Water Resources

By Ashley Stockton and Luey Rios

Got water efficiency on the mind?

The most water efficient man who has ever lived, aka my hero.

Why is water important?

Earth is 71% water Most animals are 50-60% water by weight So ya. We need it to survive.

Water Cycle

Properties of Water

Hydrogen Bonding- attraction of molecules to each other. High boiling point Wide liquid temp. range (0-100 C) High heat capacity Expands when frozen

Hydrogen Bonding

How Much Fresh Water is Available?

97.4% of all water is found in oceans and is too salty to use 2.6% of fresh water is locked in ice caps and glaciers 0.014% of the earths total water is available to use

Haves and have-nots of water

Canada has .5% of the population and supplies 20% of the water. China has 7% of the population and 21% of the water

MY WATER!

Groundwater
Come from percolation Moves from high altitude and pressure to low Percolates at a rate of 1 meter/year and at its fastest 1 foot/day (rare)

How much are we withdrawing?

Since 1900 global water withdraw has increase 9-fold Humans withdraw about 35% of the worlds reliable run-off 18% of water withdrawn from rivers, lakes, and aquifers are used for irrigation 40% is used for food 20% is used in cities and 10% pants/trees

Water Problems in U.S.

Low precipitation High evaporation Reoccurring prolonged droughts

Water Shortages
Dry climate Drought- 70% water over a 21 day period Desiccation- drying of soil from deforestation and overgrazing Water stress- Per capita 1700 meters3 a year Scarcity- Per capita 1000 meters3 a year 500 million people are stressed/scarce on water and by 2025 there will be a projected 2.2-3.5 BILLION!! (E.g. Middle East)

Increasing Water Supply

Dams Reservoirs Import water Groundwater extraction Convert salt water Waste less Import food

Large Dams and Reservoirs

Control floods Produce hydroelectric power Supply water for irrigation From 1950-2000 the # of large dams has increased from 5,700 to 45,000 24% of the worlds fish are threatened by dams Dams have increased the annual run-off available by 1/3 Examples- Chinas Three Gorges (Good one) and Egypts Aswan High Dam (Bad one)

Water Transfer
Unintended ecological consequences (E.g. Aral Sea disaster) The California Water Project- 75% of rain in the north and 75% of the people in the south. South- Hey hommie, we have L.A. and San Diego and 74% of water in Cali is used for agriculture North- YA BUT its going to degrade the Sacromento River, kill the fishes, and increase pollutants in San Frans bay. Besides you guys are big water wasters and the transfer just makes it worse.

Groundwater
Pros
Can be removed year round Not lost to evaporation Less expensive to develop than surface Provides water for more than 1 billion people in Asia Provides 51% of the drinking water in the U.S. and 43% of irrigation

Cons
Water table lowering Aquifer depletion Aquifer subsides Intrusion of salt water into aquifers Drawing of chemical contamination Reduce stream flow

Examples of Groundwater Cons

Aral Sea disaster North China Plain Southern Great Plains in U.S Saudi Arabia Northern Africa Ogallala

Preventing Groundwater Depletion

Controlling population growth Avoiding water intensive crops Developing new crop strains that need less water Wasting less irrigation water Importing grain

Desalination
Types Cons

Distillation Reverse osmosis-

Desalination plants

High pressure is used to push fresh water out of salt water

only meet less than .2% of the worlds water needs Is expensive Produces large amounts of waste water

Cloud Seeding
Definition

Involves seeding cloud with tiny particles of chemicals making them produce more rain

Cons Not very useful in dry places because clouds arent available Would introduce large amounts of chemicals

In 1977 there was a lawsuit between Idaho and Washington over the ownership of water in the clouds

Water Efficiency
65-70% of all water used is lost (but only 50% in the U.S. cause were cool) It is feasible to reduce this loss by 15%

Reasons for Waste

Water subsides create artificially low prices Water laws are not effective

Types of Irrigation
Gravity Flow or flood irrigation methodusing unlined ditches and gravity (60%) Center-Pivot- low pressure sprinklers (80%) or (LEPA), low energy precision application sprinklers (90-95%) Drip Irrigation- Pipes to individual roots (90-95%)

Wasting Less in Industry

Xeriscaping (ZER-i-scaping) using native vegetation Using water meters (1/5 of U.S. users are unmonitored) Gray Water reuse Purify Using water saving technologies inside house ( toilet water, faucets, appliances, etc.)

Flooding

Flood plains provide natural flood and erosion control, maintain high water quality, and recharge groundwater Humans have increased the severity of flood damage by removing water absorbing vegetation, draining wet lands, and living on flood plains

How to Reduce Flood Risk

Straightening and deepening streams Building levees Building dams Restoring wetlands Identifying and managing flood prone areas

Words of Wisdom

The frog does not drink up the water in which is it lives