Water and its Management

MRS. RANDA
The Distribution of Water on Earth
• Although more than 75% of the Earth’s surface is
covered in water. Only 3% of this water is fresh and
potentially usable by humans. This is about 42 million
km3 of fresh water. However, much of this water is
locked up in the polar ice caps or glaciers. In fact, less
than 1% of the Earth’s fresh water is readily available
for people to use

MRS. RANDA
• Oceans cover 71% of the Earth’d surface.
• Oceans and seas contain 97% of all the Earth’s water.
• Only 3% of water on Earth is fresh water
• Nearly two thirds (65%) of this 3% fresh-water is in the deep freeze in the ice sheets.
• Half of the available fresh water is found in just six countries: Brazil, Russia, Canada, Indonesia,
China, and Colombia, in addition, much of it is not suitable for drinking, so there are many
challenges to providing people with enough clean, safe water.
• Worldwide, women suffer the burden of collecting water, which can take them up to six hours a
day. Women walk an average of 6 min Africa and Asia to collect water.
• A study in Tanzania showed that reducing the time for collecting water by 15 min increased
girls’ school attendance by 12%. Collecting water can deny women time for a significant
education from an early age.
4.2 The Water Cycle
• Key Terms:
• 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 be 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
vapor (invisible gas) in the atmosphere due to heat.
• Transpiration: Evaporation or diffusion of water from plant leaves.
• Condensation: Water vapor converted back into liquid (water droplets) or solid
(particles of ice) due to a decrease in temperature with increasing hight by air
currents, e.g. clouds
• Water exists in different forms and is found in many places. With the warmth of the sun on the
lake, water may evaporate and become vapor. This vapor can then rise into the sky, condense
and form clouds. Under certain circumstances, the water in these clouds will fall as a rain or
snow called precipitation. It may then enter the soil and be taken up by the roots of plants, to be
transported up the plant in the transpiration stream. This movement is driven by the loss of
water from the plant in the process called of transpiration.
• Other possibilities are that it will follow along the ground is a process called surface run-off, be
trapped by the leaves of plants, a process called interception or enter the ground by infiltration
and then become part of groundwater flow (if it flows through rocks) or through flow (if it flows
through soil)
4.3 Why Humans Need Water
• Humans need water for domestic, industrial and agricultural Purposes.

• Domestic:
• At home for drinking and cooking (3% of domestic water).
• In MEDCs:
• 50% of domestic water is used for washing and flushing toilets.
• 20% for washing clothes.( much less domestic water is used for washing, flushing toilets and
laundry in LEDCs
• Gardening.
• Washing cars.
• 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.
• another use of water relies on the fact that a wide range of substances is soluble in it. Water is often
described as a universal solvent.

Agricultural
• Mainly for irrigation (plants need water for transporting minerals, for photosynthesis, and for the
prevention of wilting).
• For domestic animals
4.4 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.
• 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
• Reservoir: 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.
• Water from the sea:
• 1- Desalination: Removal of salt from seawater by distillation, water is boiled and released as vapor, leaving salt behind.
• The water is then condensed as liquid water and can be used.
• Desalination is by distillation is about 10-30% efficient and uses a lot of energy and produces large quantities of waste.
• Provision of energy and salt water (brine) is a source of pollution.
• Distillation plants using this method are mainly found in energy-rich countries, such as those of Middle East.
• 2- Reverse Osmosis: Pumping water at high pressure through a fine membrane.
• Desalination by reverse osmosis is about 30-50% efficient. As with distillation, brine is a
byproduct of reverse osmosis and requires disposal. This process also requires energy, but less
than distillation.
• Most new desalination plants use the technique of reverse osmosis.
4.5: Availability of Safe Drinking Water Around the World
• The most important factor when considering a country’s water wealth is the amount of rain it
receives. Using this measure, for example, Brazil and Russia are two of the most water wealthy
nations, and the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait are the two of the most water poor.
• However having plenty of water does not mean that there is plenty of aye water for everyone .
The number of people needing water has to be considered. In China, which has the largest
population in the world at over 1.3 billion, the water availability is about 2800 km3 ( about 2300
m3) per 1 person per year.
• In Singapore, which has only 0.60 km3 of water available, the supply is only about 110 m3 per
person per year. In these two example, a water rich country seems to have enough water for its
people, and vice versa.
• Physical Water scarcity:
• The lack of water may be because of low rainfall and/or high levels of evaporations.
• The water is not enough to meet both human demands and those of echo system 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:
• When a country may have a lot of water but cannot afford to extract it, purify it and make it available for
the population. 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.
• There are many ways of ensuring that water is potable but all of them involve two main principles:
• 1- Sanitation system, which ensure that dirty water does not mix with water intended for human use.
• 2- Water treatment processes, which ensure that the water supplied to people is safe to drink.
• Worldwide, however, sanitation and clean water are not available to everyone. In 2000, the United
Nations said that its aim was to halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable
access o safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Since then 2.1 billion people have gained access to
improved sanitation. Still 2.4 billion are still using unimproved sanitation facilities. 946 million of these
still practice open defecation. A child dies every 2.5 min from diseases linked to open defecation.
• Unlike ruler areas, urban areas have higher access to safe drinking water due to certain factors:

