Guest contribution by Talie Segel, graduate student in the Sustainable Communities Program, Northern Arizona University.
The EPA says that the average American family of four uses about
400 gallons of water per day. I am a family of one (plus 2 dogs, they
don't use much). I probably use less than the average American person, but I still use a lot. Where does it all go when I'm done with it? In my
neighborhood the water utility's waste water service collects water in
these big tanks to treat it and then discharges it into a series of
ponds. Wetlands are important ecosystems for filtering water; the roots
of the cattails and marsh grasses take up dissolved nutrients, bacteria,
etc., and the water evaporates or recharges the groundwater table. The
wetlands and all their hardworking plants also provide habitat for
resident and migratory creatures - safe places for the nesting mallards,
coots and red wing blackbirds, plenty of burrowing holes and cavities
for the grey squirrels and prairie dogs. Coyotes live here. Elk pass
through. Today, the big pond was mostly frozen. It was more quiet than
other days; some intrepid northern shovelers, canvasback and bufflehead
ducks, two bald eagles, the canada geese were out on an adventure but
they've likely returned to nestle in their rafts tonight.
While
this bucolic scene doesn't ruffle many feathers in my small northern
Arizona neighborhood, there are more contentious issues with reclaimed
water that we also face. http://america.aljazeera.com/
Sources used:
http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/
www.kachinawater.com, Retrieved January 2,2015
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