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The Water Resource Management

Freshwater resources are essential for all life but are under threat from pollution and overuse. Only 3% of the world's water is freshwater, yet human activities are reducing its availability through pollution, diverting water from natural systems, and overdrawing aquifers and surface waters faster than they can replenish. Managing water sustainably will require improved agricultural practices like drip irrigation, water conservation in cities through infrastructure upgrades and education, and reducing point and nonpoint sources of pollution through prevention, regulation, and incentives.

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Jehnylete Dacalos
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53 views31 pages

The Water Resource Management

Freshwater resources are essential for all life but are under threat from pollution and overuse. Only 3% of the world's water is freshwater, yet human activities are reducing its availability through pollution, diverting water from natural systems, and overdrawing aquifers and surface waters faster than they can replenish. Managing water sustainably will require improved agricultural practices like drip irrigation, water conservation in cities through infrastructure upgrades and education, and reducing point and nonpoint sources of pollution through prevention, regulation, and incentives.

Uploaded by

Jehnylete Dacalos
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Freshwater Resources and

Water Pollution
Properties of Water

 Molecules of water: H2O


– 2 Hydrogen atoms
– 1 Oxygen atom
 Polar molecule
– One end slightly positive
– One end slightly negative
Properties of Water
 Hydrogen bonds that result from water’s
polarity responsible for many of water’s
properties
– High heat capacity
(Moderates climate)
– Universal solvent
The Importance of Water
 All living things need
water
 Composes majority of
the body of organisms
 Habitat for many
organisms
 Helps regulate climate
 Shapes earth’s surface
 Dilutes & degrades
wastes
Water on Earth
 About 97% Earth’s water is salty–less than 1%
of the planet’s water is available fresh H2O

 Fresh water is distributed unevenly


 2025: 1/3 human population will live in areas
lacking fresh water
Water, water, everywhere?
(NOT)
 Comparison of
population sizes and
shares of the world’s
freshwater among the
continents. (Only 7
countries account for
60% of global water
availability)
Water Wars

 Many countries in the


Middle East, which
has one of the world’s
highest population
growth rates, face
water shortages.
Water wars cont…

 Most water in this dry region comes


from the Nile, Jordan or Tigris rivers.
 Countries are in disagreement as to who
has water rights.
 Currently, there are no cooperative
agreements for use of 158 of the
world’s 263 water basins that are
shared by two or more countries.
The Hydrologic
Cycle
Surface Water

 Streams, rivers, lakes, ponds,


reservoirs, wetlands
 Runoff replenishes surface water
 Watershed
 Area of land drained by a single river

 What watershed do we live in?


Groundwater
 Supply of fresh water found under
Earth’s surface--recharged when water
at surface infiltrates into the ground
 Stored in under
ground aquifers
 Discharged into
rivers, springs,
etc…
Infiltration - Process of water percolating
through the soil and into cracks and
permeable rocks.
Zone of Aeration -
Upper soil layers
that hold both air
and water.
Zone of Saturation
Lower soil layers
where all spaces are
filled with water.
Water Table -
Top of zone of
saturation
Precipitation Unconfined Aquifer Recharge Area
Flowing Evaporation and transpiration
Confined artesian well
Recharge Area Evaporation

Infiltration Runoff

Well requiring a pump

Unconfined aquifer
Water table

Less permeable material Confined aquifer


such as clay
Confining permeable rock layer

• Recharge Zone - Area where water infiltrates


into an aquifer.
-Recharge rate is often very slow.
-Presently, groundwater is being removed
faster than it can be replenished.
 Aquifers - Porous layers of sand, gravel,
or rock lying below the water table.
Water Resource Problems
 Too much water
 Too little water
 Poor-quality water
Changes in Surface Runoff
 Prior to 1970 about 10%
of stormwater became
runoff
 Now 55% of stormwater
is transported as runoff
as development exceeds
75% of the permeable
soil area
Stormwater Runoff
(greatest contributor to nonpoint
source pollution) contains:
 Nutrients*
 Metals*
 Suspended solids*
 Pesticides
 Hydrocarbons
 Microorganisms

*Present in nearly 100% of stormwater


samples
Too Much Water
 Heavy rainfall, rapid snowmelt, removal of
vegetation, and destruction of wetlands cause
flooding.
 Floodplains, which usually include highly
productive wetlands, help provide natural
flood and erosion control, maintain high water
quality, and recharge groundwater.
 To minimize floods, rivers have been narrowed
with levees and walls, and dammed to store
water.
Human activities have contributed to flood
deaths and damages
Too Little Water
 Arid & semiarid lands (growing in
extent -- desertification)
 Irrigation required to produce food
 Greatest use of
water (71%)
Aquifer Depletion
 Removing groundwater faster than it is
replenished
 Lowers water table
 Land subsidence
 Saltwater intrusion
 Salt water seeps into
fresh water
 Occurring in

South Florida
Overdrawing Surface Waters
 Damaging to ecosystems
 Wetlands dry up (Everglades)
 Estuaries become too salty (FL Bay)
 Worldwide, the demand for water is growing
as the human population and indvidual
consumption continue to grow exponentially
 Water wars

Arial Sea
Water Management

 Goal: sustainable supply of high quality


water
 How do we supply water?
 Building dams (ex: Columbia River)

 Diversion (ex: Colorado River)

 Desalination (ex: FL Keys) - very


expensive to build & operate plants
Water Conservation: Agriculture
 Single largest user of water worldwide
 Much lost to evaporation or seepage
 Solution: drip irrigation
 Perforated pipes distribute water

 Goes straight to plants

 Reduces water use


40-60%
Water Conservation: Municipal
 Solutions:
 Use gray water

 Education: modify habits

 Water-saving fixtures

& Appliances
 Repair leaks

 Cisterns & rain barrels

 Water gardens
Water Pollution
 Physical or chemical change in water
that adversely affects the health of
humans or other organisms
 Global problem
Eutrophication
 Build up of nutrients in a body of water
 Naturally occurs slowly
 Humans cause imbalances
by creating pulses of
nutrients due to over-
fertilizing crops & lawns
and raising animals in
confined areas

Nutrients include nitrogen and phosphorus-containing


compounds that are essential to life in small quantities
but harmful in excess.
Sources of Water Pollution
Point source: specific spot

Nonpoint source
 Enters over a large area

 Runoff (agriculture or,


urban lawns) or
atmospheric deposition
Groundwater Pollution Sources
Controlling Water Pollution
1. Source Reduction (Pollution Prevention)
 Cheapest and most effective way to
reduce pollution is to avoid producing
it or releasing it into the environment.
 Design products that do not pollute

 Soil Conservation

2.Ban release of pollutants


3.Reward purchasing environmentally
preferable products (e.g. rebates)
The End

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