Water and its Management

Global Water Distribution

 Oceans cover 75% of the Earth’s surface.

 Oceans and seas contain 97% of all the Earth’s water.

 Only 3% of the water on Earth is fresh water.

 Nearly two-thirds (65%) of this 3% fresh water is in the ‘deep freeze’

in the ice sheets.

The Water Cycle

 Precipitation: moisture that reaches the surface in the form of rain,

sleet, snow, or hail.

 Rain is the most common type.

 Surface run-off: precipitation that flows over the ground surface,

eventually finding its way into streams and rivers.

 Interception: precipitation that doesn’t reach the Earth’s surface

due to being obstructed by trees and plants.

 Infiltration: precipitation soaks into sub-surface soils and moves into

rocks through cracks and pore spaces.

  Through-flow: downslope movement of water through the soil, roughly parallel to the

ground surface.

 Ground water flow: slow horizontal movement of water through

rock.

 Evaporation: water from oceans, seas and other water bodies is

changed from water droplets to water vapour (invisible gas) in the

atmosphere due to heat.

 Transpiration: evaporation or diffusion of water from plant leaves.

 Condensation: water vapour converted back into liquid (water

droplets) or solid (particles of ice) due to a decrease in temperature

with increasing height by air currents, e.g. clouds.

Water Supply
 Surface water: water in lakes, rivers and swamps.
 Ground water: water in the soil, and in rocks under the surface of

the ground.

 Aquifers: water stored in porous rocks under the ground.

 Alternating layers of permeable and impermeable rocks trap the

water in permeable rock;

 Folded layers of rock so water accumulates the most in the down fold;

 Permeable rocks outcropping on the surface receive new supplies of

rainwater;

 Water is stored in the limestone and sandstone (porous) rocks below

the water table;

  Mechanical pumps, or human labour are used to raise water to the

surface.

Artesian aquifer: an aquifer in which the water is under pressure.

 Water from a well sunk into an artesian aquifer will rise to the surface

without the need for a pump.

 Potable: safe to drink.

 Reservoirs: an artificial lake used as a source of water supply,

usually created behind a dam or by the side of a river (bank-side

reservoir).

 Service reservoir: a reservoir where potable water is stored e.g.

Water tower and Cistern.

 Wells: a hole bored or dug into rock to reach the water stored in

them.
 Rivers: a large, natural stream of water flowing in a channel to the

sea, a lake, or another river.

 They provide surface transfers of water to low-land areas where

farms, villages, towns and cities are concentrated.

 Desalination: removal of salt from seawater by:

 Distillation: water is boiled and released as vapour, leaving salt

behind.

o The vapour is then condensed as liquid water and can be used.

o 10-30% efficient and uses a lot of energy.

o Provision of energy and salt water (brine) is a source of

pollution.
  Reverse osmosis: pumping water at high pressure through a fine

membrane.

 30-50% efficient and requires lesser energy than distillation.

Water Usage
Domestic

 At home for drinking and cooking (3% of domestic water)

 MEDCs

o Washing and flushing the toilet (50%)

 o Washing clothes (20%)

o Gardening

o Washing cars

o Lost in leaks.

Industrial

 In factories for:

 Cooling;

 Mixing and making products such as dyes and paints;

 Bottling and canning in food and drink industries;

 Power generation.

Agricultural

 Mainly for irrigation (plants need water for transporting minerals, for

photosynthesis, and for the prevention of wilting);

 For domestic animals.

Water Quality and Availability

 Water-rich countries: countries with plentiful fresh water supplies:

 Some are large countries with plenty of land for rain to fall on e.g.

Russia, Canada, China, and some with the world’s greatest rivers

flowing through them e.g. Amazon, Yangtze, Mississippi.

 However, big areas do not ensure water availability e.g. Australia,

Argentina, Sudan, due to containing substantial areas of desert within

its borders.

 Water-poor countries: countries with scarce fresh water supplies:

 Dominated by desert countries.

  Except Singapore and Mauritius since they receive high precipitation

totals, but are tiny island states that have only small areas for rain to

fall on.

 Water conflict: conflict between countries, states, or groups over an

access to water resources.

 Physical water scarcity: not enough water to meet both human

demands and those of ecosystems to function effectively.

 Arid regions frequently suffer from physical water scarcity.

 It also occurs where water seems abundant, but resources are over-

committed.

 Economic water scarcity: caused by a lack of investment in water

infrastructure or insufficient human capacity to satisfy the demand of

water in areas where the population cannot afford to use an adequate

source of water.

