Technological University of the Philippines

Ayala Blvd. Ermita, Manila

College of Engineering
Department of Civil Engineering

CE 519 5A
Water Resources Engineering

Assignment No. 1
Introduction to Water Resources Engineering

Fesalbon, Mayson R.
10-205-041
July 2, 2014

Engr. Arnolfo G. Arcibal

Instructor

ASSIGNMENT
NO. 1

A REVIEW ON HYDROLOGY: The Hydrologic Cycle

Water in our planet is available in the atmosphere, the oceans, on land and within the
soil and fractured rock on the earths energy. Moisture circulates from the earth into the
atmosphere through evaporation and then back into the earth as precipitation. In going
through this process, called the Hydrologic Cycle, water is conserved that is, is neither
created nor destroyed.

The Hydrologic Cycle, or simply water cycle is continuous process by which water is
transported from the oceans to the atmosphere to the land and back to the sea.
The sun's heat provides energy to evaporate water from the earth's surface (oceans,
lakes, etc.). Plants also lose water to the air - this is called transpiration. The water vapor
eventually condenses, forming tiny droplets in clouds. When the clouds meet cool air
over land, precipitation (rain, sleet, or snow) is triggered, and water returns to the land
(or sea). Some of the precipitation soaks into the ground. Some of the underground

water is trapped between rock or clay layers - this is called groundwater. But most of the
water flows downhill as runoff (above ground or underground), eventually returning to
the seas as slightly salty water.
Hydrologic cycle undergoes to different stages to complete the whole process namely
as evaporation, transport, condensation, precipitation, groundwater and runoff.

Evaporation
Water is transferred from the surface to the atmosphere through evaporation, the
process by which water changes from a liquid to a gas. The suns heat provides
energy to evaporate water from the earths surface. Land, lakes, rivers and oceans
send up a steady stream of water vapor and plants also lose water to the air
(transpiration). Approximately 80% of all evaporation is from the oceans, with the
remaining 20% coming from inland water and vegetation.
Transport
The movement of water through the atmosphere, specifically from over the
oceans to over land, is called transport. Some of the earths moisture transport is
visible as clouds, which themselves consist of ice crystals and/or tiny water
droplets. Clouds are propelled from one place to another by either the jet stream,
surface-based circulations like land and sea breezes or other mechanisms.
However, a typical cloud 1 km thick contains only enough water for a millimeter
of rainfall, whereas the amount of moisture in the atmosphere is usually 10-50
times greater than this. Most water is transported in the form of water vapor,
which is actually the third most abundant gas in the atmosphere. Water vapor
may be invisible to us, but not to satellites which are capable of collecting data
about moisture patterns in the atmosphere.
Condensation
The transported water vapor eventually condenses, forming tiny droplets.
Precipitation
The primary mechanism for transporting water from the atmosphere to the
surface of the earth is precipitation. When the clouds meet cool air over land,
precipitation in the form of rain, sleet or snow, is triggered and water returns to
the land or sea. The portion of atmospheric precipitation evaporates.
Groundwater

Some of the precipitation soaks into the ground and this is the main source of
the formation of the waters found on land - rivers, lakes, groundwater and
glaciers. Some of the underground water is trapped between rock or clay layers this is called groundwater. Water that infiltrates the soil flows downward until it
encounters impermeable rock and then travels laterally. The locations where
water moves laterally are called aquifers. Groundwater returns to the surface
through these aquifers, which empty into lakes, rivers and the oceans. Under
special circumstances, groundwater can even flow upward in artesian wells.
Run-off
Most of the water which returns to land flows downhill as run-off. Some of it
penetrates and charges groundwater while the rest, as river flow, returns to the
oceans where it evaporates. As the amount of groundwater increases or
decreases, the water table rises or falls accordingly. When the entire area below
the ground is saturated, flooding occurs because all subsequent precipitation is
forced to remain on the surface.
Different surfaces hold different amounts of water and absorb water at different
rates. As a surface becomes less permeable, an increasing amount of water
remains on the surface, creating a greater potential for flooding. Flooding is very
common during winter and early spring because frozen ground has no
permeability, causing most rainwater and meltwater to become run-off.

WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING: An Introduction

Water is one of the most important substances on earth. All plants, animals and us,
humans, must have water in order to survive. If there was no water, there would be no
life on earth. The need for the supply and distribution of clean and potable water has
become a problem as industrial revolution, use of technology, urban and rural
development and of course, a rapid increase of population continues. Water resources
engineering has its roots in the task of supplying water for human use, removing water
when humans are finished using it, and developing methods of avoiding damage from
excess water (floods).
Water Resources Engineering
focuses on the use and management of land and water resources
in rural and urban watersheds.

