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Schoolyard Hydro-Ecology Teachers’ Handbook - Baltimore Ecosystem Study

Draft 2 – July 19, 2005 Lesson 1 - page 1

Lesson 1 – Urban, Schoolyard and Home Hydrology

Background for Teachers: Water Cycle and Pathways

What is hydrology and why is it important?

Hydrology Basics:

Hydrology is the area of science that deals with the study of the waters of the earth and its atmosphere (SWEAP glossary). Water is everywhere, making up over 70% of our bodies, and is an invaluable natural resource for plants, animals, and people. Water is strong enough to change the surface of the Earth through erosion, and its absence is powerful enough to kill a person in three to four days. The Hydrologic Cycle:

The Hydrologic Cycle, or water cycle, is a series of processes by which water passes from the atmosphere to the Earth and back to the atmosphere. The hydrologic cycle includes the following components:

• Precipitation: Water falling to the Earth from the atmosphere in the form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

• Surface Runoff: Water that hits the Earth and then moves along the top of the land surface, often carrying materials (soil, etc.) with it.

• Infiltration/Percolation: Water moving into the soil under the force of gravity. Once in the soil, the water may be taken up by living things, or it may move horizontally along flow paths within the soil under the force of gravity along slopes. Otherwise, the water moves straight down via gravity, eventually reaching the groundwater.

• Evaporation: Water changing from a liquid to a gaseous state (water vapor). This requires a source of energy – usually, the sun – and results in cooling of the evaporative surface. Water vapor subsequently rises from oceans, rivers, lakes, soils, and vegetation into the atmosphere.

• Transpiration: Evaporation from moist surfaces of plants. Most transpiration takes place in the moist inner parts of leaves at the same time CO2 is being absorbed and O2 is being released during photosynthesis. The gasses are exchanged through pores – called stomata – in one or both surface of leaves, and sometimes stems.

• Condensation: Conversion of gaseous water (water vapor) to a liquid (droplets) or solid (crystals) state. This takes place when warm, moist air is cooled, either by the air itself cooling or when it comes in contact with cool surfaces. Tiny water droplets or ice crystals then coalesce to form the visible drops or flakes we see in clouds.

All water in the world is part of the hydrologic cycle – a bottle of water you just bought at the supermarket, a drop of morning dew glistening on a spider web, a rushing river, or a snowball you are about to throw at your brother. People don’t make new water to sell, they simply take water from one place, such as a river or lake, clean it (we hope), and put it in a fancy bottle. The total amount of water in the system does not change. Annual water loss from the surface of the earth is equal to the total annual precipitation.



THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE (http://www.ec.gc.ca/water/en/nature/prop/e_cycle.htm)

Baltimore’s Hydrologic Cycle: The Natural to the Constructed (Information taken from http://www.baltimorecity.gov/government/dpw )

Baltimore was founded in 1729, and the first try at establishing a public water supply was in 1787 by the Baltimore Insurance company. Baltimore incorporated into a city in the year 1797. At that time people still got their drinking water from streams, ponds, springs, and wells. People were required to have buckets in their homes to fight fires. After the city was official, it began to build pumps in public places. The Baltimore Water Company was founded in 1804, which built a reservoir at the southeast corner of Calvert and Centre streets to hold water from the Jones Falls. The Jones Falls Waterworks was built in 1807. Other reservoirs were built later at higher levels, and a pipeline was constructed for distribution. The city of Baltimore bought the water company in 1854 for $1, 350,000, and created the city’s water department From 1858-862, the city constructed pipelines and water mains, and made improvements to the Jones Falls water supply – constructing Lake Roland Dam and the Reservoir, the Jones falls Conduit, Lake Hampden, and Mount Royal Reservoir. Druid Hill Reservoir was built in 1873 to meet the growing need for water supply in the city. A permanent supply from Gunpowder Falls was also completed in 1881. Lake Montebello was also constructed during this time, with a filtration station working by 1915. The filtration system was deemed necessary because of public health concerns, and a need to chlorinate the water. The lake was connected to Lake Clifton by conduit, as well as to Loch Raven Reservoir, which was built during the same time period.



