It's Water-Wise Wednesdays with Frannie the Fish! {TAPS Manual Part 3: Leaky Underground Storage Tanks}

Frannie's friends at the Groundwater Foundation recently published the second edition of the Training About Protecting the Source (TAPS) Manual. The manual guides users through hands-on activities that explore potential threats to groundwater and challenges them to think about what can be done to protect this key drinking water source.

This manual can be used inside the classroom and is aligned to the national Next Generation Science Standards, but Frannie loves just learning about groundwater, no matter where she is. For the next few weeks, you can join her as she works through the different activities. 

Frannie will be using the Groundwater Foundation's Awesome Aquifer Kit, but if you don't have one, you can follow along with materials that might be found around your home. This is the second part of Frannie's exploration of the TAPS Manual. You can follow the link to see what she learned about improperly abandoned wells and the over-application of fertilizer.

Today's activity is....Leaky Underground Storage Tanks.

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An underground storage tank system (UST) is a tank and any underground piping connected to the tank that has at least 10 percent of its combined volume underground. Underground storage tanks can contain fuels, chemicals, and wastes. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency there are over 550,000 underground storage tanks that store fuels or other hazardous substances. These tanks may leak and when they do, they can contaminate surrounding soil, groundwater, surface waters, and even affect indoor air quality.

For this activity, you will need:

• Awesome Aquifer Kit, OR
• Plastic box
• Gravel
• Plastic tube
• Hand pump or Syringe
• Nylon
• Rubber band
• Food dye
• Small plastic container with lid (ex. a film cannister, sprinkles or spice container, etc.)
• 16 oz cup of water

Activity Steps

1. Read through all the instructions first before you begin to build the model. Make sure you have all the needed materials and supplies.

 

2. Fill the plastic box with gravel until it is about ¼ full.

 

3. Add water so that half of the rocks are covered. (This will represent an aquifer.)

 

4. Create a well by covering the end of the plastic tube with nylon, securing it with a rubber band.

 

5. Insert the well, with the well screen on the bottom, near one corner of the plastic box. Push the well down so that it reaches the bottom of the model.

 

6. Add more gravel until the box is about ½-¾ full. The surface of the gravel should be fairly level across the box.

 

7. Dye about 1.5 oz of water with three or four drops of food coloring and use it to fill the plastic container. Seal the container when full.

   

8.Using a tack, carefully poke holes in one end of the film canister or container.

 

9. Dig a small hole in the gravel on the opposite side of the model from the well. Place the canister/container inside the hole. The end of the container with the holes poked in it should be facing down. Cover the container, either partially or entirely, as long as at least 10% of it is underground.

 

10. Pour water on the surface of the gravel to simulate rain. Observe what happens to the colored water inside the storage tank after it rained. 

 

11. Pump the well by inserting the tip of the syringe into the well (plastic tube) or attaching and pumping the hand pump.

Frannie observed that once the water "rained" over her aquifer, the red water, which was contained in the storage unit, leaked out into the aquifer below. As it rained more and more, even more leachate entered the aquifer. Very quickly, the whole aquifer becomes contaminated  and when Frannie tried to pump water up from the aquifer, it was pink from the contaminant. 

Storage tanks are a common and useful way of storing and disposing of toxic waste, but they must be monitored carefully to prevent contamination of our drinking water sources, crops, and livestock.

It's Water-Wise Wednesdays with Frannie the Fish! {#TBT: Let's Keep Winter Clean!}

It looks like winter is finally here to stay! Have fun, stay warm, and enjoy this post from last year on how to be a good steward of the earth while staying safe on the slippery sidewalks.

With so much snow and ice on the ground, it’s important that we stay safe on our way to work or school.  Many cities use big trucks carry loads of salt and sand to spread on the roads and sidewalks.  This mixture melts ice and prevents it from forming again so that we can travel around without slipping.

Once the ice is melted, though, the water mixes with the salt and the runoff can cause the groundwater and surface water to become contaminated.  Here’s some ways you can help limit contamination from your home this winter.

1. Shovel early and shovel often. Frannie thinks its fun to shovel snow when it's not too thick and heavy.

2. To limit salt pollution, don't use too much salt or ice-melt. You only need about a handful for each square yard of concrete and using more doesn't actually work better.

3. Sand and kitty litter can stop you from slipping, but they don't melt snow.  Too much of it can even clog sewers, so remember to sweep up and throw away any extra that is left after the ice is gone.

4. Try an eco-friendly alternative to ice-melt and sand such as cracked corn, alfalfa meal, or beet juice.  While you should still be careful not to over-use them, these ingredients are shown to be less harmful than traditional ice treatments.

We can have fun, stay safe, AND keep winter clean together!

