Final 1: Water Conservation

Abstract:
The purpose of our experiment is to test and see how much water Western uses in one week, the amount of water the average Western student uses, and possible ways to reduce those amounts. The prediction is that the average student spends approximately twenty minutes in the shower, seven days a week, and leaves the water running while they brush their teeth. The three dorms will be tested separately and then the data will be combined to find the most wasteful dorm and gender.
We will find out this information by asking all of the students in Western how many showers they take in a week and approximately how long each shower is. We will also ask whether or not they leave the water on while brushing their teeth and how long it takes for them to brush their teeth. We are interested in finding out this information to educate others and ourselves about the use of water on Western a daily basis. This concerns us because of the lack of water due to the drought this summer.

Introduction:
This summer there was a drought that devastated many American farmers. The lack of rain caused many crops to be plowed under because they would not pull a profit. Yet, with all the devastation, not much was done by society to conserve water. The Western campus has done nothing organized to preserve the water supply. The experiment is intended to test the amount and uses of water on Western. The experiment will test each dorm separately dividing the male students and female students to determine the largest user of water. The first thought was to test the amount of water used by the average student in the shower. That idea was expanded to include the total amount of water used in brushing teeth also.
We feel that the majority of Western students are not aware of the excessive amount of water that they are using and the amount they could save on a daily basis. We think that by doing research and making the students aware of the amount of water that could be saved, it would make a difference in the amount of water usage on Western campus. Our prediction is that female students use the most water on a daily basis, however we do not think that there will be a large variation in the amount of water each person uses in the different halls.
Due to the drought this summer our original project to test the life in the creek would not work. We were still interested in water and decided to concentrate on how water could be conserved on Western campus. Even though the results of our project will inform a small amount of people, the effect this project will have on students on a long run will be very beneficial. Every student that is willing to conserve just a little bit of water will contribute to the solution.
Materials and Methods:
To begin this experiment, we will test the amount of water that comes out of the sink faucet and out of the showerhead in a minute. This will be tested by placing a bucket under the faucet or showerhead and then the water will be turned on and timed for one minute. The water will then be measured and calculated to determine the amount of water dispensed in one minute. Then all residents of the three Western campus dorms will be surveyed. Each resident will be asked the approximate time spent in the shower each time they shower, the number of showers taken a week, if they leave the water on or off while they brush their teeth, and the amount of time it takes to brush their teeth. We feel the data we will find will be fairly accurate due to the fact that we have a large and varied test group.
We chose to leave out the amount of water used when one flushes the toilet, due to the fact that we were unable to acquire the exact amount used for each flush. We also felt asking this question would be invasive of one's privacy. There are many other issues that deal with water, but they would be harder to control individually on a daily basis.
The survey results can be transformed into numeric data. The time it takes each resident to shower can be multiplied by the amount of water dispensed from the showerhead in one minute. That in turn can be multiplied by the number of times a week that the resident showers. Then the data about teeth brushing can be transformed in a similar way to show the water used per week for brushing teeth. This will develop data that can be calculated and compared.
The calculated results will be tallied and averaged. They will be grouped by dorm, gender, and then as a whole. The results will report the most wasteful gender and dorm. It will also reveal how conservative Western is as a whole and possible ways to conserve more water.
During our class time we will make up a sheet of questions that will enable students to calculate the number of gallons of water they each use in a week. Once the original calculations are made, we will ask them to calculate how much water would be used if each of their showers was a minute shorter and if they turned off the water while they brush their teeth. This will show them how much water they are wasting each week and will let them know how easy it would be for them to help. Even though their contribution could only be a small one, it makes a difference if a large amount of people cut down. (The questions they will be answering are attached.)
We will not be using many materials in the lab experiment. We will be using the survey data sheets (attached) with our questions and places for the responses. In order to measure the water we will use two large buckets to catch the water that comes out of the faucet in a minute, which will be timed with a stopwatch. Then we will pour this water into large graduated cylinders using a funnel. Finally, we will convert the mL to gallons.
After we have completed out lab we plan to inform the public. We will post signs around Peabody and place water jugs in Mary Lyon that show the amount of water used in those dorms by the average student. No type of visual aid will be used in McKee, which will help us determine if the original survey was influential on the students' behavior. We hope that helping students and faculty to become educated about the amount of water that is wasted daily; they will pay more attention to their water use. If we all pitch in, we could make a big difference in gaining some of the water lost in the drought back.
Results:
Our charts generated from Stat view were based on data from our first survey. In our lab we found that the number of showers per week does not really vary from male students to female students. The only significant difference was that male students were twice as likely to take more than ten showers per week. However, the female students tended to be more likely to take six showers a week than males were. In all the dorms, the most common number of showers per week is seven. McKee tended to take fewer showers a week as a whole. Peabody, on the other hand, seems to be on the opposite end with more people taking nine and ten showers. Mary Lyon seemed to be in the middle. The vast majority of them took six to seven showers per week.
Gender did not have much of an affect on the amount of time a person spends in the shower. The percentages were about equal except for the 25-30 minute time span. We found that nearly four times as many females took showers 25-30 minutes in length. We have found that shower time is also not affected by which dorm you live in. All three dorms turned out to be equal in shower lengths. The only difference is that McKee had many more people who were able to keep their showers under five minutes. Finally, we found that every hall was partial to turning the water off when they brush their teeth. The number of people who turned the water off in Mary Lyon and McKee was double the amount that left it on. Peabody did even better with three times as many people turning the water off.