Between 1915 and 1950 the Loch Raven Dam, a second filtration plant at Lake Montebello, Prettyboy Dam, and the Gunpowder-Montebello Tunnel, and the Patapsco-Montebello Tunnel were all completed. The Department of Public Works was created in 1925, which took ownership of water distribution in the city. In 1956, the Ashburton Filtration Plant (Druid Park Drive), Liberty Dam, and Reservoir were completed in order to meet the growing need for water in Baltimore City. The Deer Creek Pumping Station was built in 1966, which allows the city to draw water from the Susquehanna River. In 1979 the Bureau of Water and Wastewater was established, which now controls the water in the city.

Baltimore's Water Supply Today Source: http://www.ce.jhu.edu/mdcive/

The Baltimore City Bureau of Water and Wastewater supplies drinking water to over 1.6 million people. The water comes from two sources, the Gunpowder Falls and the north branch of the Patapsco River. Three concrete gravity dams, the Liberty on the Patapsco and the Prettyboy and Loch Raven on the Gunpowder Falls, create reservoirs. Water is brought through a 12-foot tunnel to the Montebello Filtration plant from the Loch Raven Reservoir. If the water level drops, the valves are opened at the Prettyboy Dam, and the water follows the course of the falls to refill Loch Raven. A 10-foot tunnel brings the water at the Liberty reservoir to the Ashburton Filtration plant. Both tunnels were constructed through solid rock. In the city's two filtration plants, the water is filtered, disinfected, and fluoridated. Everyday 480 million gallons of water are treated and distributed to the city through 3000 miles of water mains.

Facts and Figures Directions

Ashburton: in operation since 1956

Montebello: in operation since 1915,

Loch Raven Dam: built 1912 crest: 420 feet above sea level

Prettyboy Dam: built 1936; crest: 520 feet above sea level

Liberty Dam: built 1956 crest: 420 feet above sea level

• Prettyboy: On the I-83 take exit 31 and head west.

• Liberty: From the Baltimore Beltway take exit 18 on MD 26. It will cross over the reservoir.

• Montebello: From the Beltway take Perry Pkwy. (exit 30) south, The plant will be on both sides of the road just before 33rd. St.

• Loch Raven: From the Beltway take exit 28. Follow Provicence Rd. to Loch Raven Drive.

Implications of Modifying the Hydrologic Cycle

When all of these changes were made to the area around Baltimore and the Urban system

we know as Baltimore City was created, the hydrologic cycle in the area had to change… When people decide to make a change to any part of the earth’s system, such as building a new freeway or bulldozing a field, the rest of the system is affected. The reasons for these modifications to the hydrologic cycle in Baltimore had 3 main purposes: minimizing health



hazards from water-borne diseases, supplying safe drinking water to the people in the area, and minimizing hazards from floods. Let’s explore, for a moment, the specific impacts that developing a city can have on the Hydrologic cycle, and also some of it’s consequences. Implications for the Hydrologic Cycle: as a city develops, the amount of pervious surfaces & impervious (surfaces that water can easily soak into such as grass and unpacked soil) decreases as the amount of impervious surfaces such as asphalt and concrete increase. Looking around you in Baltimore, there are very few areas of pervious surfaces – even many people’s backyards are covered in asphalt. This causes the following effects on the hydrologic cyle:

• Decrease in infiltration and percolation: since most impervious surfaces are not penetrable by water, less water enters the shallow and deep subsurface areas of the ground. This leads to a reduction in infiltration and percolation in the soil

• Decrease in throughflow: Since there is less water in shallow subsurface layers, there is a reduction in the soil moisture and throughflow in the area.

• Decrease in groundwater recharge: there is less water that percolates to deeper subsurface layers, which leads to a decrease in sub-surface water resources (unless you have a lot of leaking pipes in the city, which might actually contribute to the level of water in the sub-surface areas).

• Decrease in detention storage:

• Because impervious surfaces are smoother, water moves at higher velocities over the land, can pick up more debris with it (contributing to pollution in the form of runoff) and also can cause more erosion when it passes over surfaces that are not asphalt at higher velocities.

