CHAPTER 9

WATER RESOURCES AND HUMAN

USE &
CHAPTER 10 AIR POLLUTION I
Tuesday, October 18th, 2022
 OBJECTIVES

Describe Describe aquatic infrastructure

Discuss Discuss the ways in which humans use and manage water

Understand Understand the sources of air pollution

WATER MOLECULES
REMAIN CONSTANT,
THOUGH THEY MAY
CHANGE BETWEEN SOLID,
LIQUID, AND GAS
FORMS. AS EARTH IS A
CLOSED SYSTEM,
MEANING THAT VERY
LITTLE MATTER,
INCLUDING WATER, EVER
LEAVES OR ENTERS THE
ATMOSPHERE; THE WATER
THAT WAS HERE BILLIONS
OF YEARS AGO IS STILL
HERE NOW.
 Usable Water is Rare
MOST FRESH WATER IS LOCKED
IN GLACIERS AND ICE.
GROUNDWATER MAKES UP
ALMOST ALL OF THE REMAINING
FRESHWATER.
VERY LITTLE WATER IS FOUND AS
LIQUID AT THE SURFACE.
 Water in the ground is stored in the
spaces between rock particles (no,
there are no underground rivers or
lakes)
GROUNDWATER
Aquifers: a body of permeable
rock underground that can contain
or transmit groundwater.
 TWO TYPES OF
AQUIFERS

• UNCONFINED AQUIFER: AN
AQUIFER THAT IS SIMPLY
POROUS ROCK COVERED
BY SOIL.

• CONFINED AQUIFER: AN
AQUIFER SURROUNDED BY
A LAYER OF IMPERMEABLE
ROCK OR CLAY.
THE FLORIDA AQUIFER SYSTEM
The water in the Floridan
aquifer is thought to be
between 17 - 26,000 years
old.

The age of the water varies

because of the time it takes
water to seep vertically and
move horizontally through
different types of soil.
 Groundwater
• WATER TABLE: THE UPPERMOST
WATER LEVEL IN AN UNDERGROUND
AREA WHERE WATER FULLY
SATURATES THE ROCK OR SOIL.
• RECHARGE: THE INPUT PROCESS OF
WATER PERCOLATING IN TO REPLENISH
AN AQUIFER.
 Springs
•SPRINGS EXIST WHERE WATER
FROM AN AQUIFER NATURALLY
PERCOLATES UP TO THE SURFACE.
FLORIDA HAS LARGEST CONVERGENCE OF
FRESHWATER SPRINGS ON EARTH !
GROUNDWATER

• ARTESIAN WELLS ARE CREATED WHEN

A WELL IS DRILLED INTO A
CONFINED AQUIFER.

• WATER FLOWS SPONTANEOUSLY

UPWARDS, DRIVEN BY THE PRESSURE
CREATED IN WATER FROM THE
RECHARGE AREA.

• LARGE SCALE USE OF WATER FROM

A CONFINED AQUIFER IS
UNSUSTAINABLE BECAUSE THE
WITHDRAWAL OF WATER IS NOT
BALANCED BY RECHARGE
 OGALALLA AQUIFER

• ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST AQUIFERS, IT UNDERLIES AN AREA

OF APPROXIMATELY 174,000 SQ MI (450,000 KM2)
• THE CENTER-PIVOT IRRIGATOR WAS DESCRIBED AS THE "VILLAIN" IN
A NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE, "WELLS DRY, FERTILE PLAINS TURN TO
DUST" RECOUNTING THE RELENTLESS DECLINE OF PARTS OF THE
OGALLALA AQUIFER.
• SIXTY YEARS OF INTENSIVE FARMING USING HUGE CENTER-PIVOT
IRRIGATORS HAS EMPTIED PARTS OF THE HIGH PLAINS AQUIFER.
HUNDREDS TO THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF RAINFALL WOULD BE
NEEDED TO REPLACE THE GROUNDWATER IN THE DEPLETED AQUIFER.
For 100 years in California, anyone could dig a well on their land and pump as much as they
wanted. Farmers got most of it. They pumped so much water that the underground water table fell
by more than 100 feet in some places. The ground itself subsided as water was pumped out from
underneath it.

