Archive for September, 2011
How many gallons of water do you think you use each day?
Do you think your water supply is safe?
Do you think there is enough water?
How might climate change impact water resources?
What could you do to influence your public water supply?
These are the questions that we asked the public one day on the Independence Mall in Philadelphia! A group of EPA employees including myself took to the streets to get your views on drinking water – and we found some interesting stuff. Most people were surprised by how high the average amount of water use per person per day is. I was somewhat taken aback by some of the responses but I was given hope by the responses to others.
Watch this 3 minute video to see what our participants said, then tell us your answers in the comments section!
Leslie Gryder of Lynchburg, Va., told her local paper she “felt like crawling under a rock” upon learning she was receiving EPA’s Mid-Atlantic award for excellence in operating a large public drinking water system.
But the spotlight-shy chemist was center stage when Bill Arguto, our region’s Drinking Water Branch Chief, presented her with the award during a ceremony attended by more than 30 people, including city and state officials.
Though largely unsung, water treatment plant operators are on the front lines in preventing waterborne diseases and protecting public health. You can take this virtual tour of a drinking water plant to see how water is treated and sent to your home or business. And kids can follow a drop of water from the source through the treatment process at this site.
Leslie Gryder has taken the job to a new level at Lynchburg’s water treatment plant.
“We don’t make this award every year. If we didn’t think we had a candidate who was deserving, we wouldn’t give it,” Arguto said.
Leslie implemented new processes and procedures to keep the city’s drinking water safe and clean – even assisting neighboring systems in preventing and removing microbial contamination.
If you’re aware of steps your water treatment plant has taken to improve its operations, we’d like to hear about them.
It wasn’t prophetic, just prudent to do a Healthy Waters blog earlier this year on preparing for water emergencies. Since then, the Mid-Atlantic region has been pounded by a hurricane and drenching storms that have wreaked havoc in flooded communities across the area.
It’s time to revisit and broaden that topic since September is National Preparedness Month. We can’t be reminded too often of the need to be ready for natural disasters and other emergencies.
That was clear when our EPA offices in a Philadelphia high-rise started to vibrate in the recent earthquake, and we trudged down flights of steps to evacuate and get over to a staging area.
The Department of Homeland Security encourages all of us to:
As we move on after marking the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, there will be activities across our area to promote emergency preparedness at home, at work and in the community.
Take advantage of these opportunities and check out these websites sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and EPA for more information. And share with us any practical steps you’ve taken to be prepared.
Have you ever wondered why development on edges of rivers so often seems to cut people off from the water, rather than giving them access to it? In Philadelphia, when I walk across the Walnut Street bridge over the Schuylkill River, I sometimes wonder why rivers, the lifelines of our cities, are often under-utilized as a community resource.
Recently, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and leaders of other federal agencies were in Baltimore to launch the Urban Waters Federal Partnership, an exciting new federal partnership to help surrounding communities reap the environmental, economic and social benefits that living near a water body can provide.
Revitalizing urban waters stimulates local economies by helping businesses, promoting tourism, raising property values, and creating jobs. Access to safe and attractive urban water resources can also improve the quality of life for people living in urban areas, especially in underserved communities. The value that urban water resources can provide is enormous, particularly in difficult economic times.
EPA’s role in the partnership will focus on using science and the law to protect and preserve water quality and provide assistance in assessing and addressing the legacy of contamination. Learn more about how EPA is participating in the Urban Waters Partnership.
To begin its efforts, the partnership identified seven pilot locations. Two of these are in the Mid Atlantic Region – the Anacostia Watershed and the Patapsco Watershed – and each has strong restoration efforts underway.
The Anacostia River Watershed is one of the most urbanized watersheds in the country. It’s also home to 43 species of fish, over 200 species of birds, and more than 800,000 people. Current initiatives in the watershed include planting trees, restoring urban streams, and education and jobs for DC youth. EPA has been partnering with DC and Maryland to reduce trash in the river with the Anacostia River Trash TMDL (as you’ve heard about in our previous blogs).
If you live or work in an urban area, how do you see urban waterways being utilized…or not? What’s your vision for how urban waters can play a role in our lives, environment, and economy?
Here in the U.S., the U.S. General Accounting Office estimates that by 2013 over 36 states will face water shortages. So, WaterSense, a voluntary partnership program led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been trying to improve water efficiency in new as well as existing homes.
In 2008, WaterSense launched the new homes program to reduce residential water use (a large portion of the total water use in the United States) both indoors and outdoors in new homes when they are built. With the WaterSense certification, houses can start off on the right foot and conserve water from the get-go, rather than going through more expensive retrofits later.
Compared with conventional design, WaterSense homes can save more than 10,000 gallons of household water use per year. And these are relatively minor changes, like WaterSense toilets and faucets, and Energy Star appliances… nothing as extreme as being without indoor plumbing. Find out more about what constitutes a WaterSense-certified home by checking out the specs here. Saving water does not have to be a painful process. Simply choosing WaterSense labeled products instead of conventional models, fixing leaks, and avoiding peak water use periods helps a great deal.
If your family is thinking of investing in a new home, consider WaterSense in your plans! Use this search tool to find builders that are WaterSense partners in your state. Not planning on building a new house at the moment? Learn how to make your existing home more water efficient. Wherever you live, share the steps you are taking to be more water efficient in your home in the comments section!