• When construction occurs in the city, asphalt areas are generally designed so that they do not form ponds of water on them (who wants to step in a 3 foot deep puddle in a parking lot?) and instead of being held at the surface, this water is directed to gutters and storm drains that deliver the water to underground storm sewers pipes.

• Decrease in interception storage: because there is less vegetation, most water that hits the land either evaporates from impervious surfaces, or runs off the surface of the land.

• Increase in the amount of storm runoff

• Increase in stream flooding: since water enters streams at faster rate via storm sewers than it did when it flowed over the surface of the land, the streams are more likely to flash-flood and cause greater damage to the surrounding area than if they were left in their more undeveloped state.

• Decrease in base flow: If the pipes are not leaking too much in the city, there will be less sub-surface water, which means that less water in the city flows to streams as throughflow or groundwater flow.

Summary: because of how we have changed the surface of the Baltimore area, we have to pay more attention to the way water moves in our city in order to keep the environment in balance and make sure that our actions do not have too many adverse impacts on our surroundings. As individuals in the Baltimore area we need to look to projects that remediate some of the effects of putting down these huge expanses of impervious surfaces in the city, and try to bring more balance back to the environment.



References:

Baltimore Department of Public Works

http://www.baltimorecity.gov/government/dpw/wwwfacts.html

Environment Canada

http://www.ec.gc.ca/water/en/nature/prop/e_cycle.htm Maryland Civil Engineering Structures

http://www.ce.jhu.edu/mdcive/

Parks and People Foundation

www.parksandpeople.org




Teacher’s Lesson Plan: Water Cycles and Pathways

Objectives: Students will learn to describe the natural water cycle and urban water

pathways in order to explain the intersections of the natural and created pathways of water

in Baltimore.

Content Standard(s): Please see the “Background” section of the handbook and pick out

standards that are appropriate for your grade level.

Read Aloud: The history of Baltimore’s water supply (attached)

Context of Lesson: Students need to learn about how water moves where they live – both

naturally and through constructed pathways.

Vocabulary:

1. Hydrology: The scientific study of the waters of the earth and its atmosphere

2. precipitation: Process by which water falls to Earth from the atmosphere in the

form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

3. surface runoff: Process by which precipitation and snowmelt moves along the

Earth’s surface and drains or flows off the land.

4. transpiration: Process by which plants release water vapor into the atmosphere,

most via structures of their leaves called stomata.

5. evaporation: Process by which water changes from a liquid to a gaseous state as it is

heated by the sun and other energy sources; water vapor subsequently rises from

oceans, rivers, lakes, soils, and vegetation into the atmosphere.

6. condensation: Process by which water vapor in the atmosphere cools and turns into

liquid water or ice; water droplets or ice crystals coalesce to form clouds.

7. infiltration/percolation: Process by which water moves into the soil and travels

downward, some reaching groundwater reservoirs.

Warm Up: How many gallons of water fall if 1 inch of rain falls on 1 acre of land?

Answer: 1 inch of rain falling on 1 acre of land is about 27,154 gallons of water.

Background information: see “Teacher’s Background”

Materials:

1. Human water use tally sheets for the class

2. Graphing Rainfall Data worksheets (1 per student or small group)

3. Materials for the Watershed lab (garbage bag one)

4. Journals

5. Chalkboard, whiteboard, or felt board for discussions

6. paper for KWL charts and notes

Activities:

1. Students take 5 minutes to complete the warm up, and the teacher reviews the

objectives for the day with them. Discuss possible answers to the warm up, and

have that lead into a discussion of watersheds.

2. Discuss what a watershed is, and do the Watershed lab using garbage bags and food

coloring to give students a greater understanding of exactly what a watershed looks



like and how it works.

3. Introduce the textbook concept of the “natural” hydrologic cycle, and discuss key

vocabulary terms above. For younger grades you may need to simplify some of the

terms/definitions.

4. Students create a KWL (know, want to know, learned) chart about how they think

water gets to their house .

5. Diagram the pathways of water: First the “Natural” hydrologic cycle, and then the

“created” or engineered pathway as modified by human activity. Make sure to

discuss how these two pathways intersect, and where. All students should create a

diagram during this activity as you create it as a group on the board. Use of a Felt

Board or post-its could be particularly helpful with this activity as you can move

pieces around without erasing.