1.In the ci es people’s average income is higher

2.Wealthy people are more likely to live in ci es

3.It is easier to put pressure on the poli cians/ leaders to make improvements

4.Water pipes are cheaper and easier to build when a lot of people live close together.
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4.6: Multipurpose Dam Projects

• A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of water or underground streams.
Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for
activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, agriculture and
navigability.
• Hydropower is often used in conjunction with dams to generate electricity. A dam can
also be used to collect water or for storage of water which can be evenly distributed
between locations. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water,
while other structures such as floodgates or levees also known as dikes are used to
manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions.
 Where to build a dam?
A lot of factors have to be taken into account before building a dam. It has to be in a river valley for
economic purposes and valley has to be narrow to cut costs. It also has to be high up in a valley especially
for hydro power genera on to create more energy to turn the turbines. Dams should also be sited away
from ci es and developed area to reduce risks of pollu on to the reservoir.
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 Advantages of building dams Disadvantages of building dams
reduces consumption of fossil fuels for Dirt can build up at dams, decreasing their
electricity production effectiveness
Reduces production of greenhouse gases Large scale wildlife habitat distraction due to
such as CO2 river valley flooding
Reduces production of pollution such as Interferes with wildlife migration pattern such as
particulate matter salmon
Dams construction forces people to leave their
Can prevent uncontrolled flooding
homes if they live in or near the flooded river
valley
Provides water for irrigation Very expensive to build
Creats area for certain types of recreation, Reduces areas for certain types of recreation,
such as boating and fishing such as fishing, camping, hunting and hiking
Interferes with natural flow of water through
Renewable energy source
environment
If natural fisheries are affected, harms the
Create more jobs
livelihood of people who relies on those fisheries
to make
Requires a living
maintenance
Can fall catastrophically
Purpose of large dams
4.7: Water Related Diseases
•Many illnesses, contaminants, and injuries can be water, sanita on, or hygiene-related.

•There are three main types of environmental diseases related to water.

•WATER BASED
• They are caused by aqua c organisms that spend part of their life cycle in the water and another part as parasite of
animals. The carrier lives in water. Bilharzia, carried by water snails, is one example. Another is Guinea worm; the
worm infec on is caught by people drinking water contaminated with ny water eas carrying Guinea worm larvae.

•Causes of water water-based diseases.:

