ANALYZING THE IMPACT OF WATER RESOURCES

DIVISION ACTIVITIES ON ENVIRONMENT AND

PROPOSING STRATEGIES FOR ACHIEVING
SUSTAINABILITY

CE101 – INTRODUCTION TO CIVIL ENGINEERING

Instructor: Prof. Cemalettin DÖNMEZ
December 13, 2022

by
Emre KARACA
Civil Engineering Department
First Year Student
 I

ABSTRACT

Analyzing the Impact of Water Resources Division Activities on Environment

and Proposing Strategies for Achieving Sustainability
 II

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
 Chapter 2
Sustainable Water Resources
Engineering

2.1 What is Sustainable Engineering?

Sustainable engineering is the profession of designing and processing materials and

manufacturing these substances while minimizing their negative effects on the environment
and nature. Manufacturers must minimize waste and maximize the value they present. Today,
many consumers and investors are aware that in order to develop a sustainable world, it is a
must to contribute to sustainable engineering and new development strategies.

Dr. Helen Meese, Chartered Mechanical Engineer claims that, “Sustainable design is no
longer simply focused on reduce, recycle and re-use or repurpose. Today, sustainable design
is about adding value, designing products that bring societal benefits, and solving
environmental challenges that are also viable for businesses to implement. Engineers must
have the mindset to develop innovative solutions.”

Moreover to Dr.Meese’s point, all engineers should always work to manage a safe and
healthy society, while being beneficial with increasing efficiency. Sustainability has become
the top objective for all engineers as they are the decision-makers that can decrease the
negative impacts that threaten the environment. There are various causes why people should
strive for sustainable engineering, such as reducing overall carbon dioxide emissions,
lessening energy and material usage, which increases efficiency by reducing costs,
encouraging recycling and re-use, which optimizes life better and competing and decreasing
the wild amount of strict ruled markets, health and safety regulations.
2.2 Terms of Sustainability for Water Resources Division

Water can be defined as the most important component of life’s foundation, it is pretty
and especially essential for our civilization. If water is that significant for the survival of our
civilization, can engineers develop a system that integrates water to the needs of our society
in a sustainable way?

Sustainable water management is a part that plays an important role in sustainable

development. With the right approach to water distribution and wastewater collection, it is
impossible to achieve an ideal sustainable system with respect to water. Improper water
distribution will result in water and energy waste. Improper collection of waste water will
conclude as leakage of waste water, leading to water hazard. Insufficient corrosion
protection, old pipelines, inadequately maintained valves as well as mechanical harm
contribute to leakage. Various leaks remain unspotted.

Water lost before the right treatment is unsustainable and unobtainable. As water, money and
energy are wasted. Without the required knowledge about the fundamentals of water systems,
the water engineers will not end up with affordable and cheap solutions that will serve the
humanity. The main requirements for the sustainability of water systems can be defined as
asset management with right investments at right time, water and energy efficiency involving
sustainable practices and technologies with affordable prices, ecosystem and environmental
quality planning, water infrastructure needs and alternative technologies and assesments.

Numerous cities and towns around the world are provided high-quality water but without
large infrastructure systems, water can not be served to the society. The reservoirs and
aquifers that supply the urban and rural areas with water are mostly stressed and degraded,
also cause conflicts amongst the consumers.

Sustainability also can not occur only by science or technology, people must upgrade their
honesty and emotional intelligence to enhance water quality. In the absence of these factors,
all the investment will be wasted and there will be no development.
2.3 Threatening Factors Against Water Resources

Factors like pollution, climate change, drought and mismanagement of groundwater

can be defined as the main causes that threaten the future of water resources. Innovations like
fertilizers and chemical pesticides had a big impact to the amount of food humanity grew but
those inventions’ affect to humanity would be a debate if without world’s, especially
agriculture’s most precious foundation: fresh water. Because of the referred factors, fresh
water is now under threat in modern-day world.

“For two-plus generations, now, humanity has lived in a relative time of plenty,” said Leticia
Carvalho, head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Marine and
Freshwater branch. “But we’re undermining the freshwater resources that make it possible
for us to grow crops. And if we keep doing that, the consequences could be severe.”

