Flushed away

Because of the increasing numbers of people on the planet, who must all service their water needs from the finite amount of water available, it should encourage all of us to conserve water where possible. It has been estimated that families in America could save up to 50% of the water they use by implementing simple conservation measures.

Pupils could try and calculate how much water may be wasted, for example, from a dripping tap. Put a small container in a sink and turn a tap so that it is dripping slowly. After a suitable time interval, measure the water collected and calculate how much water would be lost after a day, a week, a year etc. (One drip a second can use up as much as 10,000 litres in a year.)

They can also work out how much water they use when taking a shower. Using a bucket, collect water from the showerhead, running at the rate they use when showering, for a short time (maybe 10 s?). Measure the amount collected using cupfuls or other small containers). If they time how long they normally take for a shower, then they can calculate how much water was used.

The study of water as a topic would not be complete without some consideration of where water goes after we have used it for various purposes and it leaves our homes by way of drains.

Wastewater, including sewage, going to water treatment plants is, in fact 99.9% water, with only 0.1% impurities. See here for an entertaining and helpful explanation, of various aspects of water treatment, including what you put down your toilet.

It is important that children are aware that certain substances should not be put down drains. Best practice may not always be followed in their homes, so a discussion of the problems which may be caused by fat/grease clogging up pipes, the pollution caused by excessive use of detergents and bleach, inappropriate disposal of paint or oil down street drains etc might help to make them more environmentally conscious citizens in the future.

You can get a free game from the Institution of Civil Engineers called Flushed Away which “encourages creativity, problem-solving and invention”.

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