 Unlike Rural areas, Urban areas have higher access to safe

drinking water because:

 Cities are more wealthy places with factories and offices;

 On average, people’s incomes are higher;

 Easier to put pressure on the politicians or leaders to make

improvements;

 Wealthy people are more likely to live in cities;

 Water pipes are easier and cheaper to build when a lot of people live

close together.

Multipurpose Dam Projects

 Example: the Ramganga Dam, Uttarakhand, India.
Choice of site:

 High precipitation to provide sufficient water;

 Low temperature to prevent evaporation;

 Built on strong impermeable rock so water doesn’t drain and has a

good foundation;

 Built high up in order to have good potential for hydro-electric power;

 Narrow, steep sided valley for economic reasons;

 Rivers and lakes nearby to provide water;

 Away from developed areas to reduce the risk of pollution in

reservoirs;

 Easily accessible;

Advantages Disadvantages
Generation of electricity in hydro-electric
Relocating people;
power plants;
Flood control; Flooding land;
Disrupting the life cycles of fish and other
Irrigation
aquatic organisms
Creates recreational land for tourism and Dam may become redundant due to
leisure sediment build up
Provision of water Very expensive to build
Creation of habitat for wetland species Requires maintenance
Access by boat to otherwise inaccessible Reduces jobs for farmers if natural fisheries
areas are affected
Altering water supply for people downstream
Renewable source of energy
the dam
Reducing soil enrichment downstream of the
Doesn’t produce greenhouse gases
dam
Reduces fossil fuel consumption
Creates more jobs
 Maximises water storage capacity.
  Sustainability of dams:

o Alternative for burning of fossil fuels as no greenhouse gases

are produced.

 Unsustainability of dams:

o Reservoir can become silted due to material carried into it by

rivers;

o Dam structure under a lot of pressure can deteriorate and

eventually fail;

o Have negative effects on the environment and fish population.

Water Pollution and its Sources

 Sewage: waste matter that is rich in organic matter, thus microbial

organisms can thrive in it.

 It is usually disposed in water bodies, and thus has to be treated.

 Domestic waste: sewage from rural and urban settlements carry

many pathogenic micro-organisms, increasing the content of nitrates

and phosphates in rivers.

  Detergents, metals and other manufactured products contain traces

of toxic chemicals.

 Industrial processes: use of chemicals, the processing of metal

ores, and the leaching of metals from waste heaps and dumps cause

the presence of metals in rivers (e.g. manganese, mercury, copper).

 Gases from industrial chimneys enter the atmosphere, where they

dissolve in water and form acid rain.

 Agricultural practices: surpluses of phosphorous and nitrogen not

absorbed by the plants are washed from the land or percolate into the

ground water.

 On farms, animal manure, synthetic fertiliser, and chemical pesticides

are main sources.

 Agrochemicals: pesticides, herbicides and fertiliser.

Impact of Water Pollution

 Global inequalities in sewage and water treatment: developing

countries have difficulty treating water and sewage compared to

developed countries as people aren’t educated and can’t put pressure

on the government.

 Risk of infectious bacterial diseases, typhoid and

cholera: water-borne diseases are caused by drinking contaminated

water.

 Accumulation of toxic substances from industrial processes in

lakes and rivers: reduces oxygen in lakes and rivers, causing

reduction in photosynthesis and death of fish and insect larvae.

  Biomagnification of toxic substances in food chains: increases

concentration of a toxic substance (e.g. mercury and pesticides) in

the tissues of organisms at successively higher levels in a food chain,

causing illness.

 Bioaccumulation: accumulation of a toxic chemical in the tissue of a

particular organism.

 Formation of acid rain: burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil produce sulfur

dioxide (SO2) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) that are blown long distances and react with

water in the atmosphere.

 SO2 dissolves in water to form sulfuric acid, and NO x dissolves to form

nitric acid that fall in the form of rain.

 pH: measured by acidity or alkalinity.

o Ranges from very acidic, 1, to very alkaline, 14.

o 7 is neutral.

 The effect of acid rain on organisms in rivers and lakes:

 Lower pH makes the environment intolerable for aquatic life;

 Fish egg-laying is reduced, and young fish are malformed;

 Leaching of heavy metals such as aluminum, lead and mercury from

the soil into the water;

 Aluminum clogs fish gills and causes suffocation;

 Minerals essential for life, notably calcium and potassium, are washed

out of the lake or river, reducing algae growth and leaving less food

for fish and other animals.

 Nutrient enrichment leading to eutrophication:

 Increase in nutrients, such as nitrates and phosphates, in a water

body causes algae bloom (rapid growth of algae).

