Question

A single lake (referred to as the “City Reservoir”) provides all the drinking water for a city. The city wants to reduce risks to its water supply by adding a second lake as an additional water source. Two lakes are under consideration and only one will be used.

The first lake is located next to the current City Reservoir which allows the city to reduce costs by sharing the single original water pipe from the Reservoir to city. The second lake that is also located close to the City Reservoir but requires constructing an expensive second water supply pipe.

Briefly discuss important factors in how these two options would change risks to the city’s water supply.

Answer 1

SOLUTION :

Lakes are highly valued for their recreational, aesthetic, scenic, and water-supply qualities, and the water they contain is one of the most treasured of our natural resources. Lakes constitute important habitats and food resources for a diverse array of fish, aquatic life, and wildlife. But lake ecosystems are fragile.The system can be as simple as a well, a pump, and a pressure tank to serve a single home. It may be a complex system, with elaborate treatment processes, multiple storage tanks, and a large distribution system serving thousands of homes. Regardless of system size, the basic principles to assure the safety and potability of water are common to all systems. Large-scale water supply systems tend to rely on surface water resources, and smaller water systems tend to use groundwater.The goal of disinfection of public water supplies is the elimination of the pathogens that are responsible for waterborne diseases. The transmission of diseases such as typhoid and paratyphoid fevers, cholera, salmonellosis, and shigellosis can be controlled with treatments that substantially reduce the total number of viable microorganisms in the water.