Week 3
Year 1 Semester 1
SLIIT and CURTIN degrees 2014
Future Challenges???
Increased demand by 50% by 2010
Energy
Climate
change
Food
Water
Increased demand by 30% by 2030
Increased demand by 50% by 2030
Water Resources
Water
Earth’s surface is covered by 71% water
Essential for life – can survive only a few days
without water
Some Facts……..
Global demand on earth resources exceeds regenerative
capacity by 30%
By 2030 2 planet Earths are needed to meet the
demand
Excessive over consumption undermines regeneration
capacity
Global Sustainability
1. Climate Change
2. Energy & Fuel
3. Material Resource Scarcity
4. Water Scarcity
5. Population Growth
6. Wealth
7. Urbanization
8. Food Security
9. Ecosystem Decline
10. Deforestation
+ Poverty
The Global Water Budget & Challenges
97% Seawater
03% Freshwater Third World Countries,
Water Scarcity, Food ,
Health and
Global Accessible F.W = 0.4% Environmental Problems.
6
Supply of Water Resources
Small fraction (.014%) is readily
available for human use
Source -unknown
Water , Water everywhere ..
live in
97.5% salt water not a drop to drink! •1.4b
river basins
2.5% Fresh Water 70% is
frozen in the solar caps. •Agriculture
Less that 1% (0.007% of accounts for
all Water on earth is 50%
readily available for • 40-60%
human use.
affecting
hydro power.
Source:
– Ethical Corporation Nov 2008
Water Cycle – continuously collected,
purified, recycled and distributed
Flowing
artesian well
Precipitation
Evaporation and transpiration
Well requiring a pump
Evaporation
Confined
Recharge Area
Runoff
Aquifer Stream
Infiltration Water table
Lake
Infiltration
Unconfined aquifer
Confined aquifer
Less permeable material
such as clay Confirming permeable rock layer
Watershed
A watershed describes the total area contributing
drainage to a stream or river
May be applied to many scales
A large watershed is made up of many
small watersheds
Flowing
artesian well
Precipitation
Evaporation and transpiration
Well requiring a pump
Evaporation
Confined
Recharge Area
Runoff
Aquifer
Stream
Infiltration Water table
Lake
Infiltration
Zone of saturation Unconfined aquifer
(spaces completely filled with water) Confined aquifer
Less permeable material
such as clay
Confirming permeable rock layer
Water sources
Surface runoff – 2/3 lost to floods and not available
for human use.
Reliable runoff = one third
• Amount of runoff that we can count on year to year
Groundwater
Zone of saturation
Water table – top of zone of saturation
Aquifer – water saturated layers of sand, gravel or
bedrock through which groundwater flows.
Recharge slow ~ 1 meter per year
Use of Water Resources
Humans directly or indirectly use about 54% of
reliable runoff
Withdraw 34% of reliable runoff for:
Agriculture – 70%
Industry – 20%
Domestic – 10%
Leave 20% of runoff in streams for human use:
transport goods, dilute pollution, sustain fisheries
Water conflicts: Global
Source
Two main factors for water shortage: dry climate and too
many people. Many people live in hydro poverty – can’t afford clean
water.
