Things That Go "Yuk" in the House

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Did you know that the water you drink today is the same water that dinosaurs slurped? Weird but true! The water we use has been recycled by nature ever since the earth was formed. We can't make new water. So it's important that we keep our water clean.

If you could put all the water in the world into a plastic milk jug (including salty sea water, frozen glaciers, and polar icecaps) only a single drop would be okay to use. This fresh water supply is found in many places. Lakes, rivers, and streams store water where you can see it. Water is stored underground in aquifers (say ah-quah-furs). We have to pump this water to use it.

Dumping hazardous (say haz-er-dus) waste is one way that water gets polluted. This waste lurks in your house, your garage, and even in your bedroom (yow!). Many hazardous wastes have labels that say {flammable, caustic, corrosive, caution, danger, toxic, volatile, warning or poison}. Be careful with this stuff!

Okay, what do you do with these things if you find them in your house? Well, first remember they're there for a reason. Your mom was painting, your brother was cleaning the oven (yea, right), or the car needed a battery. So the first thing to do is TELL AN ADULT about these lurking things. Tell them that things like motor oil and batteries are collected to be recycled. Tell them that oven cleaner or paint thinner should be used up, if possible. Tell them, most of all, JUST BUY WHAT YOU NEED! And then there's more money for allowances!

Down the Drain and Through the Dirt

Do you know where water, dirt, and other stuff goes when it's poured down the drain? No??!! Think about it! It has to go someplace—like to a waste water treatment plant, to a septic tank, or into a nearby lake or stream. (It doesn't just disappear!) Some things are okay to pour down the drain, but others are dangerous to people, animals, and plants. As a general rule, don't pour anything but water (pop, milk, orange juice—you get the picture) down the drain. Don't pour anything in the dirt outside, either. Why? Read on!

Down the Drain into a Waste Water Treatment Plant

When water and other things are dumped into a sink drain or flushed down the toilet, they often travel to a waste water treatment plant. There, filters and special chemicals take out solids, grit, and other things. More filters and bacteria are used to clean the water again. The treated water is then discharged (let go) into a lake, river, or wetland area. However, the waste water treatment plant can't filter out all types of hazardous waste. Some of this waste reaches our lakes or rivers.

Down the Drain into a Septic Tank

Do you live in a rural area? If you do, your house may not hook into a waste water treatment plant. But the waste water still has to go somewhere! A septic tank is a big underground tub that collects waste water from the your house's drains and toilets. It uses natural bacteria to consume (eat) a lot of the wastes. After a while, the cleaned water flows into the soil. The tank has to be pumped empty every year to make sure there is enough room for more wastes.

If your family has its own well, you're a micro-environment of your own. Everything you do directly affects the quality of your drinking water. What would happen if you poured motor oil directly down your kitchen sink? YUK!

From the Street Gutter into the Storm Sewer

Do you live in a city? Chances are, you have street gutters and storm sewers. When water and other things run down the street gutter, they fall into a storm sewer. The storm sewer is a big pipe that takes everything to a stream or lake. The water isn't filtered or treated to get rid of pollution. Dumping hazardous chemicals into a storm sewer is just like pouring them directly into a nearby lake or river! And you wouldn't do that, would you??!

The absolute worst thing you can do is pour hazardous waste into the street gutters. Paint, oil, even kitchen grease goes directly to a lake or pond. Tell your parent or another adult about this—they may not know how bad this is!

Through the Dirt into an Aquifer and Well

Water slowly seeps (creeps) down through the dirt and rocks. It collects in an underground area known as an aquifer. We get our groundwater supplies from aquifers. The aquifer is not open to the air because the water stays in-between the sand or rock pieces.

Many, many, many people depend on groundwater to drink and use. To use groundwater, a well is dug deep into the ground until an aquifer is found. This well pumps the water up from the aquifer. If the well is in the city, the water will go through the water treatment plant. (This is not the same as the waste water treatment plant.) If the well is in a rural area, the water may be filtered, but some pollution may remain. So what happens when you pour motor oil into the dirt? You figure it out!

When you want a drink of water, you turn on the faucet. But before water comes out of a faucet, it goes through a water treatment plant. Water is taken out of a river, lake or reservoir. Large things like logs, sticks, animals (yuk!), and plants are screened out as the water is sucked into the treatment plant. There, chemicals are added to take out yechy things and help get rid of any bad taste or smell. Once everything is out of the water, a little bit of chlorine is added to keep the water from growing bacteria before it gets to your home. Yum!

Household Hazardous Waste Pick-up in Your Area

Most counties have a Solid Waste Officer or Sanitarian who can give you information for the nearest place to get rid of hazardous household waste. Call the county courthouse to learn where to drop off hazards or if someone will pick them up.

For more information about pollution, water, and kids' programs, call:

• Minnesota Extension Service
  MinnAqua Program
  340 Coffey Hall 1420 Eckles Avenue
  St. Paul, MN 55108
  (612) 625-4774

Or call your local County Extension Office for information about 4-H environmental programs.

Adults can call these numbers, too. (They should try to make their voice sound like a kid's, though.)

Jeanne Rasmussen and Mary Kroll
4-H Youth Development

Produced by Communication and Educational Technology Services, University of Minnesota Extension.

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