Water Use and Management
Water- essential for all living processes: dissolves nutrients
and distributes them to cells, regulates body temperature, supports
structures, and removes waste products; 60% of our _______ is water
and 70% of the world's ________ is covered in it.
Hydrologic Cycle
The hydrologic cycle- the circulation of water as it ____________
from land, water, and plants, enters the atmosphere, ___________ and precipitates to the earth's surfaces. It then moves underground
by _____________ or overland by runoff into rivers lakes and seas:
Allows for a fresh supply of water, maintains a habitable climate
and moderates world temperatures. Plants help add water vapor
to the air through ___________.
- Saturation point= when a volume of air contains the most water
vapor it can at a given temperature
- Condensation= when saturation point is exceeded and water molecules
begin to aggregate
- _______ point= the temperature at which condensation (dew!) occurs
- Cloud= accumulation of condensed water vapor in droplets or ice
crystals
- Run off is increased with _______, deforestation, and ________ development
Major Water Compartments
Water Reservoir- A place where water is stored for some period of time. Fresh and salt.
Salt Water
A. Oceans-
- _______ make up 86% of evaporation, 90% water returns directly to the
ocean through rain: the other ten percent is carried onto the continents- once
there some is incorporated into plants and animals, the rest seeps
into the underground but all eventually returns to the ______.
- Oceans= contain 90% of all bio mass and ______% of all the liquid
in the world.
- Salinity is measured in parts per ___________ (ppt). Ocean is roughly 35 ppt.
- ____________ time= that length of time an individual molecule spends
circulating in the ocean before evaporation, on average its ________
years
Ocean Circulation of Water
- The "ocean conveyer belt" roughly follows prevailing wind patterns.
- Differences in water temperature, density and _________ also cause circulation. Gyres cause the warm temperatures from the equator to redistribute to the poles. Ex. Gulf stream
- Its moderate the global temperature- warm water
flows from tropics to poles and vice versa
FRESh Water
B. Glaciers, Ice and Snow
- Glaciers hold almost ______% of the earth's freshwater. These frozen
rivers slowly move downhill.
- Antarctic glaciers contain 85% of
all the ice in the world. However unless the glaciers _____ the water is hard to access for our use!
C. Groundwater- water beneath the surface fills spaces, cracks and pores.
- Ground water= holds the second largest amount of ______ water
- Soil porosity- amount of open space in the soil. Soil permeability- the ______ that water moves through the soil (infiltration).
- Zone of ____________= upper soil layers that hold both air and water,
moisture for plant growth comes from here. The depth varies.
- Zone of _____________= lower levels where all soil air spaces are
filled with water. The top of the zone is called the ________ table
and it is neither flat nor stationary.
- Aquifers: _________ layers
of sand etc. below water table. ex. Ogallala Aquifer
- Confined aquifers: aquifers that lay beneath ____________ matter such as clay and shale. Water under pressure can rise up ABOVE the aquifer.
D. Rivers, Lakes
- Topography that dips ________ the water table can result in rivers, lakes or swamps
Water Consumption
- Amount of water withdrawn or lost due to human use. Some of the major water scarce countries are Egypt, Kenya, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Netherlands, Morocco and Sudan.
Domestic
- :0) Our biggest domestic water use is _______ flushing!! eeeew.
- In America we use about 13,000 gallons of drinking quality water annually
to flush toilets.
- Other major water issues include building and construction sites that pollute water due to loose sediment run off, septic systems, landfills and ____________.
Agricultural
- Agricultural water use is huge and too many farmers irrigate wastefully. Pesticides and ___________ poison water downstream.
Industrial
- Industrial water use may produce wastewater with hazardous chemicals.
WATER MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION
- Goal: prevent _______ damage and store water for future use instead
of building dams and reservoirs.
- Conserving wetlands and forests help preserve natural water storage capacities
and aquifer recharge zones.
- Watershed- also known as a "catchment" or drainage basin is all the
land drained by a stream or river.
- The __________ is the boundary between two watersheds. Retaining ____________ in watersheds help hold back rainwater and decrease downstream
floods.
Droughts used to occur in the US on a thirty year cycle on average. Now all bets are off.
DOMESTIC CONSERVATION
How can we help stop water shortages?
- Take shorter ________!! Stop leaks!! Efficiently wash your cars,
dishes, and clothes!!! What about appliances? Use _____-volume showerheads, water saving
toliets and efficient dishwashers and washing machines!!
- If you plant
native ground cover in a "natural lawn" or make a rock
garden, landscape in harmony with the surrounding environment-
xeriscaping (choosing plants that require little _________) can
be great instead of constantly watering and feeding a dry, arid
garden.***
- Wastewater can be treated and reclaimed for ___________ and toilet flushing.
- Some homes are set up to recycle their dishwater and shower water (called _______ water) for toilets.
Agricultural water CONSERVATION
- In 3rd world countries _______% of all the agricultural water used
is lost to leaks in irrigation canals, application to areas where
plants don't grow, runoff, and evaporation.
- Farmers have been starting
to use new farming techniques such as leaving crop residue
on fields and ground cover on drainage ways, using _________, and
lining irrigation canals in order to reduce water losses.
- Drip _________= AWESOME! It applies water ________ to plant
________, but its very expensive. Used on only 1% of farmland worldwide.
- Desalinization of water is _____________ .
industrial water CONSERVATION
PRICE MECHANISMS AND WATER POLICY
- In the past, water policies have been against conservation.
- Some
parts of the US were based on riparian use rights= people who
lived near a ________ could use as much as they wanted as long as
they didn't taint its quality or the limit others who wanted to
access to the water down stream.
- In many places, like ________, water
used to be very cheap.
- People didn't have any incentive to repair
leaks, or restrict usage.
- The _________ of 1988 changed all of these
practices...
- The US is currently saving 38 million gallons a day compared
to per capita rates 20 yrs ago.
- However, we have 10% less water
because of the growing population!
- The solution: Charging higher proportion of ________ to users of public water
projects~~~> encourages conservation!
|