Waterworks

Paul Bugas

A river flows out of Eden to water the garden…Genesis 2:10

If you live in Staunton, odds are when you flush your toilet, it’s heading for Middle River. That’s right, our watershed is the receptacle for much of our household and industrial waste, yet we also rely on its bounty for our drinking water as well. The fact that we use our rivers and streams for both nourishment and disposal, it is imperative that we conserve this precious resource to the best of our ability.

Almost half of the 5 million gallons of wastewater that is treated at the Middle River Waste Water Treatment Plant originates in the City of Staunton. Every load of wash, every piece of food scraped in the disposal, every bathtub and toilet drains into a network of sewer pipes that is gravity-fed or pumped to this impressive facility. Without going into great detail, a brown “river” is treated through a series of screens, settling tanks, aerators, clarifiers, and disinfectants before it is released as a clear stream into Middle River near Verona. Recently, in order to meet federal orders to reduce nutrients, such as phosphates and nitrates, the Augusta County Service Authority invested $21 million to extract these environmental hazards from the waste stream.

So, if our local governments can invest precious public dollars into better environmental stewardship, what can we do as individuals? Shorter showers, low flow showerheads and toilets, maximum laundry loads, and smart landscape watering for starters. Face it, most Americans take water for granted. In the arid West, folks are getting better with water conservation, but in eastern North America, we tend to think that our water resources are infinite. While our rainfall patterns are certainly more plentiful than our occidental neighbors, we tend to waste water by the gallon.

Here at Trinity, we receive a hefty monthly water bill that includes clean water that runs from our faucets, water that washes our Noon Lunch dishes, water that flushes waste food down the disposal, water that flushes our toilets, and water that irrigates our grounds. We have taken some conservation measures such as installing low-flow toilets during our Heritage Campaign, but much more can be accomplished. So, just as with our recycling efforts, Trinitarians need to be mindful of water consumption at home, work, and church.