Name_________________________________ Water Treatment WebQuest
Date__________________________________
SAFE DRINKING WATER! How do we get it? What process does water go through to become
safe enough to drink? Read the following websites to find out. Use this diagram and the one on
the second website to help you learn about this process. (All links are found on my website!)
Go to: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/kids/watertreatmentplant/ &
http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/images-water-quality/public-water-treatment.gif
Water enters the treatment plant from a river, reservoir or well and is first screened to remove leaves,
twigs and other large objects. Write 2-3 sentences describing what happens in
the next steps of the water treatment
Coagulation:
Sedimentation:
Filtration:
Disinfection:
(Sometimes other treatments such as fluoridation or pH adjustment may occur at the end of this stage.)
Storage:
(After storage, water travels via pipelines to homes and businesses.)!
Salem’s Drinking Water Find out how we get our water!
Plant.
You will also need to go to the links titled “Frequently Asked Questions” and “Water & Sewer
Rates” for information to answer these questions.
1. When did Salem open its new Water Treatment Plant? ___________________________________
2. How much drinking water is this facility capable of producing each day? ______________________
3. This treatment plant draws water from two sources. What are they?
___________________________________ and ________________________________
4. Does Salem add fluoride to the water? ________________ Why or why not? _________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
5. Why is chlorine added to our water? _________________________________________________
6. What are two things you can do to remove the chlorine from your water if you don’t like its taste or
odor?___________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
7. What would it cost a Salemite to purchase 5000 gallons of clean water? (Show work….)
______________________________________________________________________________
Does that seem expensive to you? ____________ Why or why not? __________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
At this point in your WebQuest, you have not learned about sewage treatment (the process that
cleans wastewater back to ‘useable’ water). However, since you are on the Salem rates page, look
at the rates charged by the city to take wastewater (any water that goes down the drain or toilet)
away from a home or business.
8. What would it cost a Salemite to get rid of 5000 gallons of ‘used’ water (sewage)? (Show work!)
_______________________________________________________________________________
9. If you did your math correctly, you will see that it costs more to get rid of dirty water than it does to
get clean water. What do you think about this fact? ______________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
What is your hypothesis as to why this is so? _____________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
10. What has surprised you the most about what you have found out today? ______________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Is there something you still want to know and haven’t found out yet? ______________ If so, what is it?
_______________________________________________________________________________
Go to http://www.epa.gov/safewater/kids/flash/flash_qagame.html for a fun review.
Name __________________________________ Water Treatment WebQuest
Now that you know how water is made safe to drink, what happens to water that goes down the
drain or toilet? Follow the path the WebQuest takes you to discover the answer!
Go to http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/wuww.html Read what wastewater is and why we treat it.
Wastewater is ___________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
What are some reasons why we treat wastewater?
a. _____________________________________________________________________________
b. _____________________________________________________________________________
c. _____________________________________________________________________________
d. _____________________________________________________________________________
Now go to http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/wwvisit.html to identify and briefly describe the steps of
the wastewater treatment process.
Step 1: _______________________This is _____________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Step 2: _______________________This is ____________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Step 3: _______________________This is ____________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Step 4: _______________________This is ____________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Step 5: _______________________This is ____________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Step 6: _______________________This is ____________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Step R: _______________________This is ____________________________________________
Check out the diagram on the following website. (You will have to scroll down to see it.) Read and
follow its steps and see how it relates to the diagram on the previous page.
www.aboutus.org/Drinking_Water_Quality_And_The_Contamination_of_Public_Drinking_Supplies
See the virtual tour of the Roanoke Valley’s Sewage Treatment Facility
http://www.westernvawater.org/WebMgmt/ywbase61b.nsf/vwContentByKey/N2686QYD890CDATE
N
and specifically click on the Biosolids Treatment steps to see what happens to the “solid”
sewage!
Look at the picture showing green grass. Why is one part of the grass greener than the other part?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
See a slide show of steps of sewage treatment
http://www.metrocouncil.org/environment/Kids/01.htm
Any singing volunteers? Here are the words to the “Flush It” song!
http://www.ci.tacoma.wa.us/envirokids/Activities/songs.htm#Flush
And the website you’ll never forget….(USE HEADPHONES) “Sewage in your Face”
http://www.sandiego.gov/mwwd/kids/index.shtml
Look at each section and tell what you learned and/or liked from each…
Hear it! ________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Eat it! _________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Learn it! ________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Videos _________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Sewer Games ____________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
I hope you enjoyed learning about how we get clean (potable) water and what happens to all that
wastewater that leaves our homes. Remember, the water we use today is the same water used by
people thousands of years ago and we must keep it clean for the people of the future!