The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), passed in 2014 but just now going into
effect, treats the aquifer like a bank account that has to stay in balance. There can be withdrawals of
water, but they cannot exceed the rate at which the aquifer is replenished.
 Groundwater
• CONE OF DEPRESSION: AN AREA WHERE GROUNDWATER
IS DEPLETED AROUND A WELL.
GROUNDWATER

• SALTWATER INTRUSION:
PUMPING OF FRESH
WATER OUT OF A WELL
EXCEEDS RECHARGE
RATE.
• NEAR COASTAL AREAS,
THIS CAN CAUSE SALT
WATER TO INFILTRATE
THE AQUIFER.
 SINKHOLES IN FLORIDA
The water below ground is actually helping to keep the surface soil in place. Groundwater pumping for urban
water supply and for irrigation can produce new sinkholes in sinkhole-prone areas. If pumping results in
a lowering of groundwater levels, then underground structural failure, and thus, sinkholes, can occur.
 SURFACE WATER

Surface water: the

fresh water that
exists above
ground in lakes,
rivers, streams,
wetlands etc.
• OLIGOTROPHIC: LOW PRODUCTIVITY DUE TO LOW LEVELS OF NUTRIENTS SUCH
AS PHOSPHOROUS AND NITROGEN

• MESOTROPHIC: A MODERATE LEVEL OF PRODUCTIVITY. ENOUGH

PHOTOSYNTHESIS TO SUPPORT A MORE COMPLEX FOOD WEB.
• EUTROPHIC: HIGH PRODUCTIVITY
 HUMAN ALTERATION OF
WATER
• LEVEES: AN ENLARGED BANK BUILT UP ON
EACH SIDE OF A RIVER OR LAKE TO
PREVENT FLOODING

• DIKES: LIKE LEVEES, BUT PREVENT OCEAN

WATERS FROM FLOODING ADJACENT LAND
 Trying to hold back Mississippi floodwaters

The Mississippi
river has the
largest system of
levees in the world
that offer
protection 15
million acres of
flood plains
 Lake Okeechobee Levee

Eutrophic lake
• DAM: A BARRIER
RUNNING ACROSS A
RIVER OR STREAM TO
CONTROL WATER FLOW

• RESERVOIR: WHERE
WATER IS STORED
BEHIND A DAM OR
WITHIN A LEVEE.
AQUEDUCTS: CANALS
OR DITCHES USED TO
CARRY WATER FROM
ONE LOCATION TO
ANOTHER.

ABUNDANCE –>
DEPLETION
• DESALINIZATION: PROCESS Desalinization
TO REMOVE SALT FROM
LAKE OR OCEAN
SALTWATER TO OBTAIN
FRESH WATER.
AGRICULTURE: THE WORLD’S LARGEST USER OF WATER

As global population grows (increasing

agricultural, industrial and domestic
demands for water), and water demand
increases, water stress and the risk of
water scarcity is now a common concern.
This is even more applicable for particular
regions with lower water resources and/or
larger population pressures.
 1989 2014

"one of the planet's worst

environmental disasters"

The Aral Sea –water At more than 67,000 sq km (26,000 sq miles), the Aral Sea was
once the fourth-largest freshwater lake in the world
diversion
 IRRIGATION
• SPRAY IRRIGATION: SPRAYS WATER ACROSS A FIELD, 75-90%
EFFICIENT
• DRIP IRRIGATION: HOSE THAT IS LAID ON OR BURIED
BENEATH THE SOIL, >95% EFFICIENT:
• FURROW IRRIGATION: TRENCH THAT IS FLOODED WITH
WATER, 65% EFFICIENT.