All in all, the gender and the dorm did not have a great affect on the amount of water a person uses. There seems to be trends in some areas that are followed by all the people on Western Campus.
As a follow-up survey, we surveyed the members of each dorm to see if they had changed any of their water habits. In Peabody, we tested to see if signs with water facts would make a difference. Mary Lyon had two, one-gallon jugs of water to show the water wasted each minute and McKee was used as a constant. A sample of the questions we asked is included with the other survey.
After conducting our second survey, we were able to compare our data to the data from our previous survey to see if there were any changes in water habits between both females and males in all three dorms. By doing so we were able to see if the two, two-gallon jugs of water placed in both the female and male bathrooms in Mary Lyon made a difference. We would also be able to see whether the signs posted in Peabody affected the water habits of those living in Peabody. Although no signs or water jugs were placed in McKee, we would be able to see if the first survey it self, had any impact on the water habits of those living in McKee. Some students changed their overall water habits, while others just changed one or none of their habits.
Concerning shower time between both males and females in all three dorms, change in habits varied. We found that for female students living in Mary Lyon there was no change concerning the amount of time they spent in the showers. On the other hand, there was a decrease in the amount of time spent in the shower for male students living in Mary Lyon. Overall in Mary Lyon the amount of time spent in the shower for both female students and male students decreased slightly.
Unlike the water habits for females in Mary Lyon water habits of female students living in Peabody increased. The water habits for male students on the other hand decreased like that of the male students in Mary Lyon. After reviewing the results for both male students and female students in Peabody, we found there to be a decrease in shower time.
Unlike the shower habits for female students in the two previous dorms, we found that female students living in McKee decreased the amount of time spent in the shower. Male students living in McKee also decreased the amount of time spent in the shower allowing us to conclude that there was an overall decrease in the amount of time spent in the shower.
Once we took the final results from all three dorms concerning shower time we found that there was a small change, but nothing significant concerning shower time. Unlike the female students in all three dorms, we found that there was an overall decrease in the amount of time spent in the shower for male students. Overall we found there to be a slight change in shower time.
The next part of our survey dealt with the amount of showers both female students and male students in all three dorms took per week to see if there was any change in their habits from the last survey. For both female students and male students in Mary Lyon, we found there to be a decrease in the amount of showers taken in a week.
Although the number of showers taken by female students in Peabody decreased like the female students living in Mary Lyon, we found that the number of showers taken by male students moved in the other direction. With both an increase and decrease of amount of showers of those living in Peabody, we concluded that there was no overall change.
There was an inverse outcome however concerning shower time for those living in McKee. We found that he number of showers taken by female students increased while the amount for male students decreased. With both an increase and decrease we were able to conclude that there was no overall change in McKee.
When we compared the final results between all three dorms we found that on average there was a decrease in the amount of showers female students took during a weekly period. We also found that on average there was a decrease in showers per week for male students. With all the data from both female students and male students in all three dorms we were able to conclude that on average there was no change.
From our overall data concerning the amount of time spent in the shower, and the number of showers taken per week, it was obvious that on average there was no significant change. Although on average there was no overall change in shower habits, there was a significant change concerning whether both female students and male students from all three dorms turned off the water while brushing their teeth.
We found that the amount of female students in Mary Lyon that turned off the water while brushing their teeth, increased. Although the amount of female students that turned off the water while brushing their teeth increased the amount for male students decreased. However, in both Peabody and McKee and for both female students and male students the amount of people who began to turn of the water while brushing their teeth increased. With this outcome we are able to conclude that on average there was an overall increase in the amount of people who began to turn off the water when they brushed their teeth.
Concerning the impact the water jugs had on female students in Mary Lyon, we found that there was no significant change, although impacted the amount of time male students spent in the shower. We discovered that male students living in Mary Lyon began to decrease the amount of time spent in the shower.
Although the water jugs had no significant effect on whether male students in Mary Lyon turned off the water while brushing their teeth, they definitely had a good effect on the female students in Mary Lyon.
We found that the signs we posted in both male and female bathrooms in Peabody either had a good effect or no effect on their water habits. We discovered that although some male students began to take longer showers, on average the overall shower length for males did not change. The signs however, had an impact on shower time for female students living in Peabody. We noted that female students began taking shorter showers after the signs were posted in their bathrooms.
We also noted that the signs had a positive impact on whether female students and male students in Peabody had begun to turn of the water while brushing their teeth. We discovered that the signs had encouraged more people to turn off the water while brushing their teeth.
Although nothing was put up in McKee, we still found there to be a change in water habits. This in turn led us to believe that our first survey itself had an impact on their water habits. Perhaps the first survey itself led them to question, and or made them more aware of their daily water habits.
We noted that there was a drastic decrease in the amount of time both male students and female students in McKee spent in the shower as well as an increase in the amount of people who turned off the water while brushing their teeth. From this outcome we are able to state that although no signs or water jugs were placed in their bathrooms, the first survey itself had a positive impact on both male students and female students in McKee.