 Death of algae causes an increase in organic matter that acts as food

for bacteria as they decompose the dead algae.

  Bacteria use up oxygen, reducing oxygen content in the water and

causing the death of organisms.

Managing Pollution of Fresh Water

 Improve sanitation: separates human excreta from contact with

humans, achieved by toilets and latrines. Waste can be removed

by:

 Connection to a system of sewer pipes or sewerage, that collects

human faeces, urine and waste water.

 Connection to a septic system, which consists of an underground,

sealed settling tank.

 Flush toilet: uses a holding tank for flushing water, and a water seal

that prevents smells.

 Pour toilet: has a water seal but uses water poured by hand for

flushing.

 Pit latrine: type of toilet that collects human faeces in a hole in the

ground that is sometimes ventilated to take away smells.

 Composting toilet: dry toilet in which vegetable waste, straw, grass,

sawdust, and ash are added to the human waste to produce compost.

 Treatment of sewage: aims to reduce the Biological Oxygen

Demand (BOD) of the sewage.

 Sewage outfall: waste water from homes and industries is taken to

a sewage treatment plant in sewers.

 Screening tank: large objects are removed from the waste using a

coarse grid.
 Primary treatment, first settling tank: solid organic matter,

mainly human waste, settles at the bottom of the tank (sludge), which

is treated in a sludge-digester.

o Clean water then overflows the sides of the tank and is taken to

the next stage.

 Secondary treatment, oxidation: water is pumped into a tank

where oxygen is bubbled through it.

o This encourages the growth of bacteria and other microbes that

break down organic matter, which cause BOD.

 Secondary treatment, second settling tank: water enters, where

bacteria settle to the bottom, forming more sludge.

o This cleaner water overflows the sides of the tank as effluent,

usually discharged into a river.

 Sludge digester: oxygen-free conditions are created that encourage

the growth of bacteria which can break down the sludge, releasing

methane, that can be burnt.

o Treated sludge can be dried in sludge lagoons and used as

organic fertiliser on farmland.

 Tertiary treatment: further filtering out of its effluent or its

chlorination which produces even cleaner effluent that protects the

habitat in which it is released.

 Water treatment: Water is made potable by undergoing coagulation treatment, being

filtered and disinfected.

 Coagulation: Particles in the water are stuck together and settle to

the bottom of the container.

 Water is then filtered through sand.

 Chlorination: to kill remaining pathogens, chlorine is added as a

disinfectant.

 Pollution control and legislation: puts pressure on polluters to find

ways to reduce pollutants.

 Industries are required to monitor the pollution they cause and keep it

within set level.

 Bi-national Great lakes water quality agreement (GLWQA): a

loading limit of phosphorus was set at 11000 metric tonnes year -1 (per
 year) in response to eutrophication issues in the Great Lakes of USA

and Canada.

 Fines for exceeding set limits.

 Companies may be prosecuted and in extreme cases, forced to shut

down.

 Companies may need government agreement on strategic plans to

reduce pollution levels.

 Incentives may be used to encourage companies to take part, such as

grants or tax relief, for those that do achieve a reduction in pollution.

Managing Water-Related Disease

 Water-borne disease: spread by consuming contaminated water

due to poor sanitation and untreated sewage, or by washing food,

pots and pans, or hands and face in dirty water.

 Examples: cholera and typhoid.

 Cholera: intestinal infection that causes severe diarrhoea that may

lead to dehydration and eventually death.

 Causes: poor sanitation, contamination of water and food, disruption

of piped water supplies after a natural disaster occurrence.

 Water-bred disease: the carrier breeds in water and spreads the

disease by biting its victims.

 Example: malaria.

 Malaria: a life-threatening disease which is transmitted through the

bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito (vector) that carries the

Plasmodium parasite. Once bitten, the parasite reaches your

bloodstream.
  Symptoms: high temperature and fever, diarrhoea, dehydration and

feeling weak.

 Life cycle of the malaria parasite:

 Strategies to control malaria:

o Sleeping under mosquito nets and using antimalarial drugs in

and around homes;

o Draining marshes and stagnant pools to eliminate breeding

grounds;

o Put kerosene over the tops of pools to choke the larvae;

o Spray antimalarial drugs on stagnant areas of water to kill the

larvae;

o Use vaccinations;
 o Educate people on the risks of malaria by setting up campaigns

and programmes.

 Strategies to control cholera:

o Ensure that sewage and drinking water are kept separate;

o Sewage removed directly into a treatment works;

o Water being treated before it’s delivered into homes;

o Do not use contaminated water to wash food;

o Hands should be washed after contact with any faecal material;

o Boiling water and chlorination