• FLOOD IRRIGATION: ENTIRE FIELD IS FLOODED WITH WATER,

70-80% EFFICIENT.
 Water
INDUSTRY: THE useSECOND
WORLD’S in Industry
LARGEST USER OF WATER

In the USA, about one-

half of water used goes
toward generating
electricity
 Household Water Use
Water use at home
HOUSEHOLDS: WORLD’S THIRD LARGEST USER OF WATER

•Daily water use varies widely

per capita, from 41 L in Kenya
to 595 L in the USA
•>40% of domestic daily water
use in the USA is for toilet
flushing
 Future water availability

The shifting patterns of water

availability, along with
falling groundwater levels,
will further limit access to
drinking water and water for
irrigation, presenting new
socio-economic and political
implications. Over 2 billion
people already lack access
to safe drinking water at
home, and by 2025 over half
of the world’s population will
reside in water-stressed
areas
 • EDUCATION/AWARENESS.
• NEW CONSERVATION TECHNOLOGIES.
SOLUTIONS • RECYCLE WASTEWATER.
TO OUR • IMPROVE IRRIGATION AND
WATER AGRICULTURAL WATER USE.
CRISIS? • WATER PRICING, INCREASE PRICES?
• ENERGY EFFICIENT DESAL PLANTS.
• RAIN-WATER HARVESTING.
AIR POLLUTION
CHAPTER 10
 ON AVERAGE, EACH OF US
BREATHES OVER 3,000
GALLONS OF AIR EACH DAY
 According to theWorld Health Organization
(WHO), each year air pollution is responsible
for nearly seven million deaths around the
globe.
WHAT IS AIR
POLLUTION? Nine out of ten human beings currently
breathe air that exceeds the WHO’s
guideline limits for pollutants, with those
living in low- and middle-income countries
suffering the most
 “THE INTRODUCTION OF CHEMICALS,
PARTICULATE MATTER, OR
MICRORGANISMS INTO THE
ATMOSPHERE AT CONCENTRATIONS
HIGH ENOUGH TO HARM PLANTS,
WHAT IS AIR ANIMALS, MATERIALS ON BUILDINGS,
POLLUTION? OR TO ALTER ECOSYSTEMS”

• AIR POLLUTION REFERS TO

POLLUTION IN THE TROPOSPHERE
(FIRST 10 MILES ABOVE EARTH’S
SURFACE)
 ANNUAL EXCESS
DEATHS FROMTHE
HARMFUL IMPACTS
OFAIR POLLUTION
FROM FOSSIL FUELS

Some four out of ten

U.S. residents—135
million people—live in counties
with unhealthy levels of air
pollution, according to the
2021 State of the
Air report by the American
Lung Association (ALA).
 In the United States, the Clean Air Act,
established in 1970, authorizes the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to
safeguard public health by regulating the
emissions of harmful air pollutants.
THE US
CLEAN AIR This legislation authorized the
ACT (1970) development of comprehensive federal
and state regulations to limit
emissions from both stationary
(industrial) sources and mobile sources
(cars etc.)
 The act identified six pollutants that significantly threaten
human well-being, ecosystems and structures:

1.Sulfur Dioxide
2. Nitrogen Oxides
TheUSClean
AirAct (1970) 3.Carbon monoxide
4.Particulate matter
5.Tropospheric ozone
6.Lead
Co2 was not included
 SULFUR DIOXIDE (SO2):

Corrosive gas that originates from the

combustion of fuels such as coal and oil.
The largest source of SO2 in the atmosphere is
the burning of fossil fuels by power plants and
Air pollution other industrial facilities. Smaller sources of
sources SO2 emissions include: industrial processes such
as extracting metal from ore; natural sources
such as volcanoes; and locomotives, ships and
other vehicles and heavy equipment that burn
fuel with a high sulfur content.
 Nitrogen Oxides (Nox)

CAN BE NO (NITROGEN OXIDE) COLORLESS

ODORLESS GAS

or NO2 (a pungent red/brown gas)