6. Read aloud: Baltimore’s water history from teacher background.

7. Students finalize their KWL chart by filling in what they learned.

8. Graphing Rainfall Data (see attached)

9. Journal activity: what are some problems that might happen if the urban water

pathways break down?

A – have students respond to the journal prompt

B - share journal entries aloud

C – make sure that students understand that pipe leaks can

contribute to groundwater, and surface or storm water can

overload sanitary water systems.

10. Wrap Up: Discuss the objective for the day and see if you met it as a class, discuss

possible activities for future lessons (what students want to know more about).

11. Assign homework and discuss human water use tally concept

Homework: Human Water Use Tally

(discuss results in class in two days. Instead of using “Saturday” as the worksheet says, you

may pick a day where all of the students will be focused on water. It could even be a school

day, so long as they are focused on the activity all day long.

Extensions:

1. Field Trip to sewage treatment plant and a reservoir

2. Alternate Field Trip: Prepare slides of a sewage treatment plant and one (or more)

of the reservoirs around Baltimore and incorporate them into a PowerPoint

Presentation to show to students (or put on paper and pass around)

3. Alternate Field Trip 2: Use “The Story of Baltimore’s Water Supply” (obtained from

the department of public works bureau of water and waste water) and photocopy

the pictures you feel are most relevant to the focus of your students, and either

put them into a PowerPoint presentation to discuss, or else on paper to pass around

and write about.

4. Storm Drain Stenciling (SLURPP)

5. Brochure (SLURPP)

Resources:

1. The Story of Baltimore’s Water Supply – City of Baltimore Department of Public

Works, Bureau of Water and Waste Water, November 1981.

2. See references in “Teacher’s Background”




Student Lesson: The Water Cycle

Name:______________________________________ Date:______________

Directions: Fill in the blanks on the diagram above with the names of

the processes described below.

• Storage - the process in which water pools in large bodies (like

oceans, seas and lakes), in the soil, in groundwater, or in living

things.

• Condensation - the process in which water vapor (a gas) in the air

turns into liquid water. Condensing water forms clouds in the sky.

Water drops that form on the outside of a glass of icy water are

condensed water. (Hint: this term appears twice in the diagram.)



• Evaporation - the process by which liquid water becomes water

vapor (a gas). Water evaporates from the surfaces of oceans,

rivers, ponds, wetlands, puddles and lakes, from the surface of

the land, and from melting snow fields.

• Precipitation - the process by which water (in the form of rain,

snow, sleet, or hail) falls from clouds in the sky.

• Surface Runoff - water that flows over the surface of the land

from rain or snowmelt, eventually reaching surface streams,

rivers, canals, lakes, ponds, wetlands or the ocean.

• Subsurface Runoff - water that flows in the soil, either along

impervious layers, or in underground streams, drains, or sewers.

• Transpiration - the process in which some water within plants

evaporates into the atmosphere. Water is first absorbed by the

plant's roots, then later exits by evaporating through pores in

the plant.




Student Lesson: Graphing Rainfall Data

Below is a table of the amount of water received when an inch of rain falls on a

city, and the area of each city (http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu//earthrain.html)

Amount of water received when an inch of rain occurs

City Area (square miles) Amount of water (millions of

gallons)

Atlanta, GA 131.7 2,289

Baltimore, MD 80.8 1,404

Chicago, IL 227.1 3,947

Cincinnati, OH 78.0 1,356

Denver, CO 153.5 2,666

Detroit, MI 138.8 2,412

Honolulu, HI 85.7 1,489

Houston, TX 579.4 10,069

Jacksonville, FL 757.7 13,168

Louisville, KY 62.1 1,079

Milwaukee, WI 96.1 1,670

New Orleans, LA 180.6 3,139

New York, NY 303.3 5,271

Philadelphia, PA 135.1 2,348

Salt Lake City, UT 109.1 1,906

Seattle, WA 83.9 1,458

Washington, DC 61.4 1,067

On a separate sheet of paper, make a line graph of the amount of rainfall vs. the

area of a city. Please put the amount of rainfall on the y-axis, and the area of the

city on the x-axis. Make sure your graph includes all required components (Title,

axis, labels, spacing, increments).