•Stagnant water behind dams and water channels is ideal for snails .
•Lack of proper sanita on and clean water supply.
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 Bilharzia
The bilharzia snail lives in s ll, shallow water in tropical lands. Larvae grow and mul ply inside the
snail; worms emerge a er three to seven weeks. they enter human bodies usually through the soles
of people's feet; therefore people working in elds, are most at risk. The worms grow to maturity
and mate in the human body, usually in the kidney or bladder. Humans release the eggs back into
water through their urine and faeces. Larvae hatch rapidly in water and must nd a snail to act as
host in order to survive, grow and mul ply. people su ering from bilharzia become weak and
anaemic; it leads to kidney and bladder infec ons. Although many die each year from it, many
su er from its debilita ng e ects, reducing their resistance to other diseases.
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People become infected when larval forms of the parasite – released by freshwater snails – penetrate the
skin during contact with infested water. Transmission occurs when people su ering from schistosomiasis
contaminate freshwater sources with their excreta containing parasite eggs, which hatch in water. One
can become infected if you come into contact with contaminated water – for example, when paddling,
swimming or washing – and the ny worms burrow into your skin. Once in your body, the worms move
through your blood to areas such as the liver and bowel. A er a few weeks, the worms start to lay eggs.
• These eggs pass through the walls of the bladder, or intestines or both. Eventually they leave the body
through urine or faeces. The cycle starts again. It is not possible to catch schistosomiasis from a person
who is infected
Approximately 3 to 8 weeks a er infec on, the person may experience:
• Fa gue/Fever and chills./Cough/Muscle aches/Weight loss/Enlargement of the liver and spleen,
diarrhea and abdominal pain
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Cholera
Cholera is an intes nal infec on that can cause severe diarrhea. which may lead to
dehydra on and eventually death. it is caught from the consump on of contaminated
water and food. It is an increasing problem in areas of poor sanita on in South
America, Africa the earthquakes and oods, when piped water supplies are o en
disrupted. It is caused by ea ng food or drinking water contaminated with a
bacterium called Vibrio cholera. Approximately one in 10 (5-10%) infected persons
will have severe disease characterized by profuse watery diarrhea, vomi ng, and leg
cramps. In these people, rapid loss of body uids leads to dehydra on and shock.
Treatment includes rehydra on and vaccina on. 172,454 cases reported in 2015 in 42
countries with 1304 deaths reported.
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Typhoid
This is caused by a pathogen (bacteria) called salmonella typhi or salmonella paratyphi which causes
a less severe infec on. It takes 6- 30 days before onset of symptoms. The symptoms include fever,
abdominal pain with a skin rash, diarrhea and vomi ng. 3- 5% of infected people remain as carriers
with no symptoms. If untreated it can be fatal (cause death).
Treatment includes use of an bio cs and a vaccine also exists. Occurrence in 2015 was around 21
million cases with about 161,000 deaths worldwide.
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Malaria
• Malaria a water bred disease in which the carrier breeds in water and spread diseases by
biting its victims The female anopheles mosquito is the vector (carrier) for malaria. Only
the females drink blood; the males are vegetarians. Mosquitoes breed in stagnant fresh
water in swamps, ponds, and lakes, which are plentiful in the wet season. The most likely
time for the female mosquito to bite and suck blood is at night. To transfer the disease,
the mosquito must bite a person whose blood already contains the malaria parasite
called plasmodium. When the next person is bitten, the mosquito injects her saliva into
the bloodstream and thousands of tiny parasites thread their way through the
bloodstream to the human liver. Here they multiply. After about a fortnight, the sufferer
begins to feel very feverish and very ill. The invaders continue to multiply until the victim
•
is cured by drug treatment, develops some sort of immunity, or dies.
Malaria is a debilita ng disease. Bouts of high fever keep coming back every 48-72 hrs. All the
vic m can do is lie down or sit around un l the fever passes its peak. people are le feeling very
weak, malaria stays with many people for the rest of their lives and they su er from periodic bouts
of fever.
Common symptoms of malaria include:
• shaking chills that can range from moderate to severe./high fever/profuse swea ng/headache/
nausea/vomi ng/abdominal pain.
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• Individuals can prevent being bitten by mosquitos by:
• Avoiding being outside between dusk and dawn in countries where malaria mosquitos are active, the
species of Anopheles mosquito that transmits malaria only flies at night.
• Wearing clothing that covers most of the body and treat exposed parts of the body with mosquito-
repellent products.
• Sleeping under mosquito net treated with an insecticide.
• Spraying the inside of accommodation with insecticide.
• For governments, strategies for malaria control are focused on controlling the vector, this can be achieved
by:
• Spraying insecticides inside buildings, including houses.
• Draining wetland area to remove mosquito-breeding sites.
• Introducing fish which eat larvae and pupae of the mosquito, into ponds and other bodies of water.
• Pouring oil onto the surface of the water where mosquitos breed, which stops the larvae from breathing
and stops the adults from laying eggs.
A comparison of typhoid and cholera
Cholera Typhoid

Salmonella typhi or Salmonella

Infective bacterium (pathogen) Vibrio cholera
paratyphi

Time before onset of symptoms after

A few hours up to 5 days 6-30 days
infection

Fever, abdominal pain with a skin rash.

