Water Conservation Wizard
Student Workbook
Section 1 – Water Availability
Fast Water Facts
66 About 71 % of the Earth’s surface
is covered in water.
66 According to the US
Geological Survey, there are
352,670,000,000,000,000,000
gallons of water on Earth!
66 The oceans hold about 97% of
all Earth’s water, which is saline.
That leaves how much as fresh
water? _____%
66 Fresh water exists in the air as
water vapor, in rivers and lakes,
in icecaps and glaciers, in the
ground as soil moisture and in
aquifers, and even in you and
your dog.
66 Not all of the fresh water is
AVAILABLE for humans to use.
Most is caught in solid form in the
ice caps, or so deep underground
we can’t get to it. In fact, only
0.03% can be used.
MATH EXTENSION: How many
gallons would that be?
______________________________
448-4800
www.csu.org
What would you do if
your tap went dry?
In the United States we
generally don’t have to worry
about having clean water. Not
all people around the world are
so lucky. Imagine that you live
in a place that has no plumbing
and you must walk a long way
to fill a container of water
from a dirty stream. Once you
are home, you have to boil the
water to kill germs and bacteria
so you don’t get sick. You have
just spent a big part of your
day gathering useable water.
In the United States, you use
about five gallons of water in
just two minutes by turning on
the faucet at home.
Photo Courtesy of Water for People, taken
by Wende Valentine, and Kenn Lively
Water weighs 8.34 pounds per gallon. If 2 buckets
each held 3 gallons of water, how much would that
weigh?____________________________________
True or False: Scientists believe about the same amount of
water exists on Earth today, as when water was first formed billions
of years ago. Explain your answer: 1
Section 2 – Colorado Springs Water Supply
Have you ever wondered where your water comes from and why it tastes so good?
Snow melts into a…
transmountain
diversion
tunnel
Snow melts into a…
pipeline flowing into a…
collection reservoir.
The pump station pumps it into a…
pipeline, sending it to a…
Wastewater
is then
treated and
sent to
storage reservoir.
Fountain
The water is treated and
Creek or
sent out to the community.
reused
in town.
The water
flows past
200 other
communities
before it
reaches the
Gulf of
Mexico.
Unlike most other cities, we are not located
near a river or major waterway. Neither do we use
groundwater. Your water supply comes primarily
from snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains. For the
most part you are the “first user” of the water,
which means the water has not yet been used in
other homes and businesses.
Bringing water to Colorado Springs is no
easy task. Our water system is made up of four
transmountain diversion tunnels, 25 reservoirs
(human-made lakes), 239 miles of raw (untreated)
water pipe and several pump stations bringing water
from as far away as the other side of the Continental
Divide.
Colorado Springs Utilities imports your water
from three watersheds (also known as river basins):
The Arkansas River (20%), the Colorado River
(75%), and the South Platte River (5%).
Which watershed supplies the
most water to town?
_____________________________
Watersheds of Colorado. The shaded areas
around the dark river lines depict the area of land
that drains into the river. The numbers show the
volume of water in the river in acre feet.
After a long journey, the water arrives in Colorado
Springs and passes through one of six Water
Treatment Plants where it gets cleaned and tested
to make sure it is safe to drink. Now that the water
is ready to drink, it starts off in the next part of
its journey – to your faucet. There are 2,046 miles
of water distribution pipe that travel through our
community, like veins in your body, bringing water
to your home.
Describe where Colorado Springs water goes after it is used in houses or buildings:
2
Section 3 – Water Use
Fill in your best guess, and then check the
answer at the bottom of the page.
How much water do you use each day?
_________ Gallons
Residential Water Use
66 From this pie chart, what is most water used for?
Shower/Bath
12%
_____________________________________
66 Which room in the house uses the most water?
CKHFN one:
bathroomkitchenlaundry room
66 What percentage is used in the bathroom for toilets
and showers/baths combined?
Landscape
42%
Faucets
10%
_______________________________________
66 How much water is lost in leaks?
_____________________________________
Clothes
Washer
14%
Toilets
14%
Dishwasher
1%
Leaks/
Other
7%
FACT: Water used outside the home (such
as for landscaping) doesn’t go to the
wastewater treatment plant. For the most
part, this water will not be available for
others to reuse locally because it will either
soak in the ground, run-off or evaporate.
Xeriscape Demonstration Garden at 2855 Mesa Road
Using native plants to convert grass lawns
to Xeriscape helps save a lot of water. Visit
our Xeriscape garden with your family for
ideas for your yard.
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Answer: Colorado Springs Daily Water Use = 97 gallons per day for each person (indoor + outdoor use averaged over the year)
Section 4 – Water Conservation – Can you make a difference?
Do you think it is important to conserve (use less) water? Why, or why not?
A Day in the Life of a Teenager……Bathroom Water Use Analysis
Instructions: About 60% of indoor water is used in the bathroom. Fill out the chart to learn how much water
you can save by using water wisely, such as taking shorter showers and turning off the faucet while brushing
teeth and washing hands, and investing in high efficiency fixtures.
