This story is dedicated to:
Mrs. Sarkis
(Otherwise known as . . . Professor Purrkis     )

“In two weeks we will learn about recycled water when
we visit the Eastern Municipal Water District Regional
Water Reclamation Facility,” said the teacher, Mr. Hoo.
“To prepare for the trip, I want you to create a poster
about the process of recycling water. It will be due next
week, and you may work together with two other friends.
Make sure to work on it over the weekend. Class is
dismissed! Have a great day! Remember to think purple!”

Otis Turtle, Claire Bear, and Presley Peacock agreed to
work together to create their poster at Claire’s house.

Presley and Otis called their moms to
ask if they could go to Claire’s house.
Both moms said yes, and so the three
friends headed over to Claire’s house.

Mrs. Bear said hello to everyone and asked, “How
about some cookies and milk while you tell me
about your day at school?”

“Sure!” they all replied. Kids can’t resist cookies
and milk.

As Mrs. Bear poured the milk, she asked, “What do you
have to do for homework?”

“We have to make a poster about recycled water,”
Presley replied. “It is due next week.”

“Before we start, we have to
learn where recycled water
comes from,” Claire said.

“Oh I think I know!” Otis said
excitedly. “It comes from a magical
water wizard that grants people
any kind of water they want!”

“Not quite, Otis,” Mrs. Bear said. “Why don’t you go
to Professor Purrkis’s house? She said she is available
anytime you have questions or need help on school
projects. I will be happy to drive you to her home.”

The three friends agreed that it was
a good idea and headed for the car.

Mrs. Bear drove the kids to
Professor Purrkis’s house.

When they arrived,
Claire knocked on the door, while
Mrs. Bear waited in the car. Professor Purrkis
opened the door and greeted them.

“Please come in!” she said.

Once the three friends were safely in the
house, Mrs. Bear left to run errands.

As they walked into the house, they
stared in amazement at what they
saw before them. There were several
bottles, test tubes, papers, and
safety equipment.

Otis moved to touch one of the glass tubes.
“Cool! What are these?” he asked.

“NO! Don’t touch that!” Presley exclaimed,
as Otis quickly moved away from the tubes.

“So, what brings you here today?”
asked Professor Purrkis.

“Well,” said Claire,
“we were wondering
if you could help us
with a school project.
We have to create a poster about
recycled water. Will you teach us what
you know about recycled water?”

“Of course I will!” Professor Purrkis responded. “Recycled
water is water that has been used and is then recycled.
For example, the water you use to brush your teeth goes
down the drains in your home and flows out into the
sewer pipelines that are in the ground, deep under the
street. Next, the dirty water, which we refer to as
wastewater, flows through the sewer pipelines to a
wastewater treatment facility, where it is collected and cleaned.”

“What do they do to clean the water?” Otis asked.

“First, the wastewater passes
through a screen that removes
the large items that cannot
be cleaned. The wastewater
continues to the grit chamber
where heavier materials like
sand and gravel are removed.
Next, it flows into the
primary treatment tanks.”

“What happens in the tanks
to clean the rest of the
wastewater?” Presley asked.

“Well, first the wastewater goes
through the primary treatment
process where more than 50 percent
of the pollutants are removed,”
Professor Purrkis explained.
“Next, it goes into the aeration
tank where microscopic bugs
eat the remaining pollutants.”

“How big are the bugs?” asked Otis.

“They are actually quite small, Otis,”
replied professor Purrkis. “You can only
see them under a microscope.
They are what we call microorganisms.”

“It is so cool that they use microorganisms
to clean the water!” Otis replied. “What happens next?”

“The wastewater flows into the secondary clarifier
tanks and on to the chlorine contact chambers
for disinfection,” Professor Purrkis explained.

“Chlorine is a chemical that is used to disinfect
our water, isn’t it?” asked Claire.

“Yes it is, Claire,” Professor Purrkis responded.
“After chlorine has been added, the clean and
disinfected wastewater becomes recycled water
that is safe and reliable for reuse.”

“Where does the recycled water go after
it has been cleaned?” Otis asked.

Professor Purrkis replied, “The recycled water
goes into storage ponds that are like mini lakes,
where it is stored until it is needed. At Eastern
Municipal Water District, there is a multipurpose
constructed wetlands that helps to polish the
recycled water and get it ready for further use.”

“What does it mean to polish the water?” asked Otis.

Professor Purrkis explained,
“The remaining contaminants are removed.”