Demonstration Activity: Water in a Watershed

Overview Students watch a simple demonstration and learn about watersheds, runoff, and pollution.

Concepts • A watershed (or drainage basin) is the area of land that contributes water to a stream or pond

• The flow of runoff and sewage in a watershed is directed by ridges—the high points that separate adjacent watersheds

• Everyone lives in a watershed

• Land use activities in a watershed can affect water quality and quantity

Materials • Shallow basin or tub

• Several sheets of newspaper

• White plastic garbage bag

• Spray bottle or atomizer

• Food coloring

• One piece of paper towel

Procedure Create a simple watershed model by crumpling up several pieces of newspaper and placing them in the bottom of the basin. Cover the newspaper with plastic: this is the land surface. The uneven distribution of the paper should create a raised relief map with hills and valleys. Ask students what will happen to rain falling on the land surface. Where will it go? Where will it end up? Spray water on the plastic to test their predictions. (The water will be easier to observe if you add a little food coloring.) The water will flow from high points to low points in rivulets that represent streams and rivers and will collect in pools that represent lakes or the ocean. Explain that the area draining into each stream, river, or lake is called a watershed. Notice that every location on the plastic is part of a watershed. Use a tiny piece of paper towel soaked in food coloring to represent a source of contamination like motor oil or lawn fertilizer or a leaky septic system. (Make sure you use a different color of food coloring this time.) Ask students to predict what will happen to the contamination when it rains. Place the dyed piece of paper towel on the plastic watershed model and spray to make it rain. Watch as the “pollutant” flows into a stream and then into a nearby lake or ocean. Also notice that only one “watershed” is polluted unless the pollutant is on a divide.




Student Lesson: Personal Water Use

HOW MUCH WATER DO YOU & YOUR FAMILY USE?

Students have been recruited to be water detectives! We want you to

help us find out how much water families in your community are using.

You are going to collect and record information on how much water you

use at home this weekend on SATURDAY! (If you forget to do the

survey on Saturday, then please do it on Sunday!)

Here’s your job:

• Please don’t change anything you normally do

• Use the form on the other side of this page to record

your water use for Saturday (count things away from

the home too, like washing your hands or flushing the

toilet)

• For personal tasks, like brushing your teeth, or taking

a shower we want you to count only your own activities

• For things like washing dishes or doing laundry, please

get your family to help you. We want to know about

your household’s dishwashing and laundry on Saturday

(if your family does laundry at a relative’s house or a

Laundromat please count that too!)

• Bring the form in on Monday.




Student Worksheet: My Water Use Tally

My Name: Water Detective___________________________

Day of Survey_________________________

Example: Activity Number of Times Total Number of Times

Wash Hands 1 1 1 1 4

Take a Bath 1 1

ACTIVITY Number of Times Total Number of Times

Bathroom:

Washing Hands

Brushing Teeth

Flushing Toilet

Showering:

Fill in how many

minutes you

spend in the

shower

______minutes

Taking a bath

Kitchen/Laundry

Washing dishes

by hand

Washing dishes

by dishwasher

Doing a load of

laundry

Drinking Water

Drinking a full

glass of water




Student Worksheet: Water Use Calculation Sheet

ACTIVITY Total

#

Times

Water

Use Each

Time

Total Use

(Column 1

x

column 2)

Bathroom:

Washing Hands

1 gallon

Brushing Teeth

1 gallon

Flushing Toilet

3 gallons

Showering:

Fill in how many

minutes you

spend in the

shower

______minutes

2 gallons

each

minute

(hint: use

# of

minutes)

Taking a bath 50 gallons

Kitchen/Laundry

Washing dishes

by hand

5 gallons

Washing dishes

by dishwasher

20 gallons

Doing a load of

laundry

10 gallons

Drinking Water

Drinking a full

glass of water

.06 gallon




Student Activity: Bonus Water Use Problem

Part 1:

Your mom is really excited about the work your class has been doing to

learn about ways to save water. She wants to know whether or not she

will be using less water taking a bath or a shower.

