Kindergarten–4th Grade Animated Video
Exploring Bakersfield’s Water
This animated video teaches students about where their water comes from and the part they can play in water conservation. The video also explores how much water is required to make pizza, a food they all enjoy.
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Here in Bakersfield. We use water in many different ways. We use water for such things as doing our laundry, washing our hands, and for watering our lawns. But have you ever thought about where that water comes from before it even enters our pipes? To find out where water comes from, we need to first look at Earth’s water. There is a lot of water on Earth.
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However, 97% of Earth’s water is saltwater. This is water that is located in the oceans. About 2% of Earth’s water is frozen, located in the glaciers and ice caps. About 97% of Earth’s water is saltwater, and about 2% is frozen. That leaves just about 1% of Earth’s water as fresh available water. We live in the beautiful state of California, which is located in the United States in California.
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Most of the rain and snow falls in the northern part of the state. We live in the city of Bakersfield, which is located in the drier portion of California. In fact, we live in a desert region, receiving on average about six inches of rain a year. We live in a desert and do not receive a lot of rain, and we cannot use the ocean’s water because of the salt.
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So where exactly do we get our water from? Bakersfield has three main water sources, which includes California’s water delivery systems. Water from the Kern River and groundwater. California has a vast water delivery system that is able to deliver water from northern California to drier portions of the state. That water is first collected and held in large reservoirs. The water is then delivered to cities like Bakersfield using large canals.
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Bakersfield. Second water source is water from the Kern River. This water first starts as rain and snow on top of Mount Whitney. That water eventually flows into Isabella Reservoir, where it is stored until it is released into the lower portion of the river. This might surprise you. Bakersfield. Largest source of water is groundwater. What is groundwater? Groundwater is water that is held in the poor spaces of the sand and gravel beneath our feet.
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When there is extra surface water that water is delivered to recharge basins which are like large ponds. That water percolates or soaks into the ground. When that water is needed, large pumps pump the water out of the ground where it is then delivered to homes and businesses. Have you ever thought about how much water it takes to make the foods we enjoy eating?
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It takes a lot of water to make one of our favorite foods pizza.
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The first part of our pizza, the dough, takes about 22 gallons of water. This is because it takes water to grow our wheat. Next, we have our pizza sauce. This takes about 13 gallons of water. We have to water those tomato plants. Who can have a pizza without cheese? It takes about 56 gallons of water to produce that cheese.
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This includes water to grow, the food to feed the cows, to make the milk, to make the cheese. It also takes water to grow our fruits and vegetables. It takes about 11 gallons of water. It doesn’t take too much water to grow the onions for a pizza. Just about two gallons of water. We are missing a very important ingredient.
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Pepperoni. It takes a tremendous amount of water to make the pepperoni for just one pizza. 200 gallons of water. That is because it takes water to grow the food, to feed the pig, to make the pepperoni. In total, it takes about 300 gallons of water to make one large pizza. Join Improvement District number four’s Heroes of Water conservation by following these very simple water conservation tips.
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Turn off the water while brushing your teeth. This saves about four gallons of water. Take a short shower no longer than five minutes. Only run the dishwasher and washing machine when full. As Casey likes to say, water conservation is always in style.
5th–6th Grade Video
A Deeper Look at Bakersfield’s Water
The video covers Bakersfield’s water sources and highlights indirect water usage, such as water used to make everyday items. Students are also introduced to how water is cleaned and purified at the Henry C. Garnett Water Purification Plant.
00:00:00:12 – 00:00:18:03
Today we are going to take a deeper look at Bakersfield s water. We are going to explore where our water comes from, how that water is cleaned and purified, and how we use that water. Before we start, let’s take a quick quiz.
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How much water do you think it takes to make one cheeseburger? Your first question might be why does it take water to make a cheeseburger? That is because it takes water to grow the wheat for the bun. It also takes water to grow the tomatoes, onions, and lettuce. And it takes water to grow the food, to feed the cow, to make both the cheese and the hamburger meat.
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So how much water do you think it takes to make one cheeseburger? Do you think the answer is a 98 gallons of water? D 321 gallons of water, or C 632 gallons of water.