Conclusion
In conclusion we found that on average, the water jugs, signs, and first survey changed whether people kept the water on while brushing their teeth on all three dorms. There was a positive impact, and it was clear that both female students and male students in all three dorms began to turn off the water while brushing their teeth.
We also concluded that although the three methods we used decreased the amount of water people used while they brushed their teeth, was effective, it was not as effective on the amount of time they spent in the shower. The only dorm where shower length decreased for both female students and male students was McKee. This allows us to safely conclude that the first survey itself had a positive impact not only brushing habits like the other two dorms, but primarily by the decrease in shower length. In Peabody where female students began taking shorter showers while male students began taking longer showers, we can conclude that the signs had more impact on brushing habits while only half the impact on shower length. In Mary Lyon where male students began taking shorter showers while shower length for female students stayed the same, we can conclude that the jugs still had the most impact on their brushing habits and only half the impact on their shower length.

References:

Water Conservation & Tips

http://www.ci.sanbruno.ca.us/Finance/watercons.html

Water Department Home Page

http://www.ci.rockville-centre.ny.us/water.html

City of Chesapeake - Water Conservation Tips for the Bathroom

http://www.chesapeake.va.us/services/depart/pub-util/h2o-conserv/tips-bath.html

Water Facts:
-Almost all of the water on the earth is contained in the oceans.
-The oceans contain 322,280,00 cubic miles of water.
-It is estimated that over 1 billion people about one-fifth of the world's population lack access to safe drinking water.
-A child dies every eight seconds from contaminated water, with total deaths each year of over 5 million people.
-As the human population continues to grow, the problem of availability of adequate supplies of safe drinking water is projected to worsen.
-Failure to address this water problem may actually exacerbate population growth by encouraging families to offset low child survival rates with increased fertility.
-Over the 25 years, there have been a series of global conferences, declarations, agendas, and action plans to provide safe drinking water for all.
-The United Nations declared the 1980's as The International Drinking Water Supply Decade, during which a $100 billion were spent on water supply projects.
-Nonetheless, the United Nations warned in 1997 that in 30 years population growth may result in as many as 5.5 billion people living in areas that suffer from severe water stress.