Figure 2.3.1 A schematic framework representing climate change (from IPCC, 2007).
The IPCC report Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability shows that
global warming cause more effective droughts, like the record-setter dry spells that have
gripped East Africa, according to the 2022 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
report, “key development sectors have already experienced widespread loss and damage
attributable to anthropogenic climate change, including biodiversity loss, water shortages,
reduced food production, loss of lives and reduced economic growth.”

According to the Global Land Outlook, a report by the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification, over one-third of the world's population lives in water-scarce regions now. At
the same time, global warming has been stated as the cause of severe flooding, as seen in
India and Bangladesh, with awful consequences for farmers.

Figure 2.3.2 Impacts of drought and water scarcity (from Global Land Outlook).

Almost fifty percent of the water used for irrigation is supplied from groundwater but
developments in drilling technology over the last few decades have resulted in unsustainable
extraction in parts of the world, such as India. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United States estimated that ten percent of the global grain harvest is being raised by
consuming groundwater resources.

Wastewater – which is a valuable resource if recycled – is profited by getting used to produce

crops in some arid areas. Though farmers are not conscious of the risks, pathogens in the
water can cause some illnesses like cholera and diarrhea.

Floods cause a snowball effect considering pollution of surface water and groundwater.
Fertilizer runoff can result as deaths of various aquatic living beings.
 Chapter 3
Introduction to Hydrology

3.1 Hydrological Cycle

Hydrological cycle, also known as “water cycle” is a system that ocassions water to
recycle on Earth. Due to daylight and solar based radiation, evaporation occur in sources that
contain water, generally from the sea, lakes and especially from reservoirs. Water can also
evaporate from plant leaves by transpiration, which is a natural phenomenon. The steam that
rose to the atmosphere is cooled, condensed and finally returned to the land and the sea as
precipitation. Precipitation also is the cause of existence of streams of water such as lakes and
rivers. A part of the water precipitating go deep inside the ground and go downside through
slits inside the land, forming aquifers. Minus the surface runoff, the rest forms the seas with
the help of underground water sources. During this phenomenon water can be seen in
different forms of matter, such as gas, liquid and solid. Water’s form can be changed easily
because its critical points of temperature are defined easy, so, the fact that water can be seen
in different phases of matter can be admitted with these processes happening in the instance.

Figure 3.1.1 The hydrological cycle shown in a framework.

Global warming is a threat to the hydrological cycle due to the enhanced greenhouse effect.
More precipitation would affect the hydrological cycle in a good way, however, this extra
precipitation will be inadequately apportioned around the globe. Various aspects of the
economy, environment and society are contingent to water resources and differences in the
hydrological resource base serve the possibility that impact environmental quality, economic
development and social well-being.

The concept of hydrological cycle is simple but its importance of happening in the division of
geology and biology is at overwhelming rate. It plays an important role in the cycling of solar
energy, sediments and chemical elements. Hydrological cycle’s significance level to life
incommensurable and life can be defined as a product of hydrological cycle.

Figure 3.1.2 Map of evaporation (in mm) distribution for the year 2006 (from GLEAM).

Hydrologic system is defined as “a structure or volume in space, surrounded by a boundary,

that accepts water and other inputs, operates on them internally, and prodcues them as
outputs.” by Chow, Maidment and Mays at 1988. The sum of the flow channels whereby the
water may pass as throughput from the point at which it enters the system to the point at
which it exits makes up the structure or volume in space. Physical, chemical and biological
processes occur on the system are water, air and heat energy.

The global hydrologic cycle can be mentioned as a system that contains three subsystems: the
atmospheric water system, the surface water system and the subsurface water system.
Figure 3.1.3 Block-diagram that represent the global hydrologic system (from Chow et al.
(1988)).

3.2 Hydrologic Processes

3.2.1 Precipitation (Rainfall)

The term precipitation refers to any liquid or frozen water that compresses in
the atmosphere and falls to the earth. Rain, sleet and snow are only a few of its varied forms.
Precipitation is one of the three main processes that make up the global water cycle, together
with evaporation and condensation.

