Water Resources and

Water Pollution
Chapter 9

Water Resources
Water
Earths 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

Water Cycle continuously collected,

purified, recycled and distributed
Flowing
artesian well
Precipitation
Well requiring a pump

Evaporation and transpiration

Evaporation

Confined
Recharge Area
Runoff
Aquifer
Infiltration

Stream

Water table
Infiltration

Lake

Unconfined aquifer

Less permeable material

such as clay

Confined aquifer
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

Chehalis Basin

Flowing
artesian well
Precipitation
Well requiring a pump

Evaporation and transpiration

Evaporation

Confined
Recharge Area

Runoff

Aquifer
Infiltration

Stream

Water table
Infiltration

Lake

Zone of saturation
(spaces completely filled with wate
Unconfined aquifer

Less permeable material

such as clay

Confined aquifer

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
Could use up to 70-90% of the reliable runoff by
2025

Too Little Water

Problems in the
West
Dry climate
Drought
Desiccation
US has plenty of water.
Much of it is in the wrong
place at the wrong time.
Most serious problems are
flooding, pollution,
occassional urban shortages

Acute shortage
Adequate supply
Shortage
Metropolitan regions with
population greater than 1 million

Water conflicts: Western US

Water and
Fish

Wash.
Montana

N.D.

Oregon
S.D.

Idaho
Wyoming

Neb.

Nevada
Colo.

Utah

Kansas

California
Oak.

N.M.
Texas
Highly likely conflict potential
Substantial conflict potential
Moderate conflict potential
Unmet rural water needs

Water conflicts: Global

Two main factors for water shortage: dry climate and too
many people. Many people live in hydro poverty cant aff
water.

Too Much Water: Floods

Natural phenomena
Aggravated by human activities

Rain on snow
Impervious surfaces
Removal of vegetation
Draining wetlands

Living on floodplains

Reservoir
Dam
Levee
Floodplain

Flood
wall

Deforestation and flooding

Using Dams and Reservoirs to

Supply More Water: The Trade-offs
Large losses
of water through
evaporation

Flooded land destroys

forests or cropland and
displaces people

Downstream cropland and

estuaries are deprived of
nutrient-rich silt

Downstream flooding
is reduced

Reservoir is useful for

recreation and fishing

Can produce cheap electricity (hydropower)

Migration and spawning of some fish are disrupted

Provides water
for year-round
irrigation of
cropland

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

Reducing water waste

read section 9-4

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

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 humancaused

Types of Water Pollution (cont)

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

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 nonpoint 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 Columbia
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
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.

Instream flows
Result the more we know about stream
ecology, the more we realize that all the
water has instream value, meaning
there is no surplus
Compromises and minimizing impact
thresholds for rate of impact
Other ways to achieve ecosystem goals
wider view, not just flows watershed
land management

Legal/political aspects of
instream flow
provide a flow of water sufficient to adequately support food
fish and game fish populations in the stream (RCW
77.55.050)
provide protection and preservation and where possible
enhancement, of wildlife, fish, and other environmental
values (RCW 90.54)
protect fish, game, birds, and other wildlife, recreational and
aesthetic values and water quality (RCW 90.22)
antidegradation requirements of Washingtons water quality
standards (Ch. 173-201 A WAC, following Federal Clean Water
Act)

Instream flows
Other ways to achieve ecosystem goals wider
view, not just flows watershed land
management
Avoid headwater disturbance
Vegetation
Geology and topography
Maintain longitudinal and lateral connectivity
Avoid mainstem in-channel storage
Allow floodplain to function as floodplain

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
The 1998 legislature passed ESHB
2514, codified into Ch. 90.82 RCW, to
set a framework for developing local
solutions to watershed issues on a
watershed basis. Ch. 90.82 RCW
states: The legislature finds that the
local development of watershed plans
for managing water resources and for
protecting existing water rights is vital
to both state and local interests.

Watershed Planning
RCW 90.82.005
Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to develop
a more thorough and cooperative method of
determining what the current water resource
situation is in each water resource inventory area of the
state and to provide local citizens with the maximum
possible input concerning their goals and objectives for
water resource management and development.

Watershed Planning
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