“Oh, I see,” said Otis. “Do we drink this water?”

“At this time, recycled water is not used for
drinking water,” Professor Purrkis replied.

”If we don’t drink recycled water,
how do we use it?” Otis asked.

Professor Purrkis answered, “The recycled
water is used for watering the landscapes of
businesses, schools, golf courses,
parks, and some farm crops.”

“How can we tell the difference between
fresh water and
recycled water?”
Otis asked.

“Well, kids,
recycled water
flows through
purple pipes,” Professor Purrkis answered. “Anytime you
see purple pipes or purple sprinklers you know the water
in the pipelines is recycled water that is used for

watering landscapes and some
farm crops. Great care is
taken in the cleaning and
disinfection process, which
is what makes recycled water
safe and reliable to use.”

“Oh, we get it now!” they all replied.

“I have seen purple sprinklers and pipes at the
park with signs about recycled water,” said Otis.
“Now I understand how the water is used!”

“I am so pleased that you all stopped by to learn
about recycled water,” said Professor Purrkis.
“I hope you will be able to use this information
to create a great poster.” They assured her they
would and thanked her for her help.

“We should start working on our
poster now,” Presley said.

“Mr. Hoo would not like a poster
that is not finished!” Claire said, as
she called her mom to pick them up.

“We better head home to start
working on it,” Otis agreed.

Presley, Otis, and Claire headed out
to the car where Mrs. Bear was waiting.
The three of them went back to Claire’s house
to work on their recycled water poster.

The following week, the three students
turned in their poster to Mr. Hoo. They
were very excited to receive their grade
because they had worked very hard to
create a great poster using the information
they learned from Professor Purrkis.

The next day Mr. Hoo called Otis, Claire,
and Presley aside and told them that they
received an A+ on their poster. The three
friends all gave each other high fives.

Otis, Claire, and Presley knew
they could not have done such
a great job without the help of
Professor Purrkis. Later that day,
they went to Claire’s house
and wrote a letter to
Professor Purrkis thanking
her for teaching them about
recycled water.

The following day at school, Mr. Hoo told
the class, “Next month we are going to be
doing a similar project, but this time it will
be about backflow prevention.”

Otis, Claire, and Presley all knew
just who to go to learn about
backflow prevention.

Professor Purrkis!

Vocabulary Words:

Aeration Tank: An enclosed area where water is mixed with microscopic bacteria and then air is added. The oxygen promotes growth of the bacteria. The bacteria consume waste products in the water.

Backflow Prevention: A method to protect water supplies from contamination or pollution due to backflow.

Chlorination: The disinfection of water by the addition of small amounts of chlorine or a chlorine compound.

Disinfection: To cleanse so as to destroy or prevent the growth of disease-carrying germs.

Landscape: The enhancement of the appearance of land, especially around buildings, by altering its contours and planting trees, shrubs, and flowers.

Microorganisms: A tiny organism such as a protozoan, or bacterium that can only be seen under a microscope.

Microscopic: Invisible without the use of a microscope.

Multipurpose constructed wetlands: An area designed to focus on wastewater treatment, migratory and resident waterfowl and shorebird habitat enhancement, wildlife diversity, and public education and recreation opportunities.

Polish: To finish completely.

Pollutants: Any substance, as certain chemicals or waste products, that renders the air, soil, water, or other natural resource harmful or unsuitable for a specific purpose.

Primary treatment: A basic wastewater treatment method that uses settling, skimming, and often chlorination to remove solids, floating materials, and pathogens from wastewater.

Process: A continuous action, operation, or series of changes taking place in a definite manner.

Professor: a teacher of the highest academic rank in a college or university, who has been awarded the title Professor in a particular branch of learning.

Reclamation: the recovery of useful substances from waste products.

Recycled water: The use of treated and processed wastewater for useful purposes like agricultural irrigation, industrial processes, toilet flushing, and groundwater replenishment which is also called a groundwater recharge.

Regional: A specified district or territory.

Reliable: Worthy of trust.

Reuse: To use again especially in a different way or after recycling or reprocessing.

Safe: Free from harm or risk.

Secondary clarifier: Settling tanks that remove microbes from wastewater.

Storage ponds: A man-made pond that temporarily stores organic wastes such as wastewater.

Wastewater: Water that has been used, as for washing, flushing, or in a manufacturing process, and so contains waste products; sewage.