Air Pollution • Cars and stationary fossil fuel consumption
Sources • Natural sources include, forest fires, lightning,
and microbial action in soils
• Nitrogen oxides, also react with other chemicals,
sunlight and heat to form ground-level ozone.
The nitrogen oxides and the ozone itself can be
transported with the weather to help cause
unhealthy air in cities and towns far downwind.
 PARTICULATE MATTER

• Particle pollution, also known as particulate matter (PM),

includes the very fine dust, soot, smoke, and droplets that
are formed from chemical reactions, and produced when
Air Pollution fuels such as coal, wood, or oil are burned.
Sources • Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide gases from motor vehicles,
electric power generation, and industrial facilities react with
sunlight and water vapor to form particles.
• Particles may also come from fireplaces, wood stoves,
unpaved roads, crushing and grinding operations, and may be
blown into the air by the wind.
PARTICULATE MATTER
 Carbon Monoxide (CO)
CO is a colorless, odorless gas that can be harmful
when inhaled in large amounts. CO is released when
something is burned.The greatest sources of CO to
Air Pollution outdoor air are cars, trucks and other vehicles or
machinery that burn fossil fuels.
Sources
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Formed during the combustion of fossil fuels
and biomass. Also colorless and odorless.
Absorbed by palnts during photosynthesis. In
2018 carbon dioxide accounted for 81 percent of
the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
 PHOTOCHEMICAL OXIDANTS (TROPOSPHERIC
OZONE O3)

• OZONE IS A GAS COMPOSED OF THREE ATOMS OF OXYGEN. OZONE

OCCURS BOTH IN THE EARTH'S UPPER ATMOSPHERE AND AT GROUND LEVEL.
OZONE CAN BE GOOD OR BAD, DEPENDING ON WHERE IT IS FOUND.

Air Pollution Tropospheric, or ground level ozone, is not emitted directly

into the air, but is created by chemical reactions between
Sources oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds
(VOC).This happens when pollutants emitted by cars,
power plants, industrial boilers, refineries, chemical plants,
and other sources chemically react in the presence of
sunlight.
When sufficient ozone enters the leaves
of a sensitive plant, it can:

1. Reduce photosynthesis.
2. Slow the plant's growth.
3.Increases sensitive plants' risk of
disease

•damage from insects

•effects of other pollutants
•harm from severe weather.
 LEAD (PB)
Sources of lead emissions vary from one area to another.At the
national level, major sources of lead in the air are ore and metals
processing and piston-engine aircraft operating on leaded aviation
Air Pollution fuel. Other sources are waste incinerators, utilities, and lead-acid
battery manufacturers.The highest air concentrations of lead are
Sources usually found near lead smelters.

As a result of EPA's regulatory efforts including the removal of lead

from motor vehicle gasoline, levels of lead in the air decreased
by 98 percent between 1980 and 2014.
 PRIMARY POLLUTANTS
• Primary pollutants: polluting
compounds coming directly out of
smoke-stacks, exhaust pipes, or
natural emission source
• e.g., CO, CO2, SO2, NOx, lead,VOCs
and most suspended particulate
matter
 SECONDARY POLLUTANTS
• Secondary pollutants: pollutants
transformed in the presence of
sunlight, water, oxygen or other
compounds
• e.g., ozone, sulfate, and nitrate
 AIR POLLUTION
COMES FROM BOTH
NATURAL AND
HUMAN SOURCES.
Natural Sources of
Air Pollution
Volcanoes (SO3,
PM, CO, NOx)
Lightning
Forest fires and…
Plants???
Trees, such conifers, pines
and fir emit terpenes – a
naturally occurring organic
compound. Released in
large quantities, the mix of
terpenes and moisture react
with natural low level ozone
molecules to form tiny
particles that scatter blue
light. As a result, mountains
appear to be bathed in a
gauzy blue mist.
THE GOOD
NEWS IS
THE CLEAN
AIR ACT IS
WORKING
 But…
there is still
work to do
to
strengthen
legislation