 vital as the air the ancient races knew that not only life itself but the very roots of society were dependent on water while we stood high in the pantheon of deities ever has there been built since the beginning of time a human habitation that was far from water supply water on the surface or a store of water close by underground nowadays most of us fetch and carry no more water is delivered to us where we need it whenever we want it turn of faucet and there is water at any hour of the day or night we are connected with a cosmic cycle a gate and a pipeline to the clouds and to all the earth and sea that pipeline runs through the frames of our houses under the surface of our streets back through the treatment plants products the reservoirs no matter what the route our water supply leads to the clouds drops strikes the earth it either runs off into pools or surface streams it sinks into the ground the water that gets deep into the ground stores up as a subterranean treasure sometimes moving out like an unseen river to surfaces a spring feed a stream and run to the sea some of the water never gets deep down it is taken up by plant roots the plants use the water and pass it along into the sky 180 gallons may transpire from a big oak tree in a day an acre of grass may send up 750 tons of water in one growing season evaporation can lower the surface of a lake six or eight feet within a few months surface water of streams except that which evaporates runs to the sea to be drawn up to form clouds this is the cycle of water by which all life survives the cycle which we tap by different methods according to our location in some cases we gather our water from distant streams and store it in reservoirs or we take it from rivers and lakes direct or we pump it out of the ground we dig and build vast installations that are the wonders of the modern world the oaken buckets of this age through a bountiful natural cycle and the wonders of engineering we have come to take for granted an abundance of water all too many u.s communities in recent years has come a rude awakening this will be the 53rd day without rain the forecast is fair and warmer according to city officials there is not enough water to maintain pressure for another 30 days make our water supply for granted as we do the air we breathe in many parts of the united states long established sources of water unfailing even in the driest seasons have become inadequate shallow basins underground water once close to the surface of the earth has fallen as much as 800 feet in some locations prolonged water famines are turning once fertile farmlands into arid wastes how in this great age could we ever run short of water what is happening to the nation's water supply first of all it takes a lot of water to live the way we like to in this day and age around 200 gallons per person every day every day families who once got along with a well or a cistern are being provided with running water gone are the days when plumbing was a luxury all of us need more water than we did 60 years ago we are cleaner than we used to be but that isn't all the fact is there are more and more of us every year yes america is still growing and as we grow so does our need for more water we have drawn heavily on our water supplies to advance our standard of living to banish the drudgery of the kitchen air conditioning is a factor in our trend to comfortable living the air conditioning system of a large building may use 3 million gallons of water a day as much as a city of 25,000 people and in industry today water is the universal raw material almost no product we take for granted could be made without water from the steel your car is made of to the gasoline that turns its wheels from the can of peas you will find on the table to the baby's new robbers or water in fabulous quantities 24 gallons to produce a pound of paper up to 10 gallons to produce a can of vegetables 70 gallons to make a pound of woolen cloth 10 gallons of water to produce every gallon of gasoline 65,000 gallons to produce a ton of highly finished steel 750 gallons of water to produce a ton of dry cement in agriculture there is still another growing use for water irrigation which turns baron acres into productive farms was once confined to the west now the watering of more than a million acres east of the great plains is a common practice but even as the need for more water grows the watersheds which nature fashion to give us an ample supply are being spoiled cut over burned over land has been exposed to the gouge of the rain letting it cut off topsoil and run uselessly away with a load of silt to clog dams and reservoirs because of silt deposits it is estimated that one out of five of the nation's reservoirs will be useless in less than 50 years unchecked stream pollution which befouls our lakes and rivers with filth and scum is ruining billions of gallons of water every year to reclaim much of this contaminated water by purification as well as eliminate natural impurities intricate water treatment plants have been built as many of our cities have continued to expand however they have outgrown their water treatment plants lack of waterworks facilities and equipment is still another reason for short supply strange as it may seem there is all the water there ever was but today it is too often in the wrong places or too much at the wrong time as spring follows winter streams overflow and flood the towns and farmlands when this happens droughts and water shortages are far from our minds but in flood or famine the basic needs still remains well distributed supplies of usable water today the men of the waterworks industry are hard at work keeping our water supply in balance because local water shortages are part of a large regional problem in many instances waterworks engineers are pooling their skills and resources on a regional and interstate basis and on their efforts to provide abundant water in the years ahead depends the pattern of life for a nation the stakes are high for all of us but the job is being charted with vision and determination nature's pipelines the watersheds will have to be reforested wherever they have been stripped of their protective cover man made pipelines will have to reach far out to tap the clear wilderness lakes as well as the hidden treasures of groundwater reservoirs must be built to meet future growth to harness the fury of floodwaters to ensure against future water shortages raise the level of water tables purified wastewater will have to be returned underground new techniques for controlling the weather are being tried when conditions are right rain is made to fall by seeding clouds with dry ice or silver iodine there are experiments underway to tap the vast expanse of the sea and remove its salt economically but to provide enough water is only part of the job ahead for our water must be safe and palatable as well in all nature there is no such thing as really pure water even rain collects particles and gases as it comes down no matter what it once held by the time it gets into our homes it must be free from harmful impurities it must measure up to federal state and local standards different types of contamination call for different treatment methods which include flocculation clarification filtration disinfection what does this mean it means a better safer drink of water for you your drink of water may be processed in a complex plant like this the water not fit to use as it is water with impurities is pumped in here on its way to the preliminary settling basin chlorine or other chemicals may be added to the raw water to start the purification process here the coarser particles settle out the water continues on flowing to the mixing chamber coagulants are mixed with the water to speed the settling of fine particles in the flocculating basin the chemicals coagulate entangling sediment and forming clumps the water containing these clumps is clarified by settling the accumulated sediment is scraped into the drain the water at the top of the basin flows onto the sand filter where the removal of sediment treatment chemicals and bacteria is completed as the water leaves the sand filter it is almost as pure as when it left the clouds to eliminate any remaining bacteria minute quantities of chlorine or other purifying agents are added finally safe palatable water is pumped to the mains and reservoirs from the treatment plant there is still the big job of getting it to our streets and homes yes waterworks operation is a skilled and technical profession requiring trained and experienced personnel this is a big industry water supply my weight of material handled seven times as big as all other industries put together to keep us supplied around the clock it takes big installations with proper types of equipment buildings basins and filters power substations electric switching equipment electric motors and pumps automatic pumping stations but vast though today's waterworks installations may be they are not sufficient for the years ahead the united states public health service reports almost 6,000 communities with no waterworks need and could support such facilities to meet these needs as well as to provide for the normal expansion of existing waterworks will mean an estimated 3,000 new treatment plants 9,000 wells and well pumps 8,000 water storage tanks and more than 45,000 miles of water pipe we must meet these needs we are to have enough safe water wherever and whenever we want it a glass full for any young citizen in the middle of the night 50,000 gallons on short notice to fight a fire several hundred thousand gallons before the blaze is up the waterworks men have the answers to the problem with your help they can put their plans to work to provide plenty of safe water for tomorrow you and i must understand and support the water supply projects affecting our communities in addition we can see that not one drop of this life-giving liquid is wasted the health and happiness of our communities will be determined by how well we meet the needs for safe abundant water for we too are part of the cycle like the oak tree and the acres of grass without water life dries back to a crust a world of dust and sun without water life of individuals or nations perishes