How to conserve water outside of your home:
-Water the lawn only when needed
-Don't water the pavement
-Plant drought resistant trees and plants
-Keep lawn free of weeds (weeds are water thieves and will rob your plant of water nutrients.)
-Accept a less than lush lawn
-Automatic irrigation systems save time and water
-Use a cistern to collect rainwater (1,000 square feet of roof or pavement can collect 420 gallons of water from 1 inch of rain)
-Don't let water run while washing the car
-Don't use the sprinklers just to cool off or for play
-Check for leaks in popes, hoses and faucets
-Cover your swimming pool (help reduce evaporation)
-Recycle your pool water
-Move sprinkler heads away from curbs or sidewalks

In-Class Lab
Water Conservation

Shower:
1) How many showers do you take per week? ______

2) How many minutes do you spend in each shower? ______

3) Multiply #1 and #2 together to find the total number of minutes you spend in the shower in a week. _____

4) Now multiply your answer to #3 by the number of gallons of water a shower uses in one minute. (We will give you this number.)
*This is the number of gallons of water you use each week, just in the shower.

5) Go back to step #2 and take 3 or 4 minutes off of your daily shower time and complete steps #3 and #4 again.

6) Subtract your second answer from your first answer to see how many gallons of water you could save just by taking shorter showers!

Brushing Your Teeth:
1) How long do you spend brushing your teeth each time? ______

2) Multiply this number by the amount of water from the faucet each minute.
(We will give you this number.) ______
*This is the amount of water you use each time you brush your teeth.

3) Now subtract the number of minutes the water is running that you aren't using it and complete step #2 again.
*This is the amount of water you could save each time, just but turning off the water.

Rate of Water Flow

McKee:
8 showers (gallons/minute) 3 1.5 3
3 4.5 1.5
1.5 1.5 average=2.44 gallons per minute

12 sinks (gallons/minute) 3 1.5 1.5
3 1.5 1.5
1.5 3 3
3 3 3 average=2.38 gallons/minute

Mary Lyon:
16 showers (gallons/minute) 1.5 1.5 1.5
1.5 1.5 1.5
1.5 1.5 1.5
1.5 3 3
3 3 3
3 average=2.06 gallons per minute

16 sinks ( gallons/minute) 1.5 1.5 1.5
1.5 1.5 1.5
1.5 1.5 1.5
1.5 1.5 3
3 3 3
3

Peabody:
28 showers ( gallons/minute) 4.5 3 3
3 4.5 4.5
3 3 4.5
4.5 3 3
4.5 4.5 4.5
3 3 3
3 3 3
4.5 (average=3.61)

16 sinks ( gallons/minute) 1.5 1.5 1.5
1.5 1.5 1.5
1.5 1.5 1.5
1.5 1.5 1.5
1.5 1.5 1.5
1.5 (average=1.5)

SURVEY

Shower length < 5 5-10 10-15 15-20 20-25 25-30 30+
McKee
Female 2 3 3 2 0 1 0
Male 0 2 6 4 1 0 0
Mary Lyon
Female 0 5 10 6 2 1 0
Male 1 3 4 0 0 0 1
Peabody
Female 0 12 16 9 4 4 0
Male 1 12 14 10 2 1 0

Showers Per Week 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10+
McKee
Female 0 1 1 2 1 1 1 4 0 0 0
Male 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 7 0 1 0
Mary Lyon
Female 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 14 0 2 1
Male 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 4 0 2 1
Peabody
Female 0 1 1 1 3 6 9 15 3 4 3
Male 0 0 0 0 2 6 5 14 2 3 6

Brushing Teeth Water on Water off
McKee
Female 5 6
Male 3 10
Mary Lyon
Female 5 16
Male 4 5
Peabody
Female 9 36
Male 13 22

Brushing Time <30s 30s-1min 1-2min 2min+
McKee
Female 0 3 4 4
Male 0 1 6 6
Mary Lyon
Female 1 3 7 9
Male 0 1 4 4
Peabody
Female 0 1 4 8
Male 1 1 3 4

Survey 2 Questions
We first asked if they had or had not taken the survey before. We then asked the four questions from the first survey over again. After that, we asked separate questions to each different hall to find out which was most affected.

McKee: Since taking the last survey have you given any thought to the amount of water you use while showering or brushing your teeth?
Have you changed the amount of water you use while showering or brushing your teeth?
If you were presented with information about the amount of water that is wasted on Western Campus daily, do you think it would have an effect on the amount of water you use?
Peabody: Did you notice the signs posted in the bathrooms with the water facts?
Have you made any changes in your showering and brushing habits since seeing them?
Mary Lyon: Did you take note of the water jugs in the bathroom?
Have you made any changes in your brushing habits since seeing them?
All: At the end of every survey we asked every single person how highly they rated water conservation in their life on a scale from one to ten, ten being the highest.

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