Recycled water is SMART:

S
AFE
—Recycled water involves treating wastewater to a high level so it can be reused for almost any purpose except drinking. Every day, recycled water is safely used to irrigate crops, for manufacturing processes, to fill some of our lakes, and to keep landscapes beautiful.

M
ONEY-SAVING
—The cost of recycled water is significantly less than the regular potable (drinking) water rate.

A
VAILABLE
—Recycled water is in great demand. Currently almost 100 percent of EMWD’s total production capacity is used. It’s a drought-proof supply that can be available even if potable (drinking) water is restricted.

R
ESOURCEFUL
—Every gallon of water that can be reused means that one more gallon can remain underground; or one more gallon doesn’t need to be imported from Northern California or the Colorado River. With more than 50,000 acre-feet of recycled water produced annually by EMWD, recycled water is a significant resource.

T
IMELY
—To meet future water demands and avoid shortages due to drought, recycled water enables EMWD to reduce its dependence on expensive, and increasingly unreliable, imported water.

Fast Facts:

• Recycled water pipes are purple

• Since recycled water is used for non-drinking purposes, a separate set of distribution pipelines deliver recycled water.

• EMWD has been recycling water within its service area since 1966 when the District began delivering recycled water to local farmers for the irrigation of feed and fodder crops.

• Recycled water is already widely used throughout California to irrigate landscapes for:
Sport fields       Agriculture irrigation
Recreational     Golf courses
Parks                 Schools
Median areas

• Recycled water is also used for environmental enhancement of wetland areas.

Acknowledgements

Eastern Municipal Water District Education Specialist Malea Ortloff developed the award-winning Write Off program, now in its fifth year, in an effort to encourage a greater understanding of our most precious resource, water, in both elementary and middle school students. Malea uses a crossage approach, which allows older students to write stories focusing on water-related issues geared toward younger (elementary) students. Once the winning story is selected and published, Malea designs curriculum that is grade-level appropriate and also keeps the water message in the classroom for a longer period of time. This year several hundred entries were received, making it a challenge to select a winner. The winning story is an entertaining, engaging, and informative narrative about recycled water that is sure to be a hit with elementary school students.

Eastern Municipal Water District wishes to thank the following students, teacher, graphic designer, and advisory committee members for their collaboration and contributions in the development of this book.

Authors                   Illustrators
Alyssa Rossi           Iliana Reyes
Iliana Reyes            Alyssa Rossi

Advisory Committee
Malea Ortloff
Education Specialist
Eastern Municipal Water District

Meggan Valencia
Public Information Officer
Rancho California Water District

Ailene Earl
Education Assistant
Eastern Municipal Water District

Becky Rathbone
Systems Control Manager Water Operations
Eastern Municipal Water District

Rich Ottolini
Water Operations Manager
Rancho California Water District

Book Design
Jennifer Drexler
JD Design

Copyright pending. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or quoted in whole or in part by any other printed or electronic means, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, or for presentation
on radio, television, videotape,
or film without written
permission from Eastern
Municipal Water District.

Mentor Advisor
Susan Sarkis
Temecula Middle School Teacher

Teresa Barnett
First Grade Teacher - Megan Cope Elementary School
San Jacinto Unified School District

Biography

Iliana Reyes is a sixth-grade student who attends Temecula Middle School. She was born in 2001 and lives in Temecula, California with her sisters and brother. She has two dogs,
and her favorite sport is tennis. Iliana’s favorite color is
blue, and she enjoys drawing and playing the flute.

Alyssa Rossi’s family includes her
parents and sister. She loves going
on walks with her dad, playing
board games with her mom, and
kicking the soccer ball around with
her big sister. Alyssa’s favorite things
to do with her family are hiking and
watching family movies. She has a
cat who loves to snuggle and a dog
who loves to pay tug-of-war. Alyssa
is a sixth-grade student at Temecula
Middle School. Her favorite color is
purple, and she loves to play the piano.
She loves to play soccer and hang out
at the beach.

Mrs. Sarkis has been teaching at Temecula Middle School for 23 years. She loves encouraging her students to write creatively. She enjoys watching these young writers gather their ideas and put them into these stories. Mrs. Sarkis noted, “Alyssa and Iliana spent hours of their own time researching,
writing, editing and illustrating this story.
They both are such hard workers and
give 100 percent in everything they
do. They truly have a love of
learning.”

This book is intended for educational, artistic, and water quality purposes. Permission is never granted for commercial purposes. Manufactured in the United States of America. The printing of this book was sponsored in part by Rancho California Water District (2013).