Last Friday, April 4, the AP Environmental Science class took a field trip to the Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) and the Orange County Water District (OCWD). These tours were a great opportunity for students to learn about water pollution from experts.
Before the tour, students watched a video about different filtration systems and how they work. They learned how OCSD collects, treats and recycles waste water all throughout Orange County. Once the video was over, we crossed the bridge to where the actual sanitation systems are.
OCSD uses multiple different methods to treat the water including primary and secondary treatments. One fun fact that the tour guide shared was that in one of the secondary treatment systems, they once found a turtle and even a bowling ball!
Using an engineered process, they seek to mimic what happens in the natural environment. Once the water is clean and ready, they load it in trucks for agricultural use. Senior Sydney Hastert shared, “My favorite part was wearing the protective glasses and hard hat to ride on the bus.”
After the tour at OCSD, students arrived at OCWD for their second tour of the day. Just like before, they watched a quick video explaining what the district does. The video explained how OCWD is a groundwater wholesale agency that manages the Orange County Groundwater Basin. The basin provides about 85% of drinking water to Orange County, so their work is extremely important.
Students learned that in order to clean the water, it goes through three processes: microfiltration, reverse osmosis and UV light with hydrogen peroxide. On the tour, students looked at each process and the methods used to filter the water. Each step is crucial in ensuring that the water is safe for drinking. Junior Michaela Watson said, “It was really cool learning how we use UV light to clean our water even extra.”
At the end of the tour, students were given a sample of the clean water to drink straight from the system itself. They then participated in a game using questions based on what they learned that day; the winners were even given a prize!
The AP Environmental Science class was blessed with the opportunity to attend this field trip. They gained a better understanding of water pollution and its relevance in their daily lives.
