Q: How many baths could I get from a big rainstorm?

A: In other words, when I have a big storm over my house, just how much rain am I getting? Let's say your house sits on a one-half acre lot. And let's say you get a storm that drops 1 inch of rain. You've just received 13,577 gallons of water on your yard! A big bathtub holds about 50 gallons of water, so if you could save that inch of water that fell you could take a bath every day for 271 days! Careful now, all that water weighs over 56 tons ... so don't put it in your bathtub all at once.

Q: I live on a hill, how does water get to my house?

A: Let's assume that you get your water from the local water department through pipes buried below the streets. Chances are that you get your water through the magic of gravity or pumps. Cities and towns build those big water towers on top of the highest hills and then fill them with water. So even if you live on a hill, there's a good chance the water tower is higher than your house.  Water goes down a large pipe from the tower and through a network of pipes that eventually reaches your house.

Q: Why does my drinking water look cloudy sometimes?

A: Once in a while you get a glass of water, and it looks cloudy. After a few seconds it miraculously clears up! The cloudiness is due to tiny air bubbles in the water. Like any bubbles, the air rises to the top of the water and goes into the air, clearing up the water. The water in the pipes coming into your house might be under a bit of pressure, and gases (the air), which are dissolved in the pressurized water, will come out as the water flows into your glass, where is under normal atmospheric pressure.