Water Resources and

Water Pollution
Chapter 11
Intended Learning Outcomes
At end of this lesson, the students will be able to:
• Discuss the world water crisis;
• Recommend ways on how to use fresh water
sustainably;
• Suggest measures on how to reduce flooding;
• Explain how to deal with water pollution.
Water Resources

• Water
– Earth’s surface is covered by 71% water
– Essential for life – can survive only a few
days without water
Supply of Water Resources

Small fraction (.014%) is readily

available for human use
Freshwater is not evenly distributed over the
earth’s surface – estimates show that one in
nine people do not have access to clean,
fresh water
Globally, we have plenty of fresh water (recycled
and purified by the hydrologic cycle), but pollute
and overuse it faster than natural processes can
replenish it
– A global economic and health issue
– A security issue due to terrorism
– An environmental issue as it determines and
moderates the climate, and dilutes and removes
pollutants and waste
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
InfiltrationWater table
Lake
Infiltration
Unconfined aquifer

Confined aquifer
Less permeable material
such as clay Confirming permeable rock layer
Groundwater
Groundwater infiltrates downward through
spaces in soil and rocks
– Zone of saturation: underground areas of
soil/rock where freshwater fills spaces between
particles
– Water table: the top of the groundwater zone;
fluctuates up and down depending on weather,
and removal/replenishment rates

• Aquifer: underground body of rock that

absorbs and holds flowing water
 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)

Less permeable material
Confined aquifer

such as clay
Confirming permeable rock layer
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withdrawn at 4X its replacement rate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
Surface Water

- the fresh water from rain and melted snow

stored at the surface
- 34% of the world’s reliable surface runoff is
used annually

70% - irrigate crops and raise livestock,

20% - used by industry
10% - used by cities for drinking, cooking, etc.
Agriculture uses approximately 70% of the water withdrawn
from our streams and rivers
Changing land use changes vegetation and need for water
• Indirect and virtual water: water used to
produce food and other products – this is
a large part of our water footprint
Freshwater Shortages
• Water scarcity is caused by dry climate, drought,
overuse/inefficient use, and using water faster
than it can be replenished
• Freshwater scarcity stress: a calculation that
compares fresh water availability with the
amount used by humans
• In 263 of the world’s water basins, two or more
countries share the available freshwater
supplies – not always amicably
Too Little Water
• Problems in the
West
• Dry climate
• Drought
• Desiccation

US has plenty of water.

Much of it is in the wrong Acute shortage
place at the wrong time.
Adequate supply
Most serious problems are
flooding, pollution, Shortage
occassional urban
Metropolitan regions with
shortages population greater than 1
million
 Water conflicts: Global

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 floodplains
• Impervious surfaces
• Removal of vegetation
• Draining wetlands

Reservoir
Dam
Levee Flood
wall
Floodplain
Deforestation and flooding
Change in land use also changes permeability
Avoid headwater disturbance and leave vegetation
Allow floodplains to function as floodplains
Using Dams and Reservoirs to Supply
More Water: The Trade-offs
Flooded land destroys Downstream cropland
forests or cropland and and
displaces people estuaries are deprived of
Large losses nutrient-rich silt
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

Advantages
• Dams/reservoir systems capture and store
surface runoff from a river’s watershed

• Water is released as needed to control

upstream flooding, generate electricity
(hydropower), supply fresh/irrigation water
and provide recreational opportunities

• Water transfer projects use dams, pumps, and

aqueducts to transfer water from water rich to
water poor regions
Disadvantages

• Dam/reservoirs displace millions of people,

flood productive lands, impair the
ecosystem services of rivers, and have a
useful life expectancy of only 50 years

• Water transfer projects reduce a river’s

flow and flushing action (leading to
pollution), and threaten fisheries and
artificially cheapen costs – leading to
inefficient and wasteful water use
The construction of dams have
slowed the once flowing Columbia
River into a series of lakes.
Watershed
• A watershed describes the total area
contributing drainage to a stream or river
• the geographic area through which water
flows across the land and drains into a
common body of water, whether a stream,
river, lake, or ocean
 Magat watershed

The is located in the northern part of the Philippines covering

major portions of Nueva Vizcaya and part of Quirino and
Isabela provinces of Region 2. It has a total area of 234,824
hectares.
 Angat Watershed Forest Reserve

-a conservation area that protects the drainage basin

in the southern Sierra Madre range north of Metro
Manila where surface water empties into the Angat
River and its tributaries
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
from Table 9-1 p. 187
• Sediment
– logging, roadbuilding, 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.
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)
from Table 9-1 p. 187
• 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
Groundwater Pollution
• Groundwater cannot cleanse itself of degradable
wastes as quickly as flowing surface water
– Can take up to thousands of years for polluted
groundwater to cleanse itself of slowly degradable
waste because:
• • Groundwater has lower concentrations of
dissolved oxygen/smaller populations of
decomposing bacteria
• Cold temperatures reduce chemical reaction rate
Purifying Drinking Water

• Temporarily store water in reservoirs

• Protect forests/wetlands in watersheds
that flow into reservoirs
• Convert sewer water to drinking water
– Microfiltration
– Reverse osmosis
– Hydrogen peroxide/ultraviolet light
• Desalination – removing salt from
seawater
Ocean Pollution
• Many humans treat the ocean as a dumping site
– 80% of marine pollution originates on land
– 80-90% of municipal sewage from the coastal
areas of less developed countries is dumped into
the ocean without any treatment
– May be safer to dump wastes and degradable
pollutants into the deep ocean, where it can be
diluted/dispersed/degraded
Contaminants in the Ocean

• Viruses in raw sewage and from sewage

treatment plants
• Toxic chemicals, garbage, sewage, and waste oil
from cruise ships
• Nitrates/phosphates and sewage from
agricultural waste
• Crude and refined petroleum
– Biomagnified into sea birds
• Urban and industrial runoff
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
Reducing water Pollution
• Ways to reduce non-point sources of surface
water pollution
• – Reduce soil erosion by keeping crop land
covered with vegetation, and by using
conservation tillage
• – Use slow release fertilizer – and no fertilizer
on steeply sloped land
• – Plant vegetative buffer zones between
cultivated fields and nearby surface waters
• – Encourage organic farming
 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
Thank you for listening.
Keep Safe.