Chapter 14 Water: A Limited Resource

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(No Transcript)
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Chapter 14Water A Limited Resource
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Overview of Chapter 14

• Importance of Water
• Hydrologic Cycle
• Water Use and Resource Problems
• Too Much Water
• Too Little Water
• Water Problems in US and Canada
• Global Water Problems
• Sharing Water Resources
• Water Management
• Providing Sustainable Water Supply
• Water Conservation

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Importance of Water

• Cooking
• Washing
• Use large amounts for
• Agriculture
• Manufacturing
• Mining
• Energy production
• Waste disposal
• Use of freshwater is increasing

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Properties of Water

• Composed of 2 Hydrogen and 1 oxygen
• Exists as solid, liquid or gas
• High heat capacity
• Polar
• One end has () charge, one end has (-) charge
• Forms Hydrogen bond between 2 water molecules
• H-bonds define waters physical properties

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Properties of Water

• Water is never completely pure in nature
• Content of seawater (left)
• Many substances water dissolves cause water
  pollution

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Hydrologic Cycle
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Distribution of Water

• Only 2.5 of water on earth is freshwater
• 2 is in the form of ice!
• Only 0.5 of water on earth is available
  freshwater

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Freshwater Terminology

• Surface water
• Precipitation that remains on the surface and
  does not seep into soil
• Runoff
• Movement of surface water to lakes, rivers, etc.
• Watershed (drainage basin)
• Land area that delivers water into a stream or
  river system
• Groundwater
• Freshwater under the earths surface stored in
  aquifers
• Aquifer
• Underground caverns and porous layers of sand,
  gravel and rock in which groundwater is stored

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Freshwater Aquifer
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Water Use and Resource Problems

• Fall into Three Categories
• Too much water
• Too little water
• Poor quality/contamination (discussed in Chapter
  22)

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Too Much Water

• Flooding
• Both natural and human-induced
• Modern floods are highly destructive because
  humans
• Remove water-absorbing plant cover from soil
• Construct buildings on floodplains
• Floodplain
• Area bordering a river channel that has the
  potential to flood

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Urban vs. Pre-Urban Floodplains
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Floodplain

• Government restrictions on building
• Levees can fail

• Rather than rebuild levees adjacent to rivers,
  experts suggest allowing some flooding of
  floodplains during floods
• (next slide)

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Left Traditional levees adjacent to river
Right Suggested levee style, set back from river
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Case-In-Point Floods of 1993
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Too Little Water

• Typically found in arid land
• Problems
• Drought
• Overdrawing water
• for irrigation
• purposes
• Aquifer depletion
• Subsidence
• Sinkholes

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Too Little Water

• Problems (continued)
• Saltwater Intrusion

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Water Problems In US and Canada

• US has a plentiful supply of freshwater
• Many areas have a severe shortages
• Geographical variations
• Seasonal variations

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Water Problems in US and Canada

• Water shortages in West and Southwest
• Water is diverted and transported via aqueducts

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Water Problems in US and Canada- Surface Water

• Mono Lake (Eastern CA)
• Rivers and streams that once fed this lake are
  diverted to Los Angeles (275mi away)
• Becoming highly saline
• Court ordered water diversion reduction
• Colorado River Basin
• Provides water for 27-million people
• Numerous dams for Hydropower
• Colorado River no longer reaches ocean

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Colorado River bed in Mexico
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Water Problems in US and Canada-Groundwater

• Aquifer Depletion

Ogallala Aquifer
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Global Water Problems

• Amount of freshwater on planet CAN meet human
  needs
• BUT, it is unevenly distributed and some places
  lack stable runoff
• Problems
• Climate Change
• Drinking Water
• Population Growth
• Sharing Water Resources Among Countries

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Global Water Problems

• Water and Climate Change
• Climate change affects the type and distribution
  of precipitation
• Potential issues
• Reduced snowfall will impact water resources
  downstream
• Sea level rise will cause saltwater intrusion
  into drinking water supplies