As water vapor condenses into larger droplets of water, precipitation occurs in the clouds.
The raindrops reach to the ground when they are adequately heavy. Raindrops may also
freeze to form ice if a cloud is colder, like it would be at higher elevations. Depending on the
temperature within the cloud and at the Earth’s surface, these ice crystals eventually fall to
the Earth as snow, hail or rain. The majority of rain actually starts off as snow in the clouds.
Dust particles are important for precipitation to happen. These particles, called “condensation
nuclei”, serve as a surface on which water vapor can condense. This assists in the formation
of large enough water droplets to fall to the Earth.

Even if the precipitations source is saltwater reservoirs, it always deliver fresh water to the
Earth. This is because sea salt does not evaporate with water. However, sometimes, toxins
can affect water droplets before they morph into teardrops. If the toxins can contaminate, then
the precipitation that occurs is defined as an acid rain. Acid rain does not injure any human
directly but it affects the acidity of lakes and streams. This damages aquatic ecosystem
because plants and animals can not adjust to the acidity.

Figure 3.2.1.1 Convective precipitation diagram.

 3.2.2 Evaporation
The transfer of liquid water into vapor state to the atmosphere can be defined
as Evaporation. It requires the transformation of water from a liquid to a vapor state, followed
by a return to the atmosphere in the form of precipitation that is either liquid or solid when it
reaches the earth's surface. The variety of evaporation that occurs from sea, ocean, or other
water surfaces is likely the most essential.

Evaporation from bare soil surfaces is also achievable, but it only counts for a very small
portion of the overall amount. Cooling is caused by evaporation. Precipitation that has been
dropped on plants also evaporates, lowering the amount of water that reaches the soil's
surface. Transpiration by plants should also be taken into account as an evaporation
mechanism.

Natural evaporation takes place when energy is introduced, either directly from the sun or
indirectly from the atmosphere. The molecules are always moving, as simply put. When
water is heated, the molecules become more energized and begin to move more frequently,
increasing the space between the molecules of the liquid and weakening the forces that hold
them together. Therefore, at high temperatures, more molecules at the water's surface will
have a tendency to fly off into the lower levels of the surrounding air. Water vapor molecules
are continuously moving in the lower air layers at the same time, and some of them even
reach the water mass below.

The amount of molecules leaving the water surface at any one time is determined by the
amount of molecules returning to the surface due to condensation. In general, the amount of
water that evaporates from a given surface is greatest when it's warm, dry, and windy and
least when it's humid and cold. When the air is dry, the real water pressure of water is low
due to the high saturation vapor pressure of water. Within other words, the saturation deficit
(E-e) is severe in dry conditions and vice versa.

Up to %50 of reservoirs’ capacity is lost by evaporation, affecting their function of ensuring

water availability and stability according to the report Critical evaluation of functional
aspects of evaporation barriers through environmental and economics lens for evaporation
supression – A review on milestones from improved technologies. To reduce this value; when
choosing location for dams, it should be focused to find deep and narrow regions.
Area/Volume value should be smallest in order to find the perfect location. Wind speed
should be reduced by forestation. Water surfaces can be covered by thin oil films or black
color carbon balls in order to reduce evaporation. In India, there is a project that including
solar panels on water channels. It both generates free electricity and prevents evaporation of
water.
Figure 3.2.2.1 Monthly evaporation rates from the two reservoirs supplying Ghibe I, II and III
power plants (based on Yesuf, 2012)

Figure 3.2.2.2 Los Angeles Sylmar area reservoir with shade balls.
 3.2.3 Infiltration
When the rainfall reaches to earth and leaks into the soil, it causes soil to get
saturated. Water divides into parts and the infiltration begins. Some parts of the water may
reach the groundwater through percolation to mix into the groundwater flow. Some of the
water may be lost as surface runoff. Because of infiltration, water bodies such as ponds,
rivers, and lakes are created.

The infiltration rate typically depends on a number of factors, including the texture and
structure of the soil, the initial soil moisture content, the decreasing water concentration as
the water moves deeper into the soil, the filling of the pores in the soil matrices, changes in
the soil composition, and the swelling of the wet soils, which in turn closes soil cracks.

