Water Resources

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Chapter 9

• Water Resources

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The Debate on the Klamath River
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Dams on the Klamath built for hydroelectric power
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The Klamath River was once a spectacular habitat
for Salmon.
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Lets view the story of the Klamath River

• http//ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/12/klamath-
  river/mclain-photography

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Distribution of water on Earth
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Water is abundant, but usable water is rare!

• Fresh water represents less than 3 of all water
  on Earth and only about ¾ of that water is
  surface water.
• Most of the surface water is frozen as ice and in
  glaciers less than 1 is usable by us.
• A small fraction of aboveground water is found in
  the atmosphere and the rest is found in lakes,
  streams, rivers and wetlands.

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Groundwater

• Groundwater exists in the many small spaces found
  within the permeable layers of rock and sediment
  called aquifers
• Unconfined aquifers-porous rock covered by soil,
  water can flow easily in and out.
• Confined aquifers-aquifers surrounded by
  impenetrable rock or clay that impedes water flow
  to or from the aquifer.
• Water table- water in a given area fully
  saturates the rock or soil, the surface of the
  groundwater in an area.

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Aquifers
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The Ogallala Aquifer- the largest aquifer in the
US, found in the Great Plains
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Confined Aquifer Unconfined Aquifer
Recharged very slowly (10,000-20,000 yrs) Recharged often through precipitation
Much older water and is less likely to be contaminated by anthropogenic chemicals Water is likely to be contaminated with chemicals and pollution
Unsustainable large scale use
When the rate of recharge does not keep pace with the rate of withdrawal, water runs out
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• Groundwater recharge- when rain percolates
  through the soil and goes into an aquifer.
  Confined aquifers need an opening at the lands
  surface that can serve as a recharge area.
• Springs bring water up from the aquifers to the
  surface and become freshwater aquatic biomes.
• Artesian wells- a hole is drilled into a confined
  aquifer, releasing the pressure on the water, and
  the water rises up in the well.

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Salt water Intrusion
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Surface Water

• Exists above the ground and includes lakes,
  streams, rivers, ponds, and wetlands.
• 3 largest rivers in the world The Amazon, the
  Congo, and The Yangtze. Land surrounding rivers
  is often highly fertile. During heavy rainfall,
  the riverbanks overflow onto to the adjacent land
  (floodplain) and deposit nutrient rich sediment
  onto the soil.

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The largest lakes in the world.

• Lake Continent Length
  in Miles
• 1 Caspian Sea Asia-Europe 143,244760
• 2 Superior North America 31,700350
  
• 3 Victoria Africa
  26,828250
• 4 Huron North America
  23,000206
• 5 Michigan North America 22,300307
  
• 6 Aral Sea Asia
  13,000260
• 7 Tanganyika Africa
  12,700420
• 8 Baykal Asia
  12,162395
• 9 Great Bear North America 12,096192
• 10 Nyasa (Malawi) Africa
  11,150360

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Lake Types
Oligotrophic- low productivity due to low amounts
of nutrients such as P and N2
Mesotrophic-have moderate levels of productivity
Eutrophic- have high levels of productivity
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Atmospheric Water

• People rely on precipitation! Droughts destroy
  crops, kill livestock, and causes million of
  people to go hungry.
• The cycling of nutrients important to ecosystem
  productivity , such as P and N2 depends on the
  movement of water and thus soil fertility.

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The Dust Bowl of 1935
Severe and prolonged drought, caused decades of
crop failure. With few crops to hold the topsoil
in place, the drought led to massive dust storms.
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Flooding
Excess water due to human activity such as
overdevelopment, also can lead to flooding.
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Levees and Dams-alter the availability of water
and prevent rivers from flowing over their banks
onto the floodplain.
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Breached Levee in New Orleans during Hurricane
Katrinahttps//www.youtube.com/watch?vaoMnFGtmCq
E
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Dams- like the Hoover Dam is a barrier that runs
across a river or stream to control the flow of
water.
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Three Gorges Dam Video

• Worlds largest Dam, took 13 years to build, and
  flooded 13 cities, 140 towns, and 1350 villages
  forcing over 1.3 million people to be displaced.
• http//dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/other-shows/vide
  os/discovery-atlas-china-revealed-three-gorges-dam
  .htm

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Dikes are built to prevent ocean waters from
adjacent land.
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Fish Ladders- have been added to some dams so
migrating fish can return to their breeding
grounds.http//www.youtube.com/watch?vsabk7Khq0k
Q
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Aqueducts-are canals or ditches used to carry
water from one location to another.
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The Desalination Process is used when some water
poor countries need fresh water (Middle East)
Desalination techniques include distillation and
reverse osmosis
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Household Water Consumption

• Bath A full tub is about 36 gallons.
• Shower 2 gallons/min. Old shower heads used 5
  gallons/min
• Teeth brushing lt1 gallon, especially if water is
  turned off while brushing.
• Newer bath faucets use 1 gallon/min, older models
  2 gallons/min
• Hands/face washing 1 gallon Face/leg shaving 1
  gallon
• Dishwasher 4 to 10 gallons/load, depending of
  efficiency of dishwasher
• Dishwashing by hand 20 gallons.
• Newer kitchen faucets use about 2.2 gallons/ min
• Clothes washer 25 gallons/load for newer
  washers. Older models use about 40 gallons per
  load.
• Toilet flush 3 gallons. Most all new toilets use
  1.6 gallons per flush.
• Glasses of water drunk 8 oz. per

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Types of Irrigation
Furrow irrigation-65 efficient
Flood Irrigation-70-80 efficient
Spray irrigation- 75-95 efficient
Drip Irrigation-over 95 efficient
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Hydroponics
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50 of water goes towards generating electricity

• Nuclear power plants generate one fifth of the
  electricity produced in the United States.  The
  nuclear power cycle uses water in three major
  ways extracting and processing uranium fuel,
  producing electricity, and controlling wastes and
  risks..

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Inside a nuclear power plant
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Xeriscape for water conservation
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How else can we conserve water?

• 1. Produce more efficient manufacturing
  equipment.
• 2. Collect rainwater on surfaces of buildings.
• 3. Use waste water for irrigation
• 4. Use water saving devices in sinks and showers
• 5. Reuse grey water
• 5. Use xeroscape landscaping