Welcom to JoJo`s
Hi kids! I’m JoJo,
the Water Hero.
Welcome to my Reclamation Station. Here, it’s all about teaching you why it’s important to reuse the water you and your family put down the drain AND how the heroes at LRWRA make this happen. Let’s get started.
Where does used water go?
Follow along with JoJo and watch this video to find out where your water goes after it goes down the drain. When you wash your hands, take a bath, or flush the toilet, the water does not just disappear. It goes on a journey.
That water travels through big underground pipes to a special place where it gets cleaned. The team at Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority works hard every day to make sure the water is safe before it goes back into nature.
Let’s see how it all works!
What does Water Reclamation mean?
The water heroes at Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority reclaim water by ensuring that used water goes safely from homes, schools, and businesses to a safe place for treatment. This means that when you pull the plug after your bath, your laundry water spins out, or you flush the toilet, our team cleans the water that leaves your home and puts it back into nature. It starts the water cycle again!
Why is Water Reclamation important?
Do you know that our water is thousands of years old and is the same water the dinosaurs used, and only 1% of it is safe to drink? Water heroes work hard to protect our ONE WATER, ONE FUTURE so there is enough for everyone today and tomorrow.
Our friends, the water heroes at Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority (LRWRA), protect our water, public health, and the environment by reclaiming and cleaning used water. Now it’s your turn to help keep our water safe!
How does the process work?
As a water hero, it’s important that you know how our friends at Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority clean the dirty water that leaves your home by going down the drain. When used water goes down the drain, it flows underground through more than 1,400 miles of pipes, which is like 24,640 football fields, to one of LRWRA’s reclamation facilities. This is where water is reclaimed and cleaned through natural processes, then put back into the environment cleaner than what is already there!
six steps to clean water
Filter
Water begins the process by flowing through a filter that removes any trash, like plastic bottles, rags, and even toys!
Primary Treatment
Water is then placed in a giant tank for two hours! Remaining waste floats to the top or sinks to the bottom. This helps the LRWRA team remove the waste so it can move on to the next step.
Secondary Treatment
Water then moves to smaller tanks, where microorganisms (tiny living things like bacteria) you can’t see with your eyes alone begin to eat away the remaining waste as the water is stirred.
Advanced Treatment
Water is then moved into a special tank where microorganisms sink to the bottom and are removed.
Disinfection
Next, the water is treated with a special light called an ultraviolet light, which removes any remaining microorganisms, like bacteria.
Testing
The last step is to test the water and make sure it is clean. Once LRWRA is 100% sure the water is clean, it is returned to the Arkansas River cleaner than what is already there!
THE WATER CYCLE
Yes, the water on our Earth today is the same water
that’s been here for nearly 5 billion years. Why?
Because the only thing that changes is the form that
water takes as it travels through the water cycle. And
even though we lose a little bit in this process, it
ultimately returns as rain!
This is a part of what we call the Water Cycle.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
AS OUR NEWEST WATER HERO!
HOW MUCH WATER IS USED
WATER FACTS
of the Earth’s surface is covered with water
of Earth’s water is salty or undrinkable
of Earth’s water is fresh water – locked up in ice & glaciers
At LRWRA we
32 million gallons of used water a day, and about 11.7 billion gallons of used water a year
Almost 1.4 million feet (300 miles) of sewer pipe
Almost 5.6 million feet (1,000) miles of line a year
RECLAMATION
STATION ACTIVITIES
The heroes at JoJo’s Reclamation Station have lots of fun activities below to help you learn more about Water Reclamation and small ways you can do your part to protect our One Water, One Future.
Check out LRWRA’s Don’t Flush That Campaign.
Parents, teachers & Groups:
If you want to request JoJo and the LRWRA team for an educational opportunity,
or want to schedule a tour of one of our reclamation facilities, click here.
