Drinking Water
Web Lesson 7
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Drinking Water Web Lesson 7 |
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This activity is about the process Eugene and many other cities use to clean water to be used for drinking. If you take a look at it before the field trip to the water filtration plant (see the calendar for the date) it will help you understand what you are seeing. Use the link below to explore the process and then answer the questions below. How is water cleaned for drinking? Questions: 1. Why does water need to be cleaned before people can drink it? Click on the "see a treatment plant in action" link to answer the following questions: (pointing the cursor at the various steps in the process on this diagram will bring up a description just below the diagram). 2. Point the cursor to the word "INTAKE" on the diagram. What kinds of things do you think would be screened out of the McKenzie River water as it is pumped up to Eugene's water filtration plant? 3. In Eugene, chlorine is added to the river water. Why is this done? 4. Point to "COAGULATION AND FLOCCULATION". In Eugene, only alum is added to the water. The purpose of adding alum is to deal with particles of dirt, wood, etc. This process is called coagulation. How does coagulation remove this material from the water supply? 5. During the sedimentation process, why is it important for the 'floc' to settle to the bottom of the basin? 6. What is the purpose of filtering the water through a sand filter? 7. Why might chlorine be the only treatment done to water from groundwater sources? 8. In Eugene, a small amount of base is added to the water just before it is piped to your house. (A base raises the pH of the water so it is not acidic). Why is this done? (Hint: What might be the consequences to water pipes of shipping water that is even slightly acidic?)
Be sure to either submit this assignment on paper in your 'IN' folder or email it to whitley@4j.lane.edu and haberman@4j.lane.edu by Friday at 4 p.m.
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