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Imagine a Day Without Water
October 5th, 2017
By: Ashlee Painter
Imagine waking up in the morning, walking into the bathroom to take a shower, turning the faucet and nothing happens...no water comes out of your pipes. How would you brush your teeth? How would you flush your toilet? How would you make your morning coffee? We rely on the knowledge and comfort that clean water will be available upon demand in our homes and in our daily lives. Most Americans tend to think that the lack of access to clean, reliable water is the problem of developing nations and not one that we face. Today millions of Americans across the country live without reliable water sources. Some cities lack the proper infrastructure, some are facing the realization that the existing infrastructure is too old and inadequate for today's challenges, and others are facing natural and man-made disasters that are limiting their water.
Dr. Kebreab Ghebremichael, Director of the Water Sustainability Concentration at PCGS, understands these problems facing our water systems and is working to prepare students to find sustainable solutions. PCGS has taken a proactive role in helping to reduce our impact on local water resources. The Patel Center for Global Solutions building is LEED Gold certified and has incorporated many water reducing measures into its infrastructure. The building utilizes a 30,000 gallon rainwater catchment system for a source of non-potable water used for flushing toilets. There is also the use of natural, drought resistant landscaping to reduce water demand for irrigation purposes.
On October 12, PCGS will join over 500 public, private, and government organizations to help educate the community about water conservation and sustainability. If you are interested in water sustainability initiatives, visit Dr. Ghebremichael's research website: https://usf-pcgs.com/concentrations/water-sustainability/dr-kebreab-ghebremichael/. You can also join USF researchers at Hillsborough County's Northwest Advanced Water Reclamation Facility (11005 Dale Stitik Drive, Tampa, FL) Sunday, October 22 or Monday, November 6 for a tour of USF's Pilot-Scale Hybrid Adsorption Biological Treatment Systems (please contact Dr. Sarina Ergas, sergas@usf.edu, if you are interested in attending). This tour will show you the ways in which USF is working towards more sustainable wastewater treatment. Whether or not you are able to attend an Imagine a Day Without Water event, we encourage you to learn about ways you can help reduce water consumption in your area.
Learn more about the Imagine a Day Without Water movement: http://imagineadaywithoutwater.org