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If you said C 632 gallons of water, you are correct. It takes a lot of water to make the foods that we enjoy eating. Now let’s take a look at Bakersfield s water sources. To start, we need to understand where Earth’s water is located. As you can see, there is a tremendous amount of water on Earth. Most of that water is located in the oceans.
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In fact, about 97% of Earth’s water is saltwater. About 2% of Earth’s water is frozen, located in the ice caps and glaciers. That means that just about 1% of Earth’s water is fresh available water. This is water that we all have to share to better understand our water sources. It is important to also look at the hydrology of California.
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The northern portion of the state receives over 75% of the state’s precipitation as compared to the southern portion, which is typically very dry. The city of Bakersfield, located in Kern County, is in a dry region of California. In fact, Bakersfield is located in a desert region, typically receiving less than six inches of rain a year. Bakersfield does not get its water from the ocean because ocean water has salt in it, and it is in a desert region and does not receive a lot of rain.
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Do you know where Bakersfield gets its water from? Bakersfield has three main sources of water water from the Kern River, water from northern California, and groundwater. Let’s look at our first water source, the Kern River. The water from the Kern River starts as rain and snow that falls on Mount Whitney. That water flows into two portions of the Kern River that both eventually flow into Lake Isabella.
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When the water is released from Isabella Dam, it flows into the southern portion of the Kern River. California has a vast water delivery system that is able to deliver water from northern California to drier portions of the state. Water supplied by the State Water Project begins at its largest reservoir, Lake Oroville, on the feather River. From there, it flows into the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta.
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The California Aqueduct is the feature of the project that delivers water to Bakersfield as it continues to Southern California. This might surprise you. Bakersfield s largest source of water is groundwater. What is groundwater? Groundwater is water that is held in the poor spaces of the sand and gravel beneath our feet. When there is extra surface water, that water is delivered to recharge basins, which are like large ponds.
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That water percolates or soaks into the ground. These are recharge basins that are located in Bakersfield. When that water is needed, large pumps pump the water out of the ground where it is then delivered to homes and businesses. Now that we know where our water comes from, let’s take a look at how some of that water is cleaned and purified.
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The Henry C Garnett Water Purification Plant is a conventional water filtration facility that can purify up to 103 million gallons of water per day. Before entering the plant, the water needs to all be the same temperature, so it is first delivered to the temperature equalization pond. The water from the pond is pumped by the raw water pump station to the plant.
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It first enters the mixed chamber where aluminum sulfate and polymer are added, which aids in coagulation where the dirt particles stick together. Next, the water enters the circulation basin, where it is gently agitated and the particles bond, creating larger particles. The water then enters the sedimentation basin, where the heavy dirt and particles sink to the bottom. Large paddles scrape the fallen dirt outside to basins.
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The clean water from the sedimentation basin enters the settled water channel, where disinfection chemicals are introduced to purify the water. The water then goes through the mixed media filters, made up of anthracite and sand, to remove any remaining particles. In the final step, the water is stored in large clear wells. The clean and purified water is sent to homes and businesses in Bakersfield.
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Now that you know how your water is cleaned and purified, let’s take a look at how we use that water. We are first going to look at our direct water use. We use water for showers in the bathroom to wash our clothes and cook our food, and to wash dishes. However, where do you think most of the water is used in an average house in Bakersfield?
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About 60% of water is used outside. While we often think about our water use that we can see. We don’t often realize that it takes water to make almost everything. Are you ready for another quiz? How many gallons of water do you think it takes to grow one watermelon?
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It takes about 100 gallons of water to grow just one watermelon. How many gallons of water do you think it takes to produce one pair of jeans? It takes about 2100 gallons of water to produce just one pair of jeans. After all, you do have to grow that cotton. How many gallons of water do you think it takes to produce one smartphone?
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It takes about 3100 gallons of water to produce just one smartphone. It takes water to produce the energy to make the smartphone, and water to make the plastic and electrical components. Because we live in a desert region, water conservation is always important. Follow these simple tips. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth. Take a short shower no longer than five minutes.
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Don’t waste food. Remember, it takes a lot of water to make the foods that we enjoy eating. Up.