• What do you need to know about her shower before you can work

on solving this problem?

___________________________________________________

Part 2:

Use your answer from part 1 (above) about how long your mom’s

showers take, advise your mom whether she will use less water taking a

bath or a shower. Remember to use your “Water Use Calculation

Sheet” to help you answer this question

• How much water will your mom use for her bath?

• How much water will your mom use for her shower?

• To save water, should your mom take a shower or a bath?




Student Handout: Water Conservation Tips! - reading

• Turn off the water when it’s not in use!

o Don’t leave it running when you:

� Brush your teeth

� Soap up your hands

� Shampoo your hair

• Keep your showers short!

o Next time, buy a shower head that uses less water

• When you take a bath, keep the water level low!

• Always wait until you have a full load to wash your clothes or run

the dishwasher

• When you wash dishes by hand, fill the sink or a container with

water for rinsing. Don’t leave the water running!

• Keep a bottle of cold drinking water in the refrigerator instead

of letting the sink water run until it’s cool each time you want a

drink!

• Always shut off the faucet when you are finished using water!

• Check for faucet leaks and help get them fixed!

• If you have water running waiting for it to get either hot or cold,

slip a bucket under the tap. Use the water to water your lawn or

plants!

• Use a broom, not a hose, to clean your porch, front walk, or

sidewalk!

• Water your lawn in the early morning or evening when water will

not evaporate as quickly!

• Be sure to water the grass and flowers, not the sidewalk or

street!




Student Lesson: Storm Drain Internet Research Activity

Name: ___________________________ Date:_______________

Storm Drain Research Internet Activity

This activity is designed to help you learn about some devices that have been

designed to help reduce the amount of pollution entering our waterways

through storm drains, and to give you a chance to design your own. As you

work through this activity, think about what you have already learned about

storm water runoff, the storm drain network, and how pollution enters this

system. The pages you will visit are designed for professionals in the field

of low impact development, so try not to get caught up in the technicalities.

Use the pictures on the websites and the attached vocabulary list to help

you understand how each device works. Be creative with your own invention,

you might just stumble onto something revolutionary! Good luck!!

Part I:

1. Open up your web browser (ex: Internet Explorer) and type in the

address “www.interstateproducts.com.” Click on storm water

management products. Under the heading “catch basin protection,” click

on ultra-curb guard.

2. Read about the ultra-curb guard and look at the pictures, clicking on them

for enlarged images. Vocabulary question: Is this device an insert or an

exert? (use the attached vocabulary sheet!)

3. Using words and/or pictures, explain what this device does and how it

works.

4. On the attached chart, fill in the information for row #1 (Ultra-curb

guard). Remember to use your vocabulary sheet if you get stuck!

5. Now click on drain guard under the green box at the top of the page.

Read about the ultra-drain guard and look at the pictures, clicking on

them for enlarged images. Pay special attention to the hand drawn



pictures of the device at the bottom of the page. Vocabulary question:

One of the drain guard models has a non-leaching oil absorbent pillow.

What does this mean?

6. Using words and/or pictures, explain what this device does and how it

works.

7. On the attached chart, fill in the information for row #2 (Ultra-drain

guard).

8. Now type the address “www.bestmp.com” into your browser. A picture of

“The SNOUT” should come up. Click on “How the SNOUT oil-water-

debris separator works.” Study the diagram. Vocabulary question:

Would you describe this device as a retrofit? Why?

9. Describe how the SNOUT works using words and/or pictures.

10. On the attached chart, fill in the information for row #3 (The

SNOUT).



11. Now type

“www.freshcreek.com/products/prod_specs.php?prodID=floating” into

your browser. Study the information on the floating netting trash trap.

Click on the drawing to enlarge. Vocabulary question: Does this device

catch primarily non-point source or point-source pollutants?

12. Using words and/or pictures, describe how this device works.

13. On the attached chart, fill in the information for row #4.

14. Now that you have completed the chart for some devices already in

place, think about what you would like the features of your invention to

be. Fill out row #5 with this information, and use this to brainstorm

about what your device will look like. If you have more than one idea, fill

out another row beneath row #5.



