SPACE: "May the force pee with you," water recycling on the Space Station

It may not be a Star Wars galaxy far far away, but when astronauts are far from home, water is a life force.

Astronaut Chris Hadfield shows us how the water flows on the International Space Station, featuring a closed-loop treatment system in which the water astronauts use—even their wastewater—is recycled and made safe for drinking.

Many on earth are surprised to learn the water they flush is treated in a similar—but much larger—water cycle: The same water that flows down your toilet ultimately makes its way back to the environment, the common source for your drinking water at home. In Cleveland, the water cycle includes Lake Erie where we discharge treated water and from which Cleveland Water draws its clean-water supply.

It's the same cycle. The Space Station's is just much further from home.

RELATED STORIES:

• SPACE: How do astronauts pee in outer space?
• STAR WARS: "The flush awakens," 9 questions about Star Wars, sewers and sanitation
• TECH: How do toilets work on the International Space Station?

SERIES: Follow the flow of h2o in Cleveland with #ValueWater, @neorsd and @ClevelandWater

The Value of Water reports each of us use more than 100 gallons of water in a single day. Where does it come from, and where does it go? and what would it be like if the resources or the systems that make it possible didn't exist?

This month's Imagine A Day Without Water campaign concludes with our tour of the urban water cycle in Cleveland. Our water partners Cleveland Water manage the drinking water side of the cycle while we take care of the wastewater. Through our combined efforts and infrastructure, our agencies deliver and collect hundreds of millions of gallons of water every single day.

Every hour today, we'll focus on a different aspect of the urban water cycle, and bring you the stats and stories that connect our work to your lives. Check some of the updates below.

FUN: @EPAWater plays Kardashians app, but here are 5 better water games you can play.

Of all the games a water-focused agency could play, it had to be this one?

EPA Water's Twitter account posted a status update July 22, saying the account holder had reached the C-List level of the Kardashian: Hollywood app. Chances are the user had mistakenly posted the update to the organization's account rather than his or her personal Twitter.

Hey, it happens, right?

While Kardashian: Hollywood or Candy Crush may be your mobile vices, we have five better suggestions for more water-friendly educational games and apps.

WORLD WATER DAY: The value of clean water, made personal.

A young resident of Maslakh camp (Afghanistan) takes a drink of water. UN Photo/E. Debebe

Flush. Don't think twice about it.

Turn the tap. No big deal.

Start the laundry, fill your tub, wash you hands, whatever. It's just water.

The simple fact that we can consider a precious resource and the complex system it takes to bring it to and from our homes safely "no big deal" is exactly why World Water Day March 22 should be a very big deal.

What is World Water Day? World Water Day, established by the United Nations in 1993, was originally launched to promote to the importance of fresh water and bring attention to water-resource management and sanitation challenges around the world.

We are proud to support WWD programs that help residents understand how Cleveland's urban water cycle works and relate it to the water-quality realities and struggles that still exist today.

Two local World Water Day celebrations include Drink Local. Drink Tap.'s Wavemaker Program students' trip to the Greater Cleveland Aquarium March 20, and Cleveland Metroparks' "Go Global" festivities at the Watershed Stewardship Center at West Creek March 22.

Consider the West Virgina chemical spill that knocked out water supplies for weeks. Imagine the need to trek for clean water for yourself or your family from a distant source miles away. Sometimes making it personal makes a difference.

There are countless ways to make World Water Day inspirational. Communicate, educate, donate, however you choose to support the cause, it's not to late.

FLUSH: China has a waterfall made of toilet bowls. Of course it does.

We've seen toilet bowls turned into planters, tricycles, and bathroom mirrors, but in China, hundreds of recycled toilet bowls have been turned into a waterfall.



The construction of it looks amazing, and it's all operated by a single flush.

We see this as a great education opportunity to teach about the urban water cycle: The water that fills these hundreds of bowls flows down and through and back up to the top to be flushed again.

WATER: How many tests in one year? Almost 200,000 help protect our lake.

West Virginia's water-contamination saga is shining the spotlight on water quality, regulations, contaminants and public health.

Clean water is at the heart of our work, but our attention is commonly focused on the wastewater side of the water cycle. How do we monitor our treatment processes and the environment to make sure the water we're releasing to Lake Erie is safe?

Tests. Lots and lots of tests. In 2013, our Analytical Services department—our biologists, chemists and laboratory analysts—conducted nearly 200,000 tests, averaging more than 530 separate tests every day. That includes tests conducted on more than 25,000 samples collected from streams, beaches, and our treatment plants.

Here's a closer look at our lab stats from last year:

EVENT: Make your holiday break a #h2olidays experience at @clevemetroparks "Water's Extreme Journey"

Image courtesy Cleveland Metroparks

If you're looking for a day trip during the holiday break, why not make a journey out of it?

Water's Extreme Journey is a traveling exhibit making a stop at Cleveland Metroparks Watershed Stewardship Center at West Creek through January 12, 2014.

For a limited time, this amazing maze takes visitors on a journey of a falling raindrop through the water cycle and back to the ocean.

Interactive and adventurous, enjoy games and crafts throughout the exhibit and learn what you can do to protect the environment starting in your own backyard.

Water's Extreme Journey is supported by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District and the Cleveland Division of Water.

It starts tomorrow!! "Water's Extreme Journey Maze" Dec 21 - Jan 12 @ 10-4:30 p.m: http://t.co/WM0mJCmEr5 pic.twitter.com/ykygINJhkj
— Cleveland Metroparks (@clevemetroparks) December 21, 2013

LIST: 7 things mom said that showed she knew a thing or two about wastewater treatment (without even knowing it!)

There are words, phrases, or intonations we hear that instantly harken us back to our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, or other influential women in our lives. This Mother's Day, we're looking at some of the most common mom-isms and seeing a very distinctive connection to our industry.

Moms know what they're talking about.

WATER: It's called the "cycle" for a reason, right?

Drought conditions in Texas have led the El Paso Water Utilities head to speak the unspeakable: the idea of [cue dramatic music] "direct potable water reuse." In many media circles, it's referred to as water recycling, or "toilet to tap."

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies shared the link, and it followed a related recent tweet by author and speaker Rose George:

The truth is, she's right.

NEWS: Sewage is new source of ski resort snow in Arizona

Let it snow, let it snow, let it... flow?

Last month, an Arizona ski resort began making snow entirely from its most reliable water source: Water recycled from Flagstaff's sewage.

Wednesday's Bloomberg story reads:

The ski area near Flagstaff is the first in the U.S. to make snow entirely from treated effluent—something that could become more widespread as facilities across the country confront drought, future water restrictions and climate change.

In our line of work, all water is recycled, really.

PROFILE: Students travel the ins and outs of Cleveland's water cycle

Assistant superintendent Dan Smith speaks to a group of Sewer District summer students and co-ops from a point high atop a trickling filter at the Westerly plant in Cleveland.

Think of it as a water-cycle/career-prep roadtrip. The Sewer District calls it success@work.

The District recently dedicated a day to providing its summer students with insight on how to be more successful in the workplace. With that came a closer look into the work of the Sewer District, the urban water cycle, and related career opportunities present in the Greater Cleveland community.

“I didn’t expect too much, but I really got a lot out of it,” said Ryan Stroud, a student at Case Western Reserve University working in a summer position in Building Maintenance. “We got a lot of information about the (treatment) plants and how the water cycle in Cleveland works, but we also got a lot about personal development.”