Consequences Diarrhea and vomiting Diarrhea and vomiting are not
common
3-5%of infected people remain as
Can be mild but can lead to
Treatment carriers with no symptoms.
dehydration and death
If untreated, fatal complications rise
172545 cases were notified to WHO
Around 21 million a year with about
Occurrence in 2015 from 42 countries, including 1304
161000 deaths worldwide
deaths
IMPACT ON HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND DEVELOPMENT

Infants are the group most at risk from water related diseases. Since
their immunity is not built compared to children and adults. Over
25,000 children die from drinking contaminated water containing
bacteria and viruses.

4.8: Sources, impact and management of water pollution

• Causes of water pollution:

Human ac vi es have a great e ect on the quality of water especially ac vi es around a river.
• Water bodies e.g. lake, river, ocean and ground water get contaminated due to discharge of pollutants in
the water bodies without any treatment to remove harmful compounds.
• Water pollu on adversely a ects not only aqua c plants and animals but it also a ects human beings
and ecosystems.
• Sewage and Waste Water: Sewage, garbage and liquid waste of households, agricultural lands and
factories are discharged into lakes and rivers. These wastes contain harmful chemicals and toxins which
make the water poisonous for aqua c animals and plants.
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 Dumping: Dumping of solid wastes and li ers in water bodies causes huge problems. Li ers include
glass, plas c, aluminum etc. Di erent things take di erent amount of me to degrade in water. They
a ect aqua c plants and animals.
Industrial Waste: Industrial waste contains pollutants like asbestos, lead, mercury and petrochemicals
which are extremely harmful to both people and environment. Industrial waste is discharged into lakes and
rivers by using fresh water making the water contaminated. This leads to biomagni ca ons.
Oil Pollution: Sea water gets polluted due to oil spilled from ships and tankers while traveling. The spilled
oil does not dissolve in water and forms a thick sludge pollu ng the water.
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 • Acid rain:
• Sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) released into the air by fossil-fuel power plants, vehicles and oil refineries are
the biggest cause of acid rain today. Two thirds of sulfur dioxide and one fourth of nitrogen oxide found in the atmosphere
come from electric power generators.

• A chemical reac on happens when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides mix with water, oxygen and other chemicals in the air. They then
become sulfuric and nitric acids that mix with precipita on and fall to the ground. Precipita on is considered acidic when its pH level is
about 5.2 or below. The normal pH of rain is around 5.6.
•
E ects

• Acid rain a ects nearly everything. Plants, soil,

trees, buildings and even statues can be transformed by the precipita on.

• Acid rain has been found to be very hard on trees. It weakens them by washing away the protec ve lm on leaves, and it stunts
growth.

• Acid rain can also change the composi on of soil and bodies of water, making them uninhabitable for local animals and plants. For
example, healthy lakes have a pH of 6.5 or higher. As acid rain raises the level of acidity
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 sh tend to die o . Most sh species can't survive a water pH of below 5. When the pH becomes a 4, the
lake is considered dead.
It can addi onally deteriorate limestone and marble buildings and monuments, like gravestones.
• Solutions:
There are several solu ons to stopping manmade acid rain. Regula ng the emissions coming from vehicles
and buildings is an important step. This can be done by restric ng the use of fossil fuels and focusing on
more sustainable energy sources such as solar and wind power.
Also, each person can do their part by reducing their vehicle use. Using public transporta on, walking,
riding a bike or carpooling is a good start. People can also reduce their use of electricity, which is widely
created with fossil fuels, or switch to a solar plan. Many electricity companies o er solar packages to their
customers that require no installa on and low costs.
Global Warming:
Due to global warming, there is an increase in water temperature. This increase in temperature results in
death of aqua c plants and animals. This also results in bleaching of coral reefs in water.
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Eutrophication
• This is an increased level of nutrients in water bodies. This results in bloom of algae in
water. It also depletes the oxygen in water, which nega vely a ects sh and other
aqua c animal popula on. Increase in Algal Blooms. These blooms create massive sh
die-o s as the oxygen in the water gets depleted and the sh su ocate. Fish can also
be killed when excessive algae get caught in their gills.

