The Hydrosphere

KQ2 - What has been the impact of human activity on

the quantities of water in natural stores?
KQ3 - how can water supply be sustained and what are
the environmental consequences of the artificial storage
of water.

Objectives

At the end of this lecture, students will be able to

explain:

the effects of agriculture, industry and

domestic usage upon natural supplies of
water;

management of water supply:dams, water

transfers, desalination.

WATERS IMPORTANCE,
AVAILABILITY, AND RENEWAL
Comparison

of
population sizes and
shares of the worlds
freshwater among the
continents.

Figure 14-2

WATERS IMPORTANCE,
AVAILABILITY, AND RENEWAL
We

currently use more than half of the worlds

reliable runoff of surface water and could be
using 70-90% by 2025.
About 70% of the water we withdraw from
rivers, lakes, and aquifers is not returned to
these sources.
Agriculture is the biggest user of water (70%),
followed by industries (20%) and cities and
residences (10%).

Water in the
United States
Average

precipitation (top) in
relation to waterdeficit regions and
their proximity to
metropolitan areas
(bottom).

Figure 14-4

TOO LITTLE FRESHWATER

Cities

are outbidding farmers for water supplies

from rivers and aquifers.
Countries are importing grain as a way to
reduce their water use.
More crops are being used to produce biofuels.
Our water options are:

Get more water from aquifers and rivers, desalinate

ocean water, waste less water.

WITHDRAWING GROUNDWATER TO
INCREASE SUPPLIES
Most

aquifers are renewable resources unless

water is removed faster than it is replenished or
if they are contaminated.
Groundwater depletion is a growing problem
mostly from irrigation.

At least one-fourth of the farms in India are being

irrigated from overpumped aquifers.

Groundwater Pumping in Saudi Arabia

(1986 2004)

Irrigation

systems from the nonrenewable

aquifer appear as green dots. Brown dots are
wells that have gone dry.
Figure 14-9

Groundwater Depletion:
A Growing Problem
Areas

of greatest
aquifer depletion
from groundwater
overdraft in the
continental U.S.

The

Ogallala, the worlds largest aquifer, is most

of the red area in the center (Midwest).
Figure 14-8

Other Effects of Groundwater

Overpumping
Groundwater

overpumping can
cause land to sink,
and contaminate
freshwater aquifers
near coastal areas
with saltwater.

Figure 14-11

Other Effects of Groundwater

Overpumping
Sinkholes

form when
the roof of an
underground cavern
collapses after being
drained of
groundwater.

Figure 14-10

Withdrawing Groundwater
Advantages

Disadvantages

Useful for drinking and

irrigation

Aquifer depletion from

overpumping

Available year-round

Sinking of land
(subsidence) from
overpumping

Exists almost
everywhere
Renewable if not
overpumped or
contaminated
No evaporation
losses
Cheaper to extract
than most surface
waters

Aquifers polluted for

decades or centuries
Saltwater intrusion into
drinking water supplies
near coastal areas
Reduced water flows into
surface waters
Increased cost and
contamination from
deeper wells
Fig. 13-7, p. 321

Solutions
Groundwater Depletion
Prevention
Waste less water

Control
Raise price of water to
discourage waste

Subsidize water
conservation
Ban new wells in
aquifers near surface
waters

Tax water pumped

from wells near surface
waters

Buy and retire

groundwater
withdrawal rights in
critical areas
Do not grow waterintensive crops in dry
areas

Set and enforce

minimum stream flow
levels
Fig. 14-12, p. 316

Provides water
for year-round
irrigation of
cropland

Provides
water for
drinking

Reservoir is
useful for
recreation and
fishing
Can produce
cheap
electricity
(hydropower)
Downstream
flooding is
reduced

USING DAMS AND RESERVOIRS TO SUPPLY MORE

WATER

Flooded land
destroys forests or
cropland and
displaces people
Large losses of
water through
evaporation
Downstream
cropland and
estuaries are
deprived of
nutrient-rich silt
Risk of failure
and
devastating
downstream
flooding
Migration and
spawning of
some fish are
disrupted

The Colorado Basin an Over-tapped

Resource
The

Colorado River has so many dams and

withdrawals that it often does not reach the
ocean.

14 major dams and reservoirs, and canals.

Water is mostly used in desert area of the U.S.
Provides electricity from hydroelectric plants for 30
million people (1/10th of the U.S. population).

The Colorado Basin

an Over-tapped Resource
Lake

Powell, is the
second largest
reservoir in the
U.S.
It hosts one of the
hydroelectric
plants located on
the Colorado
River.

Chinas Three Gorges Dam

There

is a debate over whether the advantages

of the worlds largest dam and reservoir will
outweigh its disadvantages.

The dam is 2 kilometers long.