Figure 3.2.3.1 Diagram of infiltration and lateral groundwater flow in Seoul, Korea.
 Chapter 4
Drought

Drought is a long period of dryness in the natural climate cycle that can happen
anytime, anywhere in the earth. It is a catastrophe caused by the lack of precipitation and
overall temperature increase, resulting in a water deficiency. It is mentioned that water is the
absolute foundation of life, so we can say that drought can have a vital effect on health,
agriculture, economies and the environment.

Drought affects 55 million people globally every year, which is the estimated amount by
World Health Organization’s Disaster Statictics – UNDRR report. Drought can cause
various illnesses, death and mass migration. Water shortage endanger %40 of the world’s
population at the moment, and almost 700 million people will be at-risk of being migrated as
a result of drought by 2030.

Overall temperature increase caused by climate change induce dry regions drier and wet
regions wetter. In dry regions, temperature increase means water loss due to evaporation and
this means that it is not possible to get rid of drought. Between %80 and %90 of all
documented catastrophes from natural hazards during the last decade have resulted from
floods, droughts, heat waves and severe storms.

Drought has some intense and critical health effects, including malnutrition because of the
food shortage, including micronutrient deficiency such as iron-deficiency anemia, increased
rick of diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea due to lack of water and sanitation, psycho-
social stress and mental health disorders and inadequate local health services due to lack of
water supplies. Drought can also cause air pollution by making wildfires and dust storms,
most likely create health risk in people already have lung diseases like asthma.
 Chapter 5
Dams

A structure built over a river or stream to hold back water is called a dam. Dams have
been built using a variety of materials over time. Raw materials like clay or stone were used
in the construction of ancient dams. Dam builders in the modern era usually employ concrete.

People in all parts of the world can rely on dams as a source of life-sustaining resources. In
terms of importance, they are on par with airports, highways, bridges, and other significant
infrastructure components in this country. They can do multiple tasks at once, including as
providing clean, renewable energy through hydropower, flood control, recreation, and water
supply for domestic, agricultural, industrial, and communal purposes. Dams offer various
benefits to humanity such as electrical generation, renewable and clean energy, flood control,
water storage and irrigation.

The ability of a dam to retain water properly and safely is crucial because that is what it is
intended to do. Water should only cross an auxiliary spillway at times of high reservoir levels
and high water intake. Water generally flows through the main spillway or outflow works.
Most concrete dams and all embankments leak to some extent. To stop internal deterioration
and instability, the seepage must be under control. This control is achieved by proper dam
construction, maintenance, and seepage monitoring.

Figure 5.1.1 Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona, USA.

 Chapter 6
Floods

6.1 Causes of Floods

A flood is when water overflows onto typically dry ground. There are floods virtually
everywhere. They can carry just a few inches of water to cover a space or enough water to
cover a house's roof. Communities may be at risk from floods that linger for days, weeks, or
even longer. A flood can be brought on by a variety of circumstances, some of them are
heavy rainfalls, ocean waves coming on shore, melting snow and ice as well as ice jams and
dams or levees breaking.

An area's geography may also increase its propensity for flooding. For instance, regions close
to rivers are frequently at risk of flooding. Urban regions (areas close to cities) are also more
susceptible to flooding because concrete surfaces like parking lots and roads hinder the earth
from absorbing the rain and rooftops direct precipitation to the ground below.

The risk of flooding might also rise in areas with mountains or steep hills. Streams and rivers
can increase swiftly as a result of rain or snowmelt flowing down a mountain. In fact, a brook
merely 6 inches deep can expand to a 10-foot-deep river in less than an hour if a rainstorm
persists over a mountain.

6.2 Flood Effects on Nature and Humanity

Flooding is one of the most frequent natural disasters, and it frequently has terrible
consequences. One of the worst flooding incidents ever was the Central China Flood of 1931,
for reference. Numerous million people may have perished when the banks of the Yangtze
and Huai Rivers were breached. The fallout was catastrophic; those who survived faced the
prospect of famine and fatal watery illnesses like dysentery and cholera spread swiftly.
Flooding can have a high human cost, but it also has significant consequences on the natural
world, some of which are positive. In reality, seasonal flooding is a major driver of biological
processes in several ecosystems.
Figure 6.2.1 Chinese people in Yangtze River Flood (from Wikipedia, 1931).

