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Hearth & Field · Track 3

Water: worksheet

Name: ____________________________   Date: ______________

Lesson 14: How much water a household uses, and where it goes

Open the lesson

By the end you can:

  • Estimate daily water use per person, indoors and outdoors.
  • Name the fixtures that use the most water in a typical home.
  • Explain why off-grid households often use far less than the national average.

  1. A couple wants to live on a rain tank. Which change cuts their indoor water use the most, for the least ongoing effort?

    Key: Replacing an old 3.5-gallon toilet with an efficient one

  2. Name one trade-off from this lesson. What do you gain, and what does it cost (money, time, space, upkeep or risk)?

Lesson 15: Water sources compared

Open the lesson

By the end you can:

  • Compare five water sources on cost, reliability, quality and rules.
  • Explain who is responsible for testing a private water supply.
  • Know which work needs a licensed professional and a permit.

  1. Your new well water is clear and tastes good. What should you do before relying on it for drinking?

    Key: Have it tested by a state-certified lab

  2. Name one trade-off from this lesson. What do you gain, and what does it cost (money, time, space, upkeep or risk)?

  3. Which parts of this topic need a licensed professional or a permit, and what would you ask them?

Lesson 16: Rainwater catchment

Open the lesson

By the end you can:

  • Work out how much water a roof can catch from a given rainfall.
  • Name the parts of a rain catchment system and what each one does.
  • Set up a rain barrel safely for garden use.

  1. A cabin has a 600 sq ft roof footprint. In a month with 2 inches of rain, about how much could it catch before losses?

    Key: About 740 gallons

  2. Name one trade-off from this lesson. What do you gain, and what does it cost (money, time, space, upkeep or risk)?

Lesson 17: Storage and pressure

Open the lesson

By the end you can:

  • Compare common tank materials and where to place a tank.
  • Explain how height creates water pressure, and when you need a pump.
  • Diagnose why a rain tank ran dry, and plan for freezing weather.

  1. A tank sits on a hill 46 feet above the house. About how much pressure does gravity give at the tap?

    Key: About 20 psi

  2. Diagnose it: “The rain tank ran dry in August.” What is the most likely cause, and what clue tells you?

    Key: The tank is too small for the dry season, and summer demand went up

  3. Name one trade-off from this lesson. What do you gain, and what does it cost (money, time, space, upkeep or risk)?

  4. Which parts of this topic need a licensed professional or a permit, and what would you ask them?

Lesson 18: Treatment for drinking water

Open the lesson

By the end you can:

  • Explain why testing comes before choosing any treatment.
  • Match common treatment methods to what they remove.
  • Know what to ask a water treatment professional and a testing lab.

  1. A well test shows high nitrate and no bacteria. A friend suggests a UV system. Is that a good fit?

    Key: No. UV does not remove nitrate. Talk to a professional about methods that do

  2. Name one trade-off from this lesson. What do you gain, and what does it cost (money, time, space, upkeep or risk)?

  3. Which parts of this topic need a licensed professional or a permit, and what would you ask them?

Lesson 19: Greywater

Open the lesson

By the end you can:

  • Tell greywater from blackwater.
  • Describe how simple greywater systems water plants.
  • Know the safety rules and permits that commonly apply.

  1. Which plan follows common greywater safety rules?

    Key: Send laundry water to mulch basins around fruit trees, with a valve to switch to the septic

  2. Name one trade-off from this lesson. What do you gain, and what does it cost (money, time, space, upkeep or risk)?

  3. Which parts of this topic need a licensed professional or a permit, and what would you ask them?

Lesson 20: Project: my water budget and catchment sizing

Open the lesson

By the end you can:

  • Build a month-by-month water budget for your household.
  • Size a catchment roof and tank for your driest stretch.
  • Decide what to change if supply and demand do not balance.

  1. Your roof catches more than you use over a year, but the tank runs dry each August. What does the budget tell you?

    Key: You have a seasonal gap: more storage or less summer use would help

  2. Name one trade-off from this lesson. What do you gain, and what does it cost (money, time, space, upkeep or risk)?

  3. Which parts of this topic need a licensed professional or a permit, and what would you ask them?

Homestead Lab activity

Drought summer

Goal: Get from June 1 through August without the rain tank running dry.

  1. Run the starting setup to the end. Write down what failed and when.
  2. Predict which single change will help most. Write your prediction before you try it.
  3. Pin the first run as a baseline, make one change, press Restart and run again. Record what moved in the comparison table.
  4. Keep changing one thing at a time until the goal is met. What did your final setup cost, as a range?

Add a second person

Goal: Run a full year for two people with fewer than 24 hours without power and no days with a dry tank.

  1. Run the starting setup to the end. Write down what failed and when.
  2. Predict which single change will help most. Write your prediction before you try it.
  3. Pin the first run as a baseline, make one change, press Restart and run again. Record what moved in the comparison table.
  4. Keep changing one thing at a time until the goal is met. What did your final setup cost, as a range?

Questions come from the lessons' checks. The course is in draft; check answers against the current lesson text.