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Global Water Problems

• Drinking Water Problems
• Many developing countries have insufficient water
  to meet drinking and household needs
• Population Growth
• Increase in population means an increase in
  freshwater requirements
• Limits drinking water available
• Limits water available for agriculture (food)

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Global Water Problems

• Sharing Water Resources Among Countries
• Rhine River Basin (right)
• Countries upstream discharged pollutants into
  river
• Countries downstream had to pay to clean the
  water before they could drink it
• Aral Sea (next slide)
• Water diversion for irrigation has caused sea to
  become too saline

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Aral Sea
1967
1997
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Global Water Problems

• Potentially Volatile International Water
  Situations
• Jordan River
• Nile River

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Water Management

• Main Goal Provide sustainable supply of
  high-quality water
• Requires humans to use resource carefully
• Dams and Reservoirs
• Water Diversion Projects
• Desalinization

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Dams and Reservoirs

• Benefits
• Ensure year-round supply of water with regulated
  flow
• Generate electricity
• Provide recreational activities
• Disadvantages
• Alter the ecosystem
• Reduce sediment load

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Dams and Reservoirs

• Glen Canyon Dam
• Regulated flow has changed ecosystem
• To rectify situation
• Canyon has been flooded several times
• Small floods compared to natural floods
• Still helps rebuild habitat

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Dams and Reservoirs

• Salmon Population in Columbia R. very low due to
  dams that impede migration
• Fish ladders help, but are not effective enough

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Water Diversion Projects

• Requires diverting water to areas that are
  deficient by pumping through a system of
  aqueducts
• Much of CAs receives its water supply from
  diverted water from Northern CA
• Controversial and expensive

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Desalinization

• Removal of salt from ocean or brackish water
• Two methods
• Distillation- salt water is evaporated, and water
  vapor is condensed into freshwater (salt left
  behind)
• Reverse Osmosis- involves forcing salt water
  through a membrane permeable to water, but not
  salt
• Very expensive

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Water Conservation

• Reducing Agricultural Water Waste
• Agriculture is very inefficient with water
• Microirrigation- irrigation that conserves waster
  by piping to
• crops through sealed
• systems
• Also called drip or
• trickle irrigation

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Water Conservation

• Reducing Industrial Water Waste
• Stricter laws provide incentive to conserve water
• Recycling water within the plant
• Water scarcity (in addition to stricter pollution
  control requirements) will encourage further
  industrial recycling
• Potential to conserve water is huge!

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Water Conservation

• Reducing Municipal Water Waste
• Gray Water
• Can be used to flush toilets, wash car or water
  lawn
• Water saving household fixtures
• Government incentives

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Conserving at Home

• Install water-saving shower heads and faucets
• Install low-flush toilets
• Fix leaky fixtures
• Purchase high efficiency appliances
• Modify personal habits
• Use the dishwasher instead of washing by hand

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NRCS Water Resource Information Systems

• Claudia C. Hoeft, P.E.
• National Hydraulic Engineer
• National Program Manager Snow Survey and Water
  Supply Forecasting Program
• Natural Resources Conservation Service
• Washington, DC
• claudia.hoeft_at_wdc.usda.gov

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Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting Program

• Mission
• Program History
• Data collection
• Water supply forecasts
• Climate services
• New products
• Future directions

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Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting Program

• Mission
• to lead a national cooperative program that
  provides snow, water and climate
  information.Our products and services help
  people use, conserve, improve, and sustain our
  natural resources and environment.