Part II:

Now that you are an expert on storm drains, it’s time to design your

own pollution catchment device. You now have at your access tons of

information from your storm drain vocabulary sheet, your internet research,

and your in-class activities with your Living Classrooms Foundation teachers.

So put on your thinking caps and let’s go!

Using your research worksheets and creative ideas, design your own device

for preventing pollution from entering our waterways via storm drains. In

addition to a drawing, or “blueprint”, of your device, you should write a two-

paragraph article. The first paragraph should include specific information

about your invention. How does it work? Where is it installed (infall or

outfall)? On what types of land use would it be most effective (residential,

schoolyards, businesses, construction sites)? What materials are required to

build it? The second paragraph should include the benefits of your design,

as well as concerns about potential problems. What are the costs to build

it? What are the costs to maintain it? Does it catch a wide range of

pollutants (sediment, litter, oil, vegetation) or does it target just a few?

Use these questions to guide your writing, but be sure to include any

additional information that helps the reader understand why your design is

desirable. Remember this is your device, so think hard and be creative.

Good luck!

School Leadership in Urban Runoff Reduction Project




Student Handout: Storm Drain Vocabulary

Use this vocabulary list to help you understand the storm water

management devices you will be looking at on the web to complete this

activity.

BMP or Best Management Practice- activities or structural

improvements that help reduce the quantity and improve the quality of

storm water runoff

Boom- a floating device used to contain oil or floating debris on a body

of water

Catch Basin- an entryway to the storm drain system, usually located at

street corners and the bottoms of hills

Catchment Device- a device installed at some location in the storm

drain network designed to trap litter, sediment, and/or oil before it

enters the watershed.

Contaminant- a substance that adds impurities

Debris- carelessly discarded refuse; litter

Erosion- the group of natural processes, including weathering,

dissolution, abrasion, corrosion, and transportation by which material is

worn away from the earth’s surface

Exert- when referring to an infall catchment device, a screen or grate

placed on top of a storm drain catch basin to prevent litter and

vegetation from being washed into the storm drain by storm water



Infall- a place where water enters the storm drain network, including

curb inlet storm drains and flat grate storm drains

Insert- when referring to an infall catchment device, a device placed

inside a storm drain catch basin to prevent litter, vegetation, oil, and

sediment from entering the watershed.

Leach- to dissolve or pull out a substance by passing liquid through a

permeable solid (you make coffee by allowing hot water to leach flavor

out of coffee grounds)

Low impact development- the practice of using techniques in building

and construction that minimize the effect that development will have

on the quality of the surrounding environment.

Non-Point Source (NPS) Pollutants- Pollutants from many diffuse

sources. Rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground

causes NPS pollution. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away

natural and human-made pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes,

rivers, wetlands, coastal waters, and even our underground sources of

drinking water.

Outfall- a place where a pipe carrying storm water from storm drains

empties into a stream.

Point Source Pollutant: Pollutants from a single, identifiable source

such as a factory, refinery, or place of business.

Retrofit- to fit into or onto equipment already in existence or service

Storm Water Management- practices developed in an attempt to

reduce the negative impacts of storm water on stream and watershed

health



Sump- A pit or tank that catches liquid runoff for drainage or disposal

Watershed- The whole region or extent of land which contributes to

the supply of a river, lake, or other body of water.

Additional Resources

If you’re stuck or would just like more information, try consulting

these websites:

• www.ulct.org/apwa/Glossary.htm: an extended glossary of storm

water vocabulary.

• www.forester.net/sw_glossary.html: another glossary.

• www.dnr.state.md.us/bay/tribstrat/nps_pollution.html: a good

source of info on non-point source pollution and easy ways citizens

can reduce their contribution to storm water runoff pollution.

OR

Type combinations of any of the following words into a search engine

(google.com, ask.com) to generate a list of web pages on the topic:

• stormwater, runoff, management, pollution, stormdrain,

catchment





Student Lesson: Creating Your Storm Drain Stenciling

Brochure

A brochure is an inexpensive yet effective tool people use to dispense information. They

can be used to advertise, educate, persuade, or inform. Brochures are usually made of pieces of

paper folded twice in order to organize the space into different sections. You will be making a

brochure informing your community of our upcoming storm drain stenciling project and educating

them about how runoff pollution reaches the Chesapeake Bay through storm drains. That is a lot to

cover on a small piece of paper, so we will go step by step through the information that should be

included in each section. Once you complete this worksheet, write the information, IN YOUR OWN

WORDS, onto the attached brochure template. Add any drawings or diagrams that you think will

make your brochure more powerful and helpful.