Too Much Water: Floods
Natural phenomena
Aggravated by human activities
• Rain on snow Living on f loodplains
• Impervious surfaces
• Removal of vegetation
• Draining wetlands
Reservoir
Dam
Levee Flood
wall
Floodplain
Source
Deforestation and flooding
Source
Using Dams and Reservoirs to Supply More
Water: The Trade-offs
Flooded land destroys Downstream cropland and
forests or cropland and estuaries are deprived of
displaces people nutrient-rich silt
Large losses
of water through Downstream flooding
evaporation is reduced
Reservoir is useful for
recreation and fishing
Provides water
for year-round
irrigation of
Can produce cheap electricity (hydropower) cropland
Migration and spawning of some fish are disrupted
Tapping Groundwater
Year-round use
No evaporation losses
Often less expensive
Potential Problems:
• Water table lowering – too much use
• Depletion – U.S. groundwater being
withdrawn at 4X its replacement rate
• Saltwater intrusion – near coastal areas
• Chemical contamination
• Reduced stream flows
Solutions
Sustainable Water Use
Not depleting aquifers
Preserving ecological health of aquatic systems
Preserving water quality
Integrated watershed management
Agreements among regions and countries sharing
surface water resources
Outside party mediation of water disputes between
nations
Marketing of water rights
Raising water prices
Wasting less water
Decreasing government subsides for supplying water
Increasing government subsides for reducing water
waste
Slowing population growth
Source
Pollution Source terminology
Point source = pollution comes from single, fixed,
often large identifiable sources
smoke stacks
discharge drains
tanker spills
Non-point source = pollution comes from
dispersed sources
agricultural runoff
street runoff
Types of Water Pollution
Sediment
logging, road building, erosion
Oxygen-demanding wastes
human waste, storm sewers, runoff from agriculture,
grazing and logging, many others
Nutrient enrichment = Eutrophication
N, P from fertilizers, detergents
leads to increased growth in aquatic systems,
ultimately more non-living organic matter
BOD
As micro-organisms decompose (through
respiration) organic matter, they use up all the
available oxygen.
Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) Amount of oxygen
required to decay a certain amount of organic matter.
If too much organic matter is added, the available
oxygen supplies will be used up.
Source
Eutrophication
Eutrophic – well-fed, high nutrient levels present in a
lake or river
Oligotrophic – poorly-fed, low nutrient levels
Water bodies can be naturally eutrophic or
oligotrophic, but can also be human-caused
Types of Water Pollution (con’t)
Disease-causing organisms
from untreated sewage, runoff from feed lots
Toxic chemicals
pesticides, fertilizers, industrial chemicals
Heavy metals
lead, mercury
Acids (to discuss later)
Elevated temperatures = Thermal Pollution
water is used for cooling purposes, then heated water is
returned to its original source
any increase in temperature, even a few degrees, may
significantly alter some aquatic ecosystems.
Groundwater Pollution
Agricultural products
Underground storage tanks
Landfills
Septic tanks
Surface
impoundments
Oil Spills
Exxon Valdez released 42 million liters of oil in
Prince William Sound, contaminating 1500 km
of Alaska coastline in 1989
Was the cleanup effective?
Most marine oil pollution comes from non-
point sources:
runoff from streets
improper disposal of used oil
discharge of oil-contaminated ballast water from
tankers
Growth of population
Supply & demand are in growing conflict – supply
is finite – water management driven by values and
needs
Increases demand/use of water
Increases land use and changes vegetation and
permeability
Increases demand for instream values – instream
flows are for people
The construction of dams have
slowed the once flowing River
into a series of lakes.
Agriculture uses approximately 70% of the water withdrawn
from our streams and rivers
Changing land use changes vegetation and need for water
Change in land use also changes permeability
Water Rights
Water collectively belongs to the public
Cannot be owned by individuals
Individuals or groups may be granted rights to use
water
Legal authorization to use a predefined quantity of
public water for a designated purpose.
Irrigation, domestic water supply, power generation
Water Rights (from US)
State law requires certain users of public waters to
receive approval from the state prior to using water.
Any use of surface water which began after 1917
requires a water-right permit.
Withdrawals of underground water from 1945
requires a water-right permit.
Growing needs for water: Sharing a Limited Source
Avoid headwater disturbance and leave vegetation
Allow floodplains to function as floodplains
Flow restoration
Markets and transfers
Need to protect restored flows
Enforcement
Opportunities
Parks and wilderness areas
Renewable natural resource management and
harvest (forestry, grazing, secondary forest
products)
Municipal watershed protection
Low intensity sustainable agriculture
Watershed Planning-A sustainable
Answer
Each implementation plan must contain strategies
to provide sufficient water for: (a) Production
agriculture; (b) commercial, industrial, and
residential use; and (c) instream flows. Each
implementation plan must contain timelines to
achieve these strategies and interim milestones
to measure progress