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NRCS Strategic Goals

• High Quality Productive Soils
• Clean and Abundant Water
• Healthy Plant and Animal Communities
• Clean Air
• Adequate Energy Supplies
• Working with Farm and Ranch Lands

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Population Increases (1990-2000)
Population increases from 1990-2000 in Annual
electricity consumption growth rates from 1988 to
1998 () Source California Energy Commission,
Electricity Analysis Office
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Population Projections
Population Projections (2000-2030) Greatest
increases expected in the driest states. Source
U.S. Census Bureau NEEDS FRESH WATER!
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Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting Program

• 12 western states including Alaska
• 60 FTE(36 Field, 24 NWCC)
• 25.5M acres of irrigated agriculture
• 51.1B in annual market value(Ag. Census, 2002)

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A Century Of Progress

• 1906 - Initial snow studies by Dr. Church Lake
  Tahoe
• 1906-1909 - Snow survey sampler perfected
• 1909-1910 - First water supply forecast issued
• 1930s Cooperative Snow Survey Program
  Established (CFR Title 7, part 612) within USDA

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Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting Program

• Customers
• Sovereign Nations
• Canada, Mexico, Native American Nations
• Technology exchange with China, Mongolia,
  Antarctica, Europe
• Federal Departments Agencies
• Agriculture, Interior, Commerce, Defense, Energy,
  Bureau of Indian Affairs, Environmental
  Protection Agency, Bonneville Power
  Administration, Federal Water Masters
• State and Local Agencies
• State and Interstate Organizations involved in
  Drought Planning, Water Resources, Emergency
  Preparedness, Planning Zoning, Forestry, Lands,
  Recreation and Tourism.

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Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting Program

• Customers
• Non-Governmental Entities
• Soil and Water Conservation Districts, University
  Researchers, Natural Resource Management
  Businesses, Private Citizens, Agricultural and
  Forestry Industry Cooperators
• Water Utilities, Irrigation Districts, Limited
  Resource Farmers, Construction Contractors,
  Consulting Meteorologists, Hydrologists and
  Engineers
• Educators and Schools, Energy and Power
  Generation Companies, Landscape Architects,
  Media, Recreational Interests and Transportation
  Companies.

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NRCS SNOTEL Network

• SNOTEL network
• 12 western states
• 730 sites
• 16 million observations (2005)
• 16.1 million downloads
• 920 manual snow courses

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Meteor-burst Technology
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SNOTEL Site Augmented Data Array

• Snow water content
• Precipitation
• Temperature
• Snow depth
• Relative humidity
• Wind speed/direction
• Solar radiation
• Soil moisture / temperature

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NWCC Webpagewww.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov
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NWCC Webpage
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NWCC Webpage
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Mt. Rose SNOTEL Data
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Daily State Map - Colorado
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Soil Climate Analysis Network

• SCAN (Soil Climate Analysis Network)
• 118 sites in 39 states
• Soil-climate monitoring
• 956K downloads in 2006
• Critical for drought monitoring

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Johnson Farm, Nebraska SCAN Site
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SCAN Data Plot
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Water Supply Forecasts

• Water Year 2006
• 740 locations forecast Jan-Jun with NWS
• Over 11,534 forecasts issued by states to users
• Over 1.9M visits to WSF pages

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New Products - Viewers

• Google Earth
• SNOTELhttp//www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snotel/earth/i
  ndex.html
• Water Supply Forecastshttp//www.wcc.nrcs.usda.go
  v/wsf/earth/index.html

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New Products - WSF

• Rapid changes in snowpack affect water supply
  forecasts

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New Products - WSF

• Daily water supply forecasts use daily SNOTEL data

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New Products Climate Maps

• Maps of snowpack, precipitation, temperature

Oregon State University http//www.ocs.orst.edu/pr
ism/
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Future Directions

• Further automating of manual snow courses to
  SNOTEL sites where real-time information is
  needed to provide water supply forecasts.
• Expansion of SCAN to provide governments, water
  managers, agricultural producers, businesses and
  researchers improved information about soil
  moisture conditions and potential droughts.
• Improving models and computational capacity to
  provide more frequent and accurate water supply
  forecasts and assessments of soil moisture.

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Thank You!