BLOG: At Home - Clean Your Drains Naturally to Protect Water

by Sally Phillips, freelance writer

Clean and sustainable groundwater is the water we drink and the water we use to grow our food. Groundwater is essential for both our health and the health of our environment and is the largest source of usable, fresh water in the world. In fact, about 27 trillion gallons of groundwater are withdrawn for use in the U.S. yearly. 

What we do at home has an impact on groundwater and the environment. Did you know that drain cleaners are actually among the most toxic home cleaning products? While you think you are unclogging your drains, you are actually harming your pipes, your health and the environment.

The Dangers For Your Health 
Drain cleaners often contain bleach, sodium silicate, lye or caustic soda. Bleach and ammonia can harm your lungs, eyes and respiratory system in general, as a combination of the two can produce toxic gases. This can happen even if you unknowingly dump an ammonia based cleaning solution after cleaning your floors down the sink, which might still contain drain cleaner.

Furthermore, lye requires the production of heavy metals and can cause irritation when breathed in or when it comes into contact with the skin.

Repeated contact with these hazardous chemicals can have serious repercussions on your health and lead to serious conditions and even poisoning. If swallowed, drain cleaners can even cause death.

The Dangers For The Environment
Bleach can combine with surface water to create a number of toxins which can represent a hazard to the environment. Lye is also dangerous for the environment, as it can modify the pH of water and in turn can affect the animals and plants living in lakes, streams and rivers.

Even the packaging is dangerous and should be treated as hazardous waste and cannot be recycled, as it still contains toxic chemicals and the residue from drain cleaners can be dangerous and have detrimental effects on the environment. 

The Natural Alternatives 
Clogs often are the direct result of dumping fat, oil or grease down the sink; these substances may come from dirty dishes or certain soaps. Even natural soaps may contain drain-clogging vegetable fats. Keeping your sinks, toilets and bathtubs clean with drain traps or by discarding what you can instead of pouring it down the drain can help your pipes last longer and benefit the environment. 

If your drains do get clogged, you can use hot water as an immediate solution. In fact, hot water melts soap scum and grease and enough hot water will flush the melted grease out of your pipes. It can even help with particles such as eggshells or hair, as it will melt the grease surrounding those particles. Be sure to check the temperature of the water however, as boiling water can actually melt your pipes.

A plunger can also be an effective solution, as sometimes the change in pressure is sufficient to move the clog to an area of the pipe where it is easier to rinse it away. A strong seal around the edge of the plunger is necessary for best results. 

Other effective solutions include a combination of baking soda and vinegar, which produces carbon dioxide and dissolve residues, and natural enzyme drain cleaners, which employ enzymes to eat the organic material stuck in your drains. 

Prevention is the Key
The best way to keep your pipes clean and help the environment is to try to avoid clogs in the first place. This is easy if you follow a few simple rules: 

• Place a hair trap in showers
• Let grease solidify and throw it in the trash; do not pour it down the drain 
• Do not put fruit and vegetable peels or cheese in the garbage disposal

Unclogging your drains using harsh chemicals can be dangerous to you and the environment, but by keeping your drains clean and using natural solutions, you can avoid the negative effects of chemical drain cleaners.

__________

Sally Phillips is a freelance writer with many years experience across many different areas. She enjoys reading, hiking, spending time with her family, and traveling as much as possible. Reach her at sally@diamondmail.net.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the view of The Groundwater Foundation, its board of directors, or individual members.

It’s Water-Wise Wednesdays with Frannie the Fish! {Awesome Aquifer Kit: Discover Porosity}

This week in Frannie’s exploration of the Awesome Aquifer Kit is all about discovering the key concept of porosity.

For this activity, you 'll need sand, gravel, a syringe, a small cup, water,
 and a towel.  Frannie predicts that gravel is more porous than sand.

Porosity, in hydrogeology, is the capacity of rock, sand, soil, or other sediments to hold water.  We can measure it through the ratio of the volume of empty space in a particular sentiment to the total volume of the sediment.

We’re going to test the porosity of gravel and sand to discover which one is more porous.

First, we’re going to find out the volume of an empty plastic cup by filling up our syringe to the 35 cubic centimeter (cc) line.  Dispense the water from the syringe into the cup until it’s full to the rim.  Subtract the amount of water left in the syringe from the starting amount of 35cc and record this value.  Frannie found that her cup holds 30 cc.

Empty and dry the cup and then fill it with dry gravel. Fill the syringe again with 35 cc and dispense that water into the cup with gravel.  Subtract the amount left in the syringe from the starting amount of 35cc and record this value.  Frannie found that the cup with gravel holds 17 cc of water.

Empty and dry your cup before filling it with sand. Next fill the syringe with 35 ccs and dispense that water into the cup.  Subtract the amount left in the syringe from the starting amount of 35cc and record this value.   Frannie’s cup with sand holds 12 cc of water.

