为什么我们要用雨水冲马桶
文章来源:未知 文章作者:enread 发布时间:2016-03-08 04:53 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
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If you live in one of four major U.S. cities chances are you're letting the benefits of a ubiquitous natural resource go right down the drain -- when it could be used to cut down your water bill. Research by a team of Drexel University environmental engineers indicates that it rains enough in Philadelphia, New York, Seattle and Chicago that if homeowners had a way to collect and store even just the rain falling on their roofs, they could flush their toilets often without having to use a drop of municipal water. Toilet flushing is the biggest use of water in households in the United States and the United Kingdom, accounting1 for nearly one-third of potable water use. But there is no reason that clean, treated, municipal water needs to be used to flush a toilet -- rainwater could do the job just as well. 
 
"People have been catching2 and using rain water for ages, but it's only been in the last 20-30 years that we have realized that this is something that could be done systematically3 in certain urban areas to ease all different kinds of stresses on watersheds4; potable water treatment and distribution systems; and urban drainage infrastructure," said Franco Montalto, P.E., PhD, an associate professor in Drexel's College of Engineering, and director of its Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Lab, who led the research effort. "The study looks at four of the largest metropolitan5 areas in the country to see if it rains enough to make implementation6 feasible and, if everyone did it, what effect it would have on domestic water demand and stormwater runoff generation in those cities." 
 
The process of collecting and using roof runoff, which researchers call rainwater harvesting, has been working its way into vogue7 among urban planners and water managers over the last couple decades and has been implemented8 widely in California in the wake of its water crisis. This study, which started as the graduate thesis of Drexel alumnus Nathan Rostad, was recently published in the journal Resources, Conservation and Recycling, and is one of the first to crunch9 the numbers and sort out just how feasible, and beneficial, it would be as a way of offsetting10 potable water use for non-potable purposes while at the same time reducing generation of undesirable11 urban stormwater runoff.
 
"When the natural landscape is replaced by a building, rain can no longer infiltrate12 into the ground," Montalto said. "It runs off, is captured in drains, where it can cause downstream flooding, carry pollutants13 that settle out of the air into local water bodies or -- in the case of a city like Philadelphia or New York -- cause the sewer14 to overflow15, which leads to a discharge of untreated wastewater into local streams and rivers. So capturing rainwater can help to reduce the demands on the water treatment system and ensure that it will still function properly even during heavy rainfall events."
 
Taking into consideration the cities' annual rainfall patterns, residential16 population and roof areas, the team calculated that, with enough water storage capacity -- a little more than a standard 1,000-gallon home storage tank -- a three person family in a home with the city's average roof size would have enough water to cover over 80 percent of its flushes throughout the year simply by diverting their downspouts to collect stormwater. 


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1 accounting nzSzsY     
n.会计,会计学,借贷对照表
参考例句:
  • A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
  • There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。
2 catching cwVztY     
adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住
参考例句:
  • There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
  • Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。
3 systematically 7qhwn     
adv.有系统地
参考例句:
  • This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
  • The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。
4 watersheds 12dac97dd0f3c330deb3ba24768943c9     
n.分水岭( watershed的名词复数 );分水线;转折点;流域
参考例句:
  • Hyetographs are important in estimating stormflow hydrographs from upstream watersheds. 降雨历线资料为上游集水区推估洪水流量历线的重要依据。 来自互联网
  • Sediments check dam in small watersheds in loess hilly gully area come from three proportion, i. 黄土丘陵沟壑区治沟骨干工程泥沙淤积来源于坡面侵蚀、沟道侵蚀和库区岸坡坍塌。 来自互联网
5 metropolitan mCyxZ     
adj.大城市的,大都会的
参考例句:
  • Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
  • Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。
6 implementation 2awxV     
n.实施,贯彻
参考例句:
  • Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。
7 Vogue 6hMwC     
n.时髦,时尚;adj.流行的
参考例句:
  • Flowery carpets became the vogue.花卉地毯变成了时髦货。
  • Short hair came back into vogue about ten years ago.大约十年前短发又开始流行起来了。
8 implemented a0211e5272f6fc75ac06e2d62558aff0     
v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 );执行;贯彻;使生效
参考例句:
  • This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革,经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句
9 crunch uOgzM     
n.关键时刻;艰难局面;v.发出碎裂声
参考例句:
  • If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
  • People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。
10 offsetting c005dfe34c894146c623d2dd18e54b55     
n.偏置法v.抵消( offset的现在分词 );补偿;(为了比较的目的而)把…并列(或并置);为(管道等)装支管
参考例句:
  • Dealers, having concluded a forward contract, should always hedge with an offsetting contract. 外汇经营商在签订了一项远期合同之后总是应进行套头交易签订一项相抵合同。 来自辞典例句
  • Where does Germany think offsetting shifts into greater external deficits might occur? 在德国看来,这么大的外部赤字应该转移到哪里? 来自互联网
11 undesirable zp0yb     
adj.不受欢迎的,不良的,不合意的,讨厌的;n.不受欢迎的人,不良分子
参考例句:
  • They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
  • Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。
12 infiltrate IbBzb     
vt./vi.渗入,透过;浸润
参考例句:
  • The teacher tried to infiltrate her ideas into the children's minds.老师设法把她的思想渗透到孩子们的心中。
  • It can infiltrate as much as 100 kilometers into enemy territory at night.可以在夜间深入敌领土100千米。
13 pollutants 694861490fe64672170a0da250a277c7     
污染物质(尤指工业废物)( pollutant的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
  • The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条(g)的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
14 sewer 2Ehzu     
n.排水沟,下水道
参考例句:
  • They are tearing up the street to repair a sewer. 他们正挖开马路修下水道。
  • The boy kicked a stone into the sewer. 那个男孩把一石子踢进了下水道。
15 overflow fJOxZ     
v.(使)外溢,(使)溢出;溢出,流出,漫出
参考例句:
  • The overflow from the bath ran on to the floor.浴缸里的水溢到了地板上。
  • After a long period of rain,the river may overflow its banks.长时间的下雨天后,河水可能溢出岸来。
16 residential kkrzY3     
adj.提供住宿的;居住的;住宅的
参考例句:
  • The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
  • The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。
TAG标签: water toilets rains
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