M5.7: Sewage Facilities

In San Francisco, there are three sewage facilities: Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant, North Point Wet Weather Facility, Southeast Treatment.

M5.5: Campaign For Tap Water

I’d go with something silly like: “Tap Water: Refills are always free!”  It baffles my mind how much money people spend on bottled water because they think it might be better for them.

M5.4: CCR & Water Quality

·       What is the source of your drinking water?

• The water in San Francisco comes from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir near Yosemite.

·       What chemicals were found in your water that were higher than expected?

• I didn’t notice anything that caused alarm.  There are chemicals in all water, but nothing at levels I wouldn’t expect to see. 

·       What chemicals did you NOT expect to find in your water?

• I was a bit surprised to see levels of lead.

·       Are there associated health risks with the chemicals found in your water

• Health effects of lead exposure include developmental delays in children as well as other neurological and reproductive issues depending on exposure levels. 

·                Where does your water come from? The source! Track it from the source to your tap.

• My water originates as Sierra snowmelt into the Tolumne River.  From there it goes to the Hetch Hetchy reservoir and potentially the Crystal Springs reservoir before coming to San Francisco.

·       What did you discover about your water quality?

• I discovered that San Francisco water is very clean.

·       Do you use a filter for your water?

• No, I do not filter my tap water.

·       What are you trying to filter out?

• I do not use a filter.

·       Do you drink bottled water?   How does this square with what you learned when you watched the Story of Bottled Water (see next exercise)?

•  I drink bottled water occasionally, but more often, I have a reusable Nalgene bottle that I use.