Water supply

One of the things that makes our planet special is the presence of liquid water. Water
is fundamental for all life; without it every living thing would die.

What is water?
Water is a chemical compound consisting of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen. The name water

typically refers to the liquid state of the compound. The solid phase is known as ice and gas phase is
called steam.
Water is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless substance.
Water appears in nature in all three common states of matter (solid, liquid, and gas) and may take

many different forms on Earth: water vapor and clouds in the sky; seawater in the oceans; icebergs in
the polar oceans; glaciers and rivers in the mountains; and the liquid in aquifers in the ground.

The Water Cycle

The amount of water on Earth remains constant, simply passing from one stage to another in a

circular pattern known as the hydrologic cycle. Water in the atmosphere condenses and falls to
Earth as precipitation, such as rain, sleet, or snow. Precipitation seeps into the ground,
saturating the soil and refilling underground aquifers; it is drawn from the soil by vegetation
for growth and returned into the air by plant leaves through the process of transpiration; and
some precipitation flows into surface waters such as rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, and
oceans. Moisture evaporates from surface water back into the atmosphere to repeat the cycle.

Distribution of Earths water

Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface, and is vital for all known forms of life.
Earth's approximate water volume (the total water supply of the world) is
1,338,000,000 km3.
Only 2.5% of the Earth's water is freshwater, and 98.8% of that water is in ice and
groundwater. Less than 0.3% of all freshwater is in rivers, lakes, and the atmosphere, and an
even smaller amount of the Earth's freshwater (0.003%) is contained within biological bodies
and manufactured products.

Water availability
Availability of water is the most basic need on earth. Although water covers about 70
percent of the Earth, less than 1 percent is available as freshwater for human use. The vast
majority of the water on this blue planet is found in the ocean, too salty to drink and unfit for
many other applications. Of the freshwater available on Earth, about two-thirds is frozen in ice
caps and glaciers, which leaves only a small fraction accessible for human use.
In general, saline water is defined as water that contains at least one thousand
milligrams of salt per liter of water. No cheap and effective method for desalinating large
amounts of ocean water has been discovered. This makes freshwater an extremely valuable
commodity. Even though the overall water supply on Earth is enormous, freshwater is not often
in the right place at the right time in the right amount to serve all the competing needs.

Where does drinking water comes

from?
Drinking water or potable water is water safe enough to
be consumed by humans or used with low risk of immediate or
long term harm.
Drinking water comes from surface water and ground
water.

Surface water- such as that in lakes, reservoirs, rivers,

and streams
-is the primary water source for humans
Groundwater- that is, water underground in aquifers (highly

permeable rocks, soil, and sand)-can be extracted through wells

or found as springs.
-technically speaking, groundwater resources exceed
salt-free surface water on Earth, but humans use surface water
more often because it is easier to access in
large quantities
-because it is located underground, typically requires
less treatment than water from lakes, rivers and steams

World water use

Water is precious for many reasons. It is an essential resource for sustaining human,
animal, and vegetable life. Agriculture is absolutely dependent on water to produce food crops
and livestock. Water is crucial to tourism, navigation, and industry. Enormous amounts are used
to generate power, mine materials, and produce goods. Water is an ingredient, a medium, and a
means of conveyance or cooling in most industrial processes. Water supplies a vital habitat for
many of Earth's creatures, from the whale to the tadpole. There are entire ecosystems that are
water-based.

Processing and Treatment

Human or animal wastes, industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and other types of
pollutants sometimes contaminate water from rivers, lakes, underground aquifers, and other
sources. Fortunately, engineers and scientists have developed innovative solutions to make
water potable (safe to drink)
Conventional surface water treatment plants in most developed countries follow this
sequence of processes:
Coagulation: After screening out large objects from the water, coagulant
chemicals are added to cause suspended particles to clump together.
Sedimentation: Water moves into quiet sedimentation basins where sediments
settle out.
Filtration: Water is filtered through sand, membranes, or other materials.
Disinfection: Chemical additives, ozone, or ultraviolet light are used for
disinfection. Other chemicals or processes may also be used to eliminate specific contaminants,
to prevent corrosion of the distribution system, or to prevent tooth decay.

Storage- water -is placed in a closed tank or reservoir. The

water flows through pipes to homes and businesses in the
community.

 Water Treatment Plant in USA

Water supply system

A water supply system or water supply network is a system of
ingineered hydrologic and hydraulic components which provide water supply. A water supply
system typically includes:

A drainage basin- is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting
snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another
waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean.

A raw water collection point where the water accumulates, such as a lake, a river,
or groundwater from an undergroundaquifer. Raw water may be transferred using uncovered
ground-level aqueducts, covered tunnels or underground water pipes to water purification
facilities.

