Sustainability How Green is Chico - Free Essay Example

On Friday, in the middle of October, there seemed to be a concern with water usage and conservation in certain dorms in Chico. The problem was that people are using too much water rather than conserving water. Kendall Nugent, a resident Konkow dorms described that he usually takes short showers in the mornings everyday. When I take showers I usually spend 5-10 minutes, depending how I feel. It is crazy to see how they dont stress water usage as much here as they do in Southern California. I am just used to taking quick showers. At one point I was showering for about 5 minutes maximum, but when I got here it has been different, said Kendall Nugent As we may know California is going through a major drought these past few years and will continue to grow exponentially if people dont conserve water. Zack Haley a student who lives in the dorms in Chico State states The amount water usage outweighs the amount of rainfall we get yearly. This could potentially hurt the environment in a negative way. I conserve water by taking short showers and using less water as possible. Chico has been efficient in saving water theses past few years and conserving water in a way where it has benefited the community. According to informative website, www.chicoer.com , Steve Schoonover an author of Enterprise Record states that over the years, Cal Waters Chico Division had savings of 24.9 percent and Paradise Irrigation District customers saved 25.4 percent, compared to July 2013. The rate of conservation in 2013 was about 13.6 percent according to Enterprise Record. According to Stewart Oakley a professor from Chico State for Environmental Engineering states that, 100 gallons of water goes down into the sewer per person each day. Schoonover statement supports Oakleys statement by stating that the average person uses 117 gallons per day. Although, according to Enterprise Record they state that Chico usage of water was 197 gallons Oroville, 143 gallons, and Paradise was 257 gallons. Furthermore Chico has had concerns with toilets, sinks, kitchen sinks, but toilets in particular generating contaminants in wastewater treatment plants. Oakley states, The City of Chico wastewater treatment plant does not remove nutrients and inactivation of pathogenic microbes. According to Monte Morin, an author of Los Angeles Times, states that, research has shown that 28% of water used within the average household is because of toilet flushing, said Morin. Oakley describes that this has became an issue because this has caused biochemical oxygen demand to rise, which is an indicator to a certain degree, used to measure pollution. Human excreta, soaps, detergents, and food wastes are wastewater contaminants that have contributed to pollution that has infiltrated the system, said Oakley. According to Ashley Gebb an author of Enterprise Record, states that the City of Chico Wastewater treatment has multiple digesters, creating an environment where anaerobic bacteria breakdown organic material and help manipulate the organic material, controlling contaminants that are managed through the system. Chico over the years has improved their system of water usage and its management in controlling its wastewater treatment plant system.