The discipline of water resources engineering is fundamental to Civil Engineering itself.

The vast majority of all Land Development improvements are dependent on the
identification and mitigation of storm water flows to protect lives, property and
infrastructure and prevent flood damage from storms. Water resources engineers
develop solutions that are environmentally sustainable and economically viable. Water
resources engineering combines the elements of other disciplines such as civil
engineering, environmental engineering, agriculture, planning and geography in a
unique combination ideally suited to address societys concerns and needs for
surrounding water.

WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Water resource management is the activity of planning, developing, distributing and
managing the optimum use of water resources. It is a sub-set of water cycle
management. Ideally, water resource management planning has regard to all the
competing demands for water and seeks to allocate water on an equitable basis to
satisfy all uses and demands. As with other resource management, this is rarely possible
in practice.
It has two major categories:
1. Use of Structural Measures
This includes dams, canals or treatment plants.

2. Use of Non-Structural Measures

This includes pricing, standards or permits, etc. to control natural and humanmade freshwater resources systems such as rivers, lakes, artificial reservoirs,
wetlands and groundwater for beneficial use.

WORLDS FRESHWATER RESOURCES

Water resources are sources of water that are useful or potentially useful. Uses of water
include agricultural, industrial, household,recreational and environmental activities. The
majority of human uses require fresh water.

97 percent of the water on the Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh
water; slightly over two thirds of this is frozen in glaciers and polar ice. The remaining
unfrozen freshwater is found mainly as groundwater, with only a small fraction present
above ground or in the air. Fresh water is a renewable resource, yet the world's supply
of groundwater is steadily decreasing, with depletion occurring most prominently in
Asia and North America, although it is still unclear how much natural renewal balances
this usage, and whether ecosystems are threatened. The framework for allocating water
resources to water users (where such a framework exists) is known as water rights.

Visualization depicting the worlds water resources

From the above visualization, water pollution has not yet taken into account. Pollution
from human activity including oil spills, also presents a problem for freshwater
resources. Fresh and unpolluted water accounts for 0.003% for total water available
globally. A rough estimate of about 10 million km3 water is to be shared by about 7
billion people in the world. Enough numerical figures to make your head scratch.

The following categories strongly affect the supply of water in the world:
Agriculture
Changing landscape for the use of agriculture has a great effect on the flow of
fresh water. Changes in landscape by the removal of trees and soils changes the
flow of fresh water in the local environment and also affects the cycle of fresh
water. As a result more fresh water is stored in the soil which benefits agriculture.
However, since agriculture is the human activity that consumes the most fresh
water, this can put a severe strain on local freshwater resources resulting in the

destruction of local ecosystems. In Australia, over-abstraction of fresh water for

intensive irrigation activities has caused 33% of the land area to be at risk of
salination. With regards to agriculture, the World Bank targets food production
and water management as an increasingly global issue that will foster debate.
Limited Resource
Fresh water is a renewable and variable, but finite natural resource. Fresh water
can only be replenished through the process of the water cycle, in which water
from seas, lakes, forests, land, rivers, and reservoirs evaporates, forms clouds, and
returns as precipitation. Locally however, if more fresh water is consumed
through human activities than is naturally restored, this may result in reduced
fresh water availability from surface and underground sources and can cause
serious damage to surrounding and associated environments.
Freshwater Withdrawal
Fresh water withdrawal is the quantity of water removed from available sources
for use in any purpose, excluding evaporation losses. Water drawn off is not
necessarily entirely consumed and some portion may be returned for further use
downstream.

FUTURE OF WATER RESOURCES

Water is critical to future growth. But it can also become the major limiting factor to
growth. For instance, businesses in water-scarce areas are already at risk, and
so investors are increasingly taking water supply into consideration during their
decision-making processes.
Given todays approach to water management, there is only so much growth that can be
sustained. Gains in efficiency and productivity in water management and utilization can
reduce these risks and enable higher levels of sustainable growth, but how much higher?
How far-reaching do those gains have to be? And can we make a difference in a timely
enough manner by understanding that the path for sustainable growth requires more
than green solutions but also requires blue ones?
The answers lie in examining current demand and supply pressures and looking at
trends within each. Demand pressures include population growth and an increase in
water-intensive diets as a portion of the population moves into increasingly higher
water-consumption behaviors. Demand pressures also include growing urban, domestic
and industrial water usage. Climate change plays a role by creating additional water