Floods harm wildlife by being the main reason of drowning and habitat destruction. In 2012,
dozens of animals including Rhinoceros Unicornis were killed in floods that submerged
Kaziranga National Park in Assam.

Figure 6.2.2 Zookeepers after the incident in Kaziranga National Park, 2012.
Floods also cause sedimentation and erosion by eroding riverbanks and making them
collapse. As streamflows carry these materials, it increases the amount of total load which
degrades water quality and leads to harmful blooms of algae. Sedimentation can cause the
clogging of riverbeds and streams, which leds to destruction of habitats. Erosion and
sedimentation affects ecosystems negatively.

Floods carry contamination, which causes the toxification and degradation of water quality.
These contaminations by pollutants can be agricultural pesticides, industrial chemicals, debris
and sewage. If contaminated water reaches to other water resources, it pollutes them as well.
In February 2019, marine biologists was frightened about the safety of the Great Barrier Reef
off the coast of Queensland after it was deluged with toxicated floodwater.

Infectious illness outbreaks linked to weather are most frequently caused by floods. Flooding
incidents raise the potential for the development of cholera and hepatitis A, two watery
illnesses. Floodwater that has receded may leave behind pools of stagnant water that are ideal
mosquito breeding grounds and can spread illnesses like malaria. Some zoonoses, such
leptospirosis, are more common after flood episodes.

Floods bring dangers, but they also deliver nutrition and other necessities for life. Seasonal
flooding may revitalize ecosystems and supply water that is vital in many different ways.

Floods deliver essential nutrients to the nearby soil, including nitrogen, phosphorus, and
organic matter. On the floodplain, the receding water deposits nutrients and debris. This rich,
organic fertilizer enhances soil quality and promotes plant development, which raises
ecosystem production. Along the deltas of rivers that flooded seasonally, ancient civilizations
first developed such as the Nile in Egypt, because they provided soil for farmland.

Floods have the power to replenish subsurface water supplies. Floodwater seeps into the
earth, percolates through layers of rock and soil, and finally finds its way to subterranean
aquifers. These aquifers provide springs, wells, lakes, and rivers with pure freshwater. During
periods of drought, when it may be the only source of freshwater available, ecosystems rely
significantly on groundwater. A sufficient groundwater supply improves soil health and
makes agricultural and grazing fields more productive.
 Chapter 7
Water Resources Management
for Sustainability

7.1 Water Resources Development

Water is essential and very significant for sustainable development, healthy
ecosystems and for human survival itself. It is necessary to reduce the diseases effects and
improve health, welfare and productivity all around the world. Water is also heart of climate
change and systems, causing it to defined as the life’s essential foundation. UN-Water’s goal
is “Securing Sustainable Water for All”.

Water resource developments is the activity of planning developing, distributing and

managing the optimum use of water resources while aiming to be an ideal system.

There are some classifications based on project’s goals, project types can be defined as
single-purpose projects, multi-purpose projects, river basin projects and river basin
development projects, integrated river basin development projects and finally, optimum
development projects.

Water resources are best candidates for multi-purpose projects. Objectives can be mentioned
as; development of national economy, achieving better environmental conditions, realizing
social justice, providing regional development and life safety in regions. Based on economic
objectives, it is aimed to achieve the greatest net benefit.

While developing water resources projects, the amount and quality of the water can be a
dealbreaker. In order to develop projects with great net benefits, some investigations and
reportings must have done by researchers. The objectives of this projects can be defined as
protection from water hazard, utilization of water and water quality control.
7.2 Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)
Water is a crucial engine of economic and social growth, as well as a fundamental
function in sustaining the natural environment's integrity. However, water is only one of
several critical natural resources, and it is critical that water concerns not be viewed in
isolation.