The electric output is that of 18 large coal-burning or
nuclear power plants.
It facilitates ship travel reducing transportation costs.
Dam displaced 1.2 million people.
Dam is built over seismic fault and already has small
cracks.

TRANSFERRING WATER FROM ONE

PLACE TO ANOTHER
Transferring

water can make unproductive

areas more productive but can cause
environmental harm.

Promotes investment, jobs and strong economy.

It encourages unsustainable use of water in areas
water is not naturally supplied.

California Water Transfer

A massive

transfer
of water from
water-rich
northern California
to water-poor
southern
California is
controversial.

Figure 14-16

The Aral Sea Disaster

The

Aral Sea was once the worlds fourth

largest freshwater lake.

The Aral Sea Disaster

Diverting

water from the Aral Sea and its two

feeder rivers mostly for irrigation has created a
major ecological, economic, and health
disaster.

About 85% of the wetlands have been eliminated

and roughly 50% of the local bird and mammal
species have disappeared.
Since 1961, the seas salinity has tripled and the
water has dropped by 22 meters most likely causing
20 of the 24 native fish species to go extinct.

INCREASING WATER SUPPLIES

Removing

salt from seawater by current

methods is expensive and produces large
amounts of salty wastewater that must be
disposed of safely.

Distillation: heating saltwater until it evaporates,

leaves behind water in solid form.
Reverse osmosis: uses high pressure to force
saltwater through a membrane filter.

INCREASING WATER SUPPLIES BY

WASTING LESS WATER
We

waste about two-thirds of the water we use,

but we could cut this waste to 15%.

65-70% of the water people use throughout the world

is lost through evaporation, leaks, and other losses.
Water is underpriced through government subsidies.
The lack of government subsidies for improving the
efficiency of water use contributes to water waste.

INCREASING WATER SUPPLIES BY

WASTING LESS WATER
Sixty

percent of the worlds irrigation water is

currently wasted, but improved irrigation
techniques could cut this waste to 5-20%.
Center-pivot, low pressure sprinklers sprays
water directly onto crop.

It allows 80% of water to reach crop.

Has reduced depletion of Ogallala aquifer in Texas
High Plains by 30%.

Drip irrigation
(efficiency 9095%)
Gravity flow
(efficiency 60% and
80% with surge
valves)

Center pivot
(efficiency 80%95%)

Water usually comes from

an aqueduct system or a
nearby river.

Above- or below-ground
pipes or tubes deliver
water to individual plant
roots.

Water usually pumped

from underground and
sprayed from mobile boom
with sprinklers.
Fig. 14-18, p. 325

Solutions
Reducing Irrigation Water Waste

Line canals bringing water to irrigation ditches

Level fields with lasers
Irrigate at night to reduce evaporation
Monitor soil moisture to add water only
when necessary
Polyculture
Organic farming
Don't grow water-thirsty crops in dry areas
Grow water-efficient crops using drought
resistant and salt-tolerant crop varieties
Irrigate with treated urban waste water
Import water-intensive crops and meat
Fig. 14-19, p. 326

Raising the Price of Water:

A Key to Water Conservation
We

can reduce water use and waste by raising

the price of water while providing low lifeline
rates for the poor.

When Boulder, Colorado introduced water meters,

water use per person dropped by 40%.
A 10% increase in water prices cuts domestic water
use by 3-7%.

Solutions: Using Less Water to Remove

Industrial and Household Wastes
We

can mimic the way nature deals with

wastes instead of using large amounts of highquality water to wash away and dilute industrial
and animal wastes.

Use nutrients in wastewater before treatment as soil

fertilizer.
Use waterless and odorless composting toilets that
convert human fecal matter into a small amount of
soil material.

Solutions
Reducing Water Waste
Redesign manufacturing processes
Repair leaking underground pipes
Landscape yards with plants that
require little water
Use drip irrigation
Fix water leaks
Use water meters
Raise water prices
Use waterless composting toilets
Require water conservation in watershort cities
Use water-saving toilets, showerheads,
and front loading clothes washers
Collect and reuse household water to
irrigate lawns and nonedible plants
Purify and reuse water for houses,
apartments, and office buildings
Don't waste energy
Fig. 14-21, p. 327

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.

TOO MUCH WATER

Human

activities have contributed to flood

deaths and damages.
Figure 14-23

Solutions
Reducing Flood Damage
Prevention
Preserve forests on
watersheds

Control
Strengthen and
deepen streams
(channelization)

Preserve and restore

wetlands in
floodplains
Tax all development
on floodplains
Use floodplains
primarily for
recharging aquifers,
sustainable agriculture
and forestry, and
recreation

Build levees or
floodwalls along
streams

Build dams

Fig. 14-24, p. 331