water, its all
those big factories.
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Non point source pollution is one of the
biggest threats to clean water.
Examples of non point pollution include oil poured down storm drains
or on the ground, soil washed from construction sites or erosion of land,
grease from restaurants, paint brushes cleaned outside on the ground,
fertilizers and pesticides from yards and fields. As an example the oil from 1 engine can
produce an oil slick of 8 acres on a river or lake.
(Information taken from the 7th Edition Operator’s
Companion by USA Bluebook,
and from USGS Science for a Changing World Water Science for Schools)
Questions
and Answers
Where does our household water come from?
All the water that we use in our homes comes from either a
ground-water source (well) or from a surface-water source (lake or
river). In Jackman the public water
supply is Big Wood Pond a surface water source.
How much water does an average person use at home per day?
The average person uses about 80-100 gallons of water per
day. The largest use of household
water is to flush the toilet, followed by showers and baths.
How is the public water I drink made
safe?
Chemicals are added to the raw water to make the material in it
bunch up (flocculate) and fall out of solution as it passes through the
filters. Chlorine is then added to
kill dangerous bacteria and microorganisms. Soda Ash is added to make the
water less corrosive to metal pipes it comes in contact with.
Does a little leak in my house really waste water?
A continuous little leak has the potential to waste a lot of
water mainly because the leak may be ignored. Many of our toilets have a constant leak
(about 22 gallons a day, 660 a month, and 8,000 gallons per year). If you have public water you are also
paying for that lost water. Each
gallon cost about $.03, so 8,000 gallons cost about $240.
(Information taken from the 7th Edition Operator’s Companion
by USA Bluebook, and from USGS Science for a Changing World Water Science
for Schools)
If you have a question
about the Jackman Utility District, please click here to send an email.
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If you have questions or comments about any
aspect of the Jackman region web site, click here to send an email
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