Activity
Typical Inefficient Use
Conserving Habits
Typical Use with High
Efficiency Fixtures
Conserving Habits with
High Efficiency Fixtures
Showering
8 min at 2.5 gpm* flow
(1 shower per day) rate =
5 min at 2.5 gpm* flow
rate =
8 min at 1.5 gpm* flow
rate =
5 min at 1.5 gpm* flow
rate =
Washing Hands
Water running
and Face
4 min at 2 gpm* flow
(4 washes per day) rate =
Water turned off except
to rinse
2 min at 2 gpm* flow
rate =
Aerator installed, water
running
4 min at 1.5 gpm* flow
rate =
Water turned off, aerator
installed
2 min at 1.5 gpm* flow
rate =
Brushing Teeth
(2 brushings per
day)
Water running
2 min at 2 gpm* flow
rate =
Water turned off except
to rinse
1 min at 2 gpm* flow
rate =
Aerator installed, water
running
2 min at 1.5 gpm* flow
rate =
Water turned off, aerator
installed
1 min at 1.5 gpm* flow
rate =
Flushing Toilet
5 flushes a day at 2.5
gallons per flush =
Flush only bowel
movements - 2 flushes
a day at 2.5 gallons per
flush =
High efficiency toilet
5 flushes a day at 1.3
gallons per flush =
High efficiency toilet
and flush only bowel
movements - 2 flushes a
day at 1.3 gallons per flush
=
Total Gallons
Used per Day
*gpm = gallons per minute
Sum up the water savings
Typical Water Use total
_____ gallons per day
minus
-
Conserving Habits with
equals
High Efficiency Fixtures total
_____ gallons per day
=
Your Daily Water Savings
_____ gallons SAVED per day
TOTAL WATER YOU SAVED PER YEAR:
WATER YOUR FAMILY SAVED PER YEAR:
By using conserving habits and installing
high efficiency fixtures, how many gallons
can you save in one year?
If everyone in your family conserved water the way you could,
how much water would your household save in a year?
________________________________
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__________________________________________
Multiply the answer in the box to the left
by the number of people living in your house.
Section 5 – How Much Money Can You Save?
Simply by taking shorter showers, turning the
faucet off while washing hands and brushing teeth,
and flushing the toilet only when necessary, you can
save water AND money.
Colorado Springs Utilities charges for water
based on cubic feet rather than gallons. It also costs
money to heat the water for showers, and to treat
Water Your Family Saved
per Year (gallons)
the wastewater. To calculate
how much money your
family can save in a year,
use your answer in the large
red box from Section 4 and
convert it to cubic feet.
There are 7.48 gallons of water
in a cubic foot.
Water Your Family Saved
per Year (cubic feet)
Convert to cubic feet
÷
=
Instructions: Complete the table to determine the total amount of money your family could save per year.
Colorado Springs Utilities’ Cost Chart
Utility Type
Cost per cubic foot
Cost Savings per Year ($)
Water
$0.035
X
Water saved per year (cubic feet)
from above
=
Wastewater
$0.025
X
Water saved per year (cubic feet)
from above
=
Only about half the bathroom water needs to be heated. Divide the amount of water your
family saved per year (cubic feet) by 2 =
Natural Gas
$0.050
X
Answer from line above
Total Cost Savings (sum):
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
recommends using WaterSense labeled products to
save water. What do high efficiency fixtures cost?
High efficiency toilet
$ 100
High efficiency showerhead $ 15
Faucet aerator
Do the math:
Total cost to upgrade bathroom =
$5
$
=
= $
YOUR family saved this much
money in a year by following
water-conserving habits and
installing high efficiency fixtures
in the bathroom.
5
Section 6 – Take Action!
Take part in the classroom challenge to find
“silent” toilet leaks
1. Check your toilets at home following the simple instructions at the
bottom of this page. What did you find? _______ # toilets tested,
_______ # leaking, and _________ # fixed.
2. Tally your class data:
________
Number of toilets tested
________
Number of toilets leaking
3. Determine the amount of water lost to “silent” leaks by multiplying
the number of leaking toilets by 20 gallons per day:
_________
Did you know
that toilets are the
source for most water
leaks? According to the
EPA, 1 out of every 4
toilets can be a “silent”
leaker – losing about 20
gallons a day without you
even realizing it. If you can
hear your toilet running,
then you may be losing up
to 200 gallons a day!
Amount of water lost per day (gallons)
4. Figure out how much water is lost in a year by multiplying by 365:
_________
Amount of water lost per year (gallons)
5. Fix toilet flappers or replace leaking toilets. Watch this YouTube
video to see how you can fix the flapper yourself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diJ3xuZJTXk (Stella Fixes
a Leaky Faucet)
6. Calculate how much water your class is saving by fixing or replacing
leaking toilets:
________
Number of leaking toilets fixed
________
multiply by 20 gallons per day
________
multiply by 365 days = number gallons your class has saved per year
7. Enter your class data on-line at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ToiletLeaks.
8. Compare your class data and water savings to other Colorado Springs schools by visiting our website at
www. csu.org and going to the Education Resources page.
Toilet Leak Testing Instructions:
Tank
1. Add a special dye tablet or 10 drops of food coloring into the water
in the tank.
Bowl
2. Do not flush.
3. After 15 minutes, look in the bowl and see if colored water appears.
4. You have a leak if colored water from the tank seeps into the bowl.
Congratulations for becoming a Water Conservation Wizard!
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Copyright 2014, Colorado Springs Utilities. The materials in this activity may be reproduced for educational classroom purposes. Other use of
these materials should be requested through Colorado Springs Utilities which retains exclusive rights to distribute and present these materials.