Managers in both the public and commercial sectors must make challenging decisions about
water allocation. They are increasingly forced to divide limited supply among ever-increasing
demands. Demographic and climatic changes, for example, exacerbate the strain on water
supplies. The conventional fragmented approach to water management is no longer
practicable, and a more holistic approach to water management is required.

This is the rationale behind the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach,
which is now widely accepted globally as the way forward for the efficient, equitable, and
long-term development and management of the world's limited water resources, as well as for
dealing with competing demands. Many developing and developed countries are discovering
that supply-side solutions alone are insufficient to meet the ever-increasing demands from
demographic, economic, and climatic pressures; waste-water treatment, water recycling, and
demand management measures are being implemented to address the challenges of
insufficient supply.

Pollution of water sources is causing severe issues for both water consumers and natural
ecosystems. Climate variability and climate change are adversely affecting the availability of
water in many countries, both in quantity and quality, with more or less precipitation in
different locations and more intense weather events. Demand is growing in many places as a
result of population increase and other demographic changes (particularly urbanization), as
well as agricultural and industrial expansion in response to changes in consumption and
production patterns. As a result, certain locations are now in a constant condition of demand
exceeding supply, and this is the situation in many more places during important periods of
the year or in years of low water availability.

IWRM is a concept that is built by practitioners. Although many aspects of the concept have
been around for decades – in fact, since the first global water conference in Mar del Plata in
1977 – it was not until after Agenda 21 and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in
Rio de Janeiro in 1992 that it became the subject of extensive discussions about what it
means in practice. The definition of IWRM proposed by the Global Water Partnership is
widely recognized. It states that: “IWRM is a process which promotes the co-ordinated
development and management of water, land and related resources, in order to maximize the
resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the
sustainability of vital ecosystems.”
7.3 Sustainable Drainage Systems for Infiltration
The gathering of human populations into distinct areas is referred to as urbanization.
This concentration results in land being transformed for residential, commercial, industrial,
and transportation needs. Urbanization offers so various kind of benefits for humanity,
however, there is a downgrade as well. Because of urbanization, drainage system of nature,
which can be defined and referred as infiltration, got harmed pretty badly.

The fields become wet with rain or irrigation. Water enters the soil and is stored in its pores.
When all of the pores in the soil are filled with water, the soil is said to be saturated, and no
more water can be absorbed; if rain or irrigation continues, pools on the soil surface may
form. With infiltration occuring, this is not a problem for nature and it’s a natural happening.
After the harm against infiltration by urbanization, there is a need arise to Sustainable
Drainage Systems.

Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) can be defined as managing surface water that can
cause flooding, examining the quality of water in order to prevent it’s pollution, protecting
biodiversity and amenity.

SuDS mimic nature and fill the gap caused by urbanization. It can be designed to interrupt
and prevent the waterflow in order to stop flooding and can be used to let water to drain into
the earth, which is infiltration, or even help to find the water that is lost from vegetation,
known as evapotransportation.

Figure 7.3.1 Effect of Urbanization on ET framework.

SUDS are drainage systems that are thought to be environmentally beneficial, producing little
or no long-term harm. They are frequently viewed as a series of management approaches,
control structures, and tactics aimed to drain surface water effectively and sustainably, while
minimizing pollution and regulating the influence on water quality of local water bodies.

SuDS are more eco friendly than traditional drainage solutions. SuDS control hard surface
runoff quantities and flow rates, lessening the impact of urbanization on floods, create
chances for runoff to be used where it falls. Protects water quality and natural flow regimes.
Encourage natural recharging of groundwater/aquifers and finally, improve the locations
where people live, work, and play.

Figure 7.3.2 Demonstration of natural catchment due to evaporation and evapotransportation.

Figure 7.3.3 Demonstration of urban catchment due to evaporation and evapotransportation .

This lowers options for natural water management, with the risk of contamination and
localized floods if the piped systems cannot handle rainfall.

SuDS may also permit new construction in regions where existing sewage systems are
nearing capacity, allowing for development inside existing metropolitan areas. Sustainable
drainage involves shifting from the old mindset of planning simply to minimize flood risk,
where runoff is viewed as a nuisance, to one in which surface water is viewed as a precious
resource that should be managed for optimum advantage.
CONCLUSIONS