Fannie discovered that the gravel is able to hold more water and is more porous than sand.

To find the porosity of each material, we first have to determine the volume of material in each cup.  The volume of the sand or gravel in the cup will be equal to the volume of the water the cup can hold when full.  So the volume of our gravel and sand is 30 cc.

Remember that porosity is just the ratio of empty space over sediment so our porosity for gravel is p=17 cc/35 cc = .48 = 48%

Our experimentally determined porosity for sand is p=12 cc/35 cc = .34 = 34%

Frannie was right! Gravel is more
porous than sand!

It's Water-Wise Wednesdays with Frannie the Fish! {Let's Keep Winter Clean!}

Brrrr!!!

With so much snow and ice on the ground, it’s important that we stay safe on our way to work or school.  Many cities use big trucks carry loads of salt and sand to spread on the roads and sidewalks.  This mixture melts ice and prevents it from forming again so that we can travel around without slipping.

Once the ice is melted, though, the water mixes with the salt and the runoff can cause the groundwater and surface water to become contaminated.  Here’s some ways you can help limit contamination from your home this winter.

1. Shovel early and shovel often. Frannie thinks its fun to shovel snow when it's not too thick and heavy.

2. To limit salt pollution, don't use too much salt or ice-melt. You only need about a handful for each square yard of concrete and using more doesn't actually work better.

3. Sand and kitty litter can stop you from slipping, but they don't melt snow.  Too much of it can even clog sewers, so remember to sweep up and throw away any extra that is left after the ice is gone.

4. Try an eco-friendly alternative to ice-melt and sand such as cracked corn, alfalfa meal, or beet juice.  While you should still be careful not to over-use them, these ingredients are shown to be less harmful than traditional ice treatments.

We can have fun, stay safe, AND keep winter clean together!

It's Water-Wise Wednesdays with Frannie the Fish {New Year Resolution}

It's almost time to don your party hat and start the countdown to the beginning of 2017! With New Years around the corner Frannie is trying to think of a groundwater-related New Years resolution. She challenges you to do the same!

Frannie's resolution is to personally conserve more water in 2017. This past summer, Frannie used The Groundwater Foundation's 30by30 app to learn how to reduce her daily water use by 30 gallons a day for 30 days, but now she wants to reduce even more! She is going to use the app to reduce her daily water use by 40 gallons. 

Here are a few ways Frannie will accomplish her New Years resolution:

• Turn the water off while she brushes her teeth 

• Only run the dishwasher when it is full

• Take 5 minute showers

Can you think of other ways Frannie can save water everyday?

Share your water-related New Years resolution!

Have a happy and safe New Year! 

March 8-14, 2009

National Groundwater Awareness Week is March 8-14.

How do you plan to celebrate?

Roll out the barrel, spring is right around the corner

by Carla Otredosky, The Groundwater Foundation

Out my window, the grass is beginning to peer from beneath the melting snow, a flock of birds gather and cheerfully chat. I note on my calendar to adjust my clock for daylight savings time this weekend and know that spring is just around the corner. This got me thinking.

What is one simple thing that I can do in my own yard to become a groundwater-friendly gardener in 2009?

Use a rain barrel! A rain barrel is a large drum (50-60 gallon capacity) placed beneath the downspout of a home. This barrel collects rain water as it runs off the roof where it is stored for later use to water gardens and lawns.

The idea of capturing rain water has been around for thousands of years. While rain seems like an infinite resource, it is desperatley missed during a time of drought. If your water supply comes from a well or a stressed aquifer, then you are even more at risk during a dry spell of not having water available to irrigate your garden or lawn. Using a rain barrel is a great way to lower your water bill and become less dependent on your city’s water supply.

Rain barrels are an easy solution to becoming a groundwater-friendly gardener because they are easy to install and require very little maintenance.

Rain barrels are often available in shades of brown, black or green. But they can be painted in a color to match your house. Consider decorating your rain barrel with painted images (choose exterior grade paints) to add artistic interest to your yard.

Let's show our neighbors that we really do care about conserving water and install rain barrels this spring!

NOTE: The City of Lincoln Watershed Management Division and the Friends of Pioneers Park Nature Center invite you to view/bid on 25 rain barrels painted by local artists. Learn more about the "Artistic Rain Barrel Program" at http://www.lincoln.ne.gov/city/pworks/watrshed/educate/barrel/artist/index.htm.

As Obama Takes Office, What Changes Are Ahead?

As our nation begins a new chapter today with the historic inauguration of President Barack Obama, we all can’t help but look toward the future of our nation. We know that taking action to address the economic crisis will take center stage in the new administration, as well as Middle East peace talks and the war in Iraq.

But what about the future of our environment? What do you expect from the Obama administration in terms of environmental protection?

Eco-resolutions

What are your New Year's resolutions to help protect the environment in 2009?