Your brochure, like most brochures, will look like this:

Let’s go through the pages as they are numbered above one at a time and think about what should

be included on each. Certain information will need to be on everyone’s brochure. This information is

already printed on the appropriate pages for you.

Page 1: Title Page

When creating the title of the brochure, be clear and succinct (not too wordy). You want to get

your readers attention without making them read a long sentence. Reread the first paragraph on

this page.

What is the topic of this brochure? ________________________________

You might want your title to be straight forward, or you might want it to be catchy. Don’t be afraid

to be creative! Once you come up with your title, write it onto page 1 either above or below the

box. Use the space inside the box to draw a picture that you think will help make the subject of

the brochure more clear to the reader.

Page 2: Introduction

This is probably the first page the reader will look at when he or she opens the brochure up. That

makes this an ideal place for you to introduce the purpose of the brochure and outline any

background information they will need to know in order to understand the rest of the brochure. If

you can answer the following questions, you are well on your way to writing a good introduction.

What is the purpose of this brochure? (hint: there are two, look for them in the first paragraph on

this page)



_________________________________________________________

Who is your audience? _______________________

This brochure is about something that we will be doing in your community to help fix a problem.

What is the problem we are trying to fix? Be specific.

______________________________________________________________

Why should the reader care?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

After you have answered these questions, use your answers and any other ideas you want to include

to write an organized paragraph that will serve as your introduction. Copy it into the brochure on

page 2, adding any graphics you see fit.

Page 3: The Specifics

So far we’ve told the reader that there is a problem that we feel needs to be addressed, now let’s

tell them what is going to be done about it. This page should give details about the main idea of the

brochure. Use the following questions to help you think of information that should be included

here.

What are we doing to help correct the problem we talked about in the introduction?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

How will this help?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

When will we be doing it? ________________________________________

Where will we be doing it? _______________________________________

How can the reader get involved?

______________________________________________________________

What other information should the public know?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

Once you’ve assembled this information, write it onto page 3. It doesn’t need to be in paragraph

form, but make sure it is organized so that it is easy to understand and you like how it looks!

Page 4: Facts



Hopefully your audience will be interested by this point and will want to know more information.

Use this page to list any facts that might answer further questions the reader may have or

convince them of the importance of this project. Think about what you have learned from the

activities you have done with the Living Classrooms Foundation teachers (the runoff model, the

water cycle, the history mystery), and what facts about the topic struck you as interesting or made

you want to learn more. Use the space below to brainstorm and create a list of facts you might

want to include. If your having trouble, use the questions on the next page to help you. The

answers to any of those questions would make great facts to include in your brochure. Choose your

three favorites (or more!) and write these facts on page 4 of your brochure.

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Page 5: Partners

Whether you know it or not, there are a lot of organizations involved in bringing this project to your

school. This page lists them in case the reader is interested in finding out more about related

projects. It’s like the credits after a movie! These organizations include: the Living Classrooms

Foundation, Baltimore City Public Schools, the Parks and People Foundation, the National

Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department of Recreation and Parks,

and the City of Baltimore. Look them up to find out what these organizations are all about!

Just the facts, ma’am: Use this list of questions to help you come up with facts to be

included on page 4 of your brochure.

How does the type of things we put on our land (roads, buildings, gardens, etc.) affect the quality

and quantity of our runoff?

What is a watershed?



Do you have to live right next door to the Bay to have and affect on its health? Explain.

How has Baltimore’s landscape changed throughout history? How does this affect the runoff

coming from the city?

What is the biggest source of pollution to the Chesapeake Bay?

Does water go to the same place after it flows into storm drains as it does after it flows down your

sink drain?


what is hydrology and why is it important?beslter.org/products/resources-for-educators/hydro...what...

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