demand for agriculture and for reservoir replenishment. On the supply side, issues such
as water transport, availability and variability present challenges, as does the decline in
renewable water resources.
In nearly every one of these categories, trends are moving in the exact opposite
direction necessary to sustain future growth. Taken together, these trends create water
stress. And the resulting ecosystem pressures along with economic and political conflict
only exacerbate that stress.
Today, many regions of the world are already water stressed due to population and
economic growth. In fact, 2.5 billion people (36% of the world population) live in these
regions and more than 20% of the global GDP is already produced in risky, water-scarce
areas affecting production, as well as corporate reputations when competition over
water usages develops.
Given todays accelerated pace of human development and the slow pace of managing
issues as complex as water resources, tomorrows challenges are already at our door.
Whether improving our governance models or our infrastructure systems, years and
even decades (not weeks or months) are required to implement change!
This is especially troubling when considering analysis by the International Food Policy
Research Institute (IFPRI), which found that 4.8 billion people more than half the
worlds population and approximately half of global grain production will be at risk
due to water stress by 2050 if status quo, business-as-usual behavior is followed.

The IFPRI study also found that 45% of total GDP ($63 trillion) will be at risk due to
water stress by 2050. Thats 1.5 times the size of todays entire global economy!

By wasting less, polluting less, reusing more, managing effectively and becoming more
efficient in all uses of water individual, collective, agricultural and industrial we can
achieve higher water productivity levels (economic output per drop) and reduce water
stress. Continued evolution of technology and infrastructure improvements will enhance
water supply capacity for cities and industries while helping deliver clean drinking water
and sanitation services to rural populations and the urban poor.
In so doing, more than 1 billion people and about $17 trillion in GDP will no longer be at
risk of unsustainable water supplies by 2050.
Only by changing todays approach to future water management and water productivity
(economic output per drop) can we ensure a prosperous future. This path one that is
Sustainable and Blue will help ensure a better world for todays generation.

PURPOSE OF WATER USE

Agricultural
It is estimated that 70% of worldwide water use is for irrigation, with 15-35% of
irrigation withdrawals being unsustainable. It takes around 2,000 - 3,000 litres of
water to produce enough food to satisfy one person's daily dietary need. This is a
considerable amount, when compared to that required for drinking, which is
between two and five litres. To produce food for the now over 7 billion people
who inhabit the planet today requires the water that would fill a canal ten metres
deep, 100 metres wide and 2100 kilometres long.
Industrial
It is estimated that 22% of worldwide water is used in industry. Major industrial
users include hydroelectric dams, thermoelectric, which use water for cooling, ore
and oil refineries, which use water in chemical processes, and manufacturing
plants, which use water as a solvent. Water withdrawal can be very high for
certain industries, but consumption is generally much lower than that of
agriculture.
Household
It is estimated that 8% of worldwide water use is for household purposes. These
include drinking water, bathing, cooking, sanitation, and gardening. Drinking
water is water that is of sufficiently high quality so that it can be consumed or
used without risk of immediate or long term harm. Such water is commonly

called potable water. In most developed countries, the water supplied to

households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard even though
only a very small proportion is actually consumed or used in food preparation.
Recreation
Recreational water use is usually a very small but growing percentage of total
water use. Recreational water use is mostly tied to reservoirs. If a reservoir is kept
fuller than it would otherwise be for recreation, then the water retained could be
categorized as recreational usage. Release of water from a few reservoirs is also
timed to enhance whitewater boating, which also could be considered a
recreational usage. Other examples are anglers, water skiers, nature enthusiasts
and swimmers.
Recreational usage may reduce the availability of water for other users at specific
times and places. For example, water retained in a reservoir to allow boating in
the late summer is not available to farmers during the spring planting season.
Water released for whitewater rafting may not be available for hydroelectric
generation during the time of peak electrical demand.
ENVIRONMENTAL
Environmental water may include water stored in impoundments and released for
environmental purposes (held environmental water), but more often is water
retained in waterways through regulatory limits of abstraction. Environmental
water usage includes watering of natural or artificial wetlands, artificial lakes
intended to create wildlife habitat, fish ladders, and water releases from reservoirs
timed to help fish spawn, or to restore more natural flow regimes.
Like recreational usage, environmental usage is non-consumptive but may reduce
the availability of water for other users at specific times and places. For example,
water release from a reservoir to help fish spawn may not be available to farms
upstream, and water retained in a river to maintain waterway health would not be
available to water abstractors downstream.