 Water purification facilities- treated water is transferred using water pipes (usually

underground).
Water storage facilities such as reservoirs, water tanks, or water towers. Smaller water systems

may store the water in cisterns or pressure vessels.

Additional water pressurizing components such as pumping stations may need to be situated
at the outlet of underground or above ground reservoirs or cisterns

A pipe network for distribution of water to the consumers (which may be private houses or

industrial, commercial or institution establishments) and other usage points.

Connections to the sewers (underground pipes, or aboveground ditches in some developing
countries) are generally found downstream of the water consumers, but the sewer system is
considered to be a separate system, rather than part of the water supply system.

Desalination-the

process of
removing dissolved salts and minerals from
seawater. The dominant technology used in
desalination today is reverse osmosis, which
involves forcing water through semipermeable membranes to remove salts and
other impurities.
Most of the modern interest in
desalination is focused on developing costeffective ways of providing fresh water for
human use in regions where the availability
of fresh water is, or is becoming, limited.

Desalination is currently used by countries that have an extreme need for fresh
water, have enough money to fund it, and posses the amount of energy required to
produce it.
The Middle East holds the top spot for desalinated water, due to several
countries large facilities, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel.
Also large producers of desalinated water are: Spain, the United States, Algeria, China,
India, Australia, and Aruba. The technology is expected to spread increasingly,
particularly in the United States, Libya, China, and India.
Desalination is process primarily done in developed countries with enough
money and resources. If technology continues to produce new methods and better
solutions to the issues that exist today, there would be a whole new water resource for
more and more countries that are facing drought, competition for water, and
overpopulation. Though there are concerns in the scientific world about replacing our
current overuse of water with complete reliance on sea water, it would undoubtedly be
at least an option for many people struggling to survive or maintain their standard of
living.

Water Recycling
Water recycling, also called water reuse or reclamation, can be either direct or indirect.
In direct potable reuse, wastewater is used for drinking purposes directly after treatment. In
indirect potable reuse, treated wastewater is discharged and mixed into a lake, a river, or
groundwater before being extracted and treated again for use.
Recycled water is commonly used to irrigate parks and golf courses. Such recycling
cuts down on the amount of high quality water extracted for non-potable purposes, thus helping
to conserve the best freshwater resources for drinking.

Conservation
Water

is a finite resource, yet demands for it are rapidly

increasing.
Water conservationrefers to reducing the usage of water and
recycling of waste water for different purposes such as
cleaning,manufacturing, and agriculturalirrigation. Saving water also
saves energy.
A variety of practices and technologies-from the low-tech to the
high-tech can help stretch limited water supplies:
Reduce leaks-From the individual household faucet or
toilet to municipal water distribution pipes, repairing or replacing
leaking water infrastructure can save water and money.

Conservation
Change water-wasting habits at home. Small habit changes
such as running the dishwasher or washing machine only for
full loads or taking shorter showers can, over time, mean big
water savings.

Irrigating efficiently -Conserving the amount of water used to

irrigate crops benefits everyone: farmers spend less money
on water, and more water is available for other purposes.

Water crises

While the world's population tripled in the 20th century, the use of renewable water resources has

grown six-fold. Within the next fifty years, the world population will increase by another 40 to 50 %.
This population growth - coupled with industrialization and urbanization - will result in an increasing
demand for water and will have serious consequences on the environment.

Already there is more waste water generated and dispersed today than at any other time in the history

of our planet: more than one out of six people lack access to safe drinking water (1.1 billion people)
and more than two out of six lack adequate sanitation, namely 2.6 billion people.

Millions of people die each year, most of them children (about 5,000 children die each day ) from

largely preventable diseases caused by a lack of access to clean water and proper sanitation.

Water pollution adds enormously to existing problems of water scarcity by contaminating large

volumes of available water, thus making it unsuitable for use. This situation is worst in third world
countries, where human health is gravely damaged by accelerating contamination of water supplies
by eutrophication, heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, acidification and sewage pollution.

 Punjabi villagers gather around a pump

to collect a daily supply of water

provided by percolation tanks.

Gathering water in Iraq

The Fujiang River, in China's

southwestern province of
Sichuan. The river, the city's
water source, became polluted
by manganese tailings

A majority of people in
rural Rwanda still
consume polluted water
from rivers.

Conclusions
Water is one of those things that people usually take for granteduntil it is

either gone or unsuitable to drink

Water is a limited resource, the demands for which are fast increasing
11 per cent of the global population, remain without access to an improved
source of drinking water. Such sources include household connections,
public standpipes, boreholes, protected dug wells, protected springs and
rainwater collections.
Water conservation is the most cost-effective and environmentally sound
way to reduce our demand for water.