Don’t Miss our 4th Annual Green Festival on Saturday, June 16th…

LOCATION:  The Village Center at the Harborfront Park, Port Jefferson.

TIME:  1:00pm-6:00pm

 

 

I am once again chairing this event on behalf of the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce.

Here’s some interesting facts about our water for you:

 

About Water….Our Most Precious Natural Resource!

 

For much of the world, drinking a glass of water is not as easy as filling up at a water cooler or even the kitchen sink.

Getting water is a difficult, time-consuming, and absolutely necessary task.

Where does drinking water come from?

Is it Surface Water

Groundwater

Desalinated Seawater

Depending on where you are in the world, the water in your faucet could be drawn from groundwater, surface water such as lakes, rivers, and reservoirs, or seawater that’s been desalinated.

In Suffolk County, our water comes from beneath (supplied by SCWA) the ground and is referred to as groundwater.  The water is stored beneath the ground in a sandy, geological formation known as the Aquifer System. Water in the Aquifer System originates as precipitation (such as rain and snow), which slowly percolates down through the soil and into the aquifers. There are 4 primary formations which are layered and make up the Long Island Aquifer System.

From the shallowest to the deepest, these formations are:

Upper Glacial – Contains the newest water to the groundwater system. All private wells draw from this Glacial Aquifer

Magothy – Holds the most water, there are 333 SCWA wells drawing from this portion of the aquifer.

Raritan – A clay layer that separates the Magothy and Lloyd Aquifers

Lloyd – Untapped layer which contains the oldest water, some of which has been held in the Aquifer System for more than 5,000 years.  The SCWA HAS 3 Lloyd wells.

The total depth of the Long Island Aquifer System is shallowest on the North Shore (about 600 feet) and deepest along the South Shore (about 2000 feet).

How many people in the world lack access to clean water?

1 in 8!

A staggering one person out of eight – nearly 900 million people in total – lacks access to lean water.  According to the World Health Organization, in Africa alone 36 percent of people have no safe drinking water, and 40 percent have no adequate sanitation.

Do you know what country consumes the most bottled water per capita?

Italy leads the pack in consuming bottled water.  Twice as much as the US. Mexico is in second place.

Here’s how we can use our most precious natural resource efficiently:

Indoors:

Fix Leaks

Install Water-Conserving Appliances and Fixtures

Don’t Let Water Run

Fill It Up – When running the clothes washer or dishwasher, always wash full loads.

Aerate your Faucet – Installing a WaterSense aerator on your faucets is one of the most cost effective means to use water more wisely in your home.  You can increase the faucet’s efficiency by 30 percent without decreasing performance.

 

Outdoors:

Of the estimated 29 billion gallons of water used daily by households in the US, 30 percent is devoted to outdoor water use.

In the hot summer months, a household’s outdoor water use can be as high as 70 percent!

Irrigate Properly- You can install a weather-based SMART irrigation controller which will ensure your irrigation system only operates when it needs to.

Choose Low-Maintenance Lawns

Mulch

Sweep vs Hose – Sweep outdoor surfaces with a broom instead of using your hose.

 “Water is the driving force of all nature.” – Leonardo da Vinci

 JOLIE POWELL

PJCC GREEN FEST CHAIR 2009,2010,2011,2012

Mark Your Calendar — June 16th at the Village Center, Port Jefferson, NY