In our math classes this past week, we have been learning about the cisterns around campus that store our water. We learned about the five cisterns underneath buildings that we are currently using as well as a cistern underneath a building under construction on campus that will shortly be put into use. Water is a resource that we use everyday at The Island School, and it is really interesting to learn how the cisterns work, and how our individual water use affects the entire water supply.

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At first, the idea of measuring our useable water based on the amount of rain, capacity of cisterns, and surface areas of roofs was a whole new concept to me, something that I had never thought of before. In our math classes, we talked about how daily rainfall multiplied by the surface area of the roofs that drain into the cisterns is the total volume of the cistern, but not the total useable water in the cisterns because we aren’t actually able to use all of the water in a cistern. The amount of useable water being different from the amount of total waster was really confusing to me at first, but last Friday, we went to the new building and in small groups, went into and measured the dimensions of the new cisterns and were able to see all of the pipes going into and out of the cisterns. Although I understood that there is a pipe that pumps water out of the cisterns, and we can’t use water underneath this pipe, it wasn’t until I was inside the new cistern and able to see the water level compared to the height of the outlet pipe that I understood what we were talking about in class.

The opportunity to go inside the cistern changed my perspective on water usage on campus. When we were inside the cistern, we were able to picture what it means when they say we have 60 percent water remaining. I was able to visualize what it means when there is 70 inches of water in the cistern. Now that I have been inside the cisterns and understand more about the way water works on campus, I am more conscious of the water that I am using, and hope that my classmates are as well.

The initial question our math teachers posed was, “how can we use our cisterns most efficiently?” We spent the past two weeks working in small groups, answering this question by measuring buildings, calculating surface areas and volumes, and using records of past water collected in our cisterns to find a better way to maximize the amount of water we collect in the future. All the groups agreed that we should draw from the cisterns strategically, not allowing any one cistern to get too low or overflow. We are now working on putting this plan into action, and it will hopefully benefit not only our own semester, but future semesters as well by more efficiently collecting water. So next time you turn on your tap, be mindful of where your water comes from!

Now we need your help! Watch the video and send it to your friends. Not only do we want to spread the word on water conservation, but we want to win! And the video with most views by Earth Day (this Friday) wins a cache of biodegradable bath products from The Body Shop! With Caleb behind the camera, Haley and Marco playing lead roles, and the support of our faithful viewers, the film is a lock to win. Don’t miss the blooper reel at the end!