• Agricultural waste: surpluses of phosphorus and nitrogen not absorbed by plants are
washed from land or percolate into ground water. Excessive use of fer lizers and
chemical pes cides manure from animals is also another cause.
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 • CONSEQUENCES OF WATER POLLUTION

Overall Ecological Risks

Water pollu on also causes nega ve e ects within the environment to animals and their habitats.
Ecological Dead zone:
The entrance of pollutants into waterways can have a wide range of impacts. It is possible for the pollutants to raise the
temperature of the water enough to force sh out in search of cooler waters. This can itself create an ecological dead zone.
Oil Spill Rami ca ons

•Oil spills are a common occurrence throughout the world; however major spills like the Exxon Valdez and the BP Deepwater
Horizon disaster have shown what water pollu on can do on a very large scale. It was found that dolphins have been dying in
record numbers near the site of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster. It has also been found that the oil from the BP disaster has
go en into wetlands, which are considered the nursery for nearly every creature that lives in the area.

•Groundwater contamina on from pes cides causes reproduc ve damage within wildlife in ecosystems.
Sewage, fer lizer, and agricultural run-o contain organic materials that when discharged into waters, increase the growth of
algae, which causes the deple on of oxygen. The low oxygen levels are not able to support most indigenous organisms in the area
and therefore upset the natural ecological balance in rivers and lakes.
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 • Swimming in and drinking contaminated water causes skin rashes and health problems like cancer,
reproduc ve problems, typhoid fever and stomach sickness in humans.

• Industrial chemicals and agricultural pes cides that end up in aqua c environments can accumulate in
sh that are later eaten by humans. Fish are easily poisoned with metals that are also later consumed by
humans. Mercury is par cularly poisonous to small children and women. Mercury has been found to
interfere with the development of the nervous system in fetuses and young children.

• Ecosystems are destroyed by the rising temperature in the water, as coral reefs are a ected by the
bleaching e ect due to warmer temperatures. Addi onally, the warm water forces indigenous water
species to seek cooler water in other areas, causing an ecological damaging shi of the a ected area.
• Human-produced li er of items such as plas c bags and 6-pack rings can get aqua c animals caught and
killed from su oca on.

• Water pollu on causes ooding due to the accumula on of solid waste and soil erosion in streams and
rivers.
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• Oil spills in the water causes animal to die when they ingest it or encounter it. Oil does not dissolve in water so it causes su oca on in sh and birds.

• Water borne diseases increase is another consequence.

• Sewage treatment process:

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Water treatment process
POLLUTION CONTROL AND LEGISLATION

Governments around the world have been tracking pollu on by legisla on. Industries in par cipa ng
countries are required to monitor the pollu on they cause and keep it within set levels. The legisla on put
pressure on polluters to nd ways to reduce pollutants. An example is the bi- na onal great lakes water
quality agreement (GLWQA) which was devised in 1972. A loading limit of phosphorus was set at 11 000
metric tonnes per year or 1 mg dm-3. This was in response to eutrophica on issues in the great lakes of
USA and Canada.
Such legisla on uses various tools to make sure companies follow the rules. There can be nes for
exceeding set limits, prosecu on and forced closure of companies in some cases. Companies may need
government agreement on strategic plans to reduce pollu on levels.
Incen ves can also be used to encourage companies to take part such as grants or tax relief for those that
do achieve a reduc on in pollu on.
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Class Work
• 1- Suggest a source of water for a poor country with very low rainfall.
• 2-Give the name of an underground water store which does not require a pump to extract the
water.
• 3- Give two reasons why a country with plentiful rainfall may still be considered to have
problems supplying enough safe water to its people.
• 4- Distinguish between economic and physical water scarcity.
• 5- Suggest three purposes of a multipurpose dam project.
•