WA

WAWater

WATER
 Water Chemical Properties
- -
Two atoms of hydrogen
H H

One atom of oxygen

o
+
 Facts about water
• Some interesting facts about water 75% of the earth's surface is covered with water.

• More than 97% of the earth's water is in its oceans.

• The world's average rainfall is about 850 mm.

• Water regulates the Earth's temperature. It also regulates the temperature of the human body, carries
nutrients and oxygen to cells, cushions joints, protects organs and tissues, and removes waste.

• Blood in animals and sap in plants is composed mainly of water.

• A dripping tap can waste up to 6 litres of water in a day.

• More than half the creatures on the Earth are found under water.

• Life on earth probably originated in water.

•  In the summer our bodies require about 2 litres of water daily. Here is the water content of some foods
(approximate) - 95% in tomato, 65% in mango, 95% in watermelon and 87% in pineapple. [Top]
 The Three forms
. of Water

• Liquids: When water takes the shape of its

container it is in a liquid form.
• Solids: When water becomes very cold and
freezes it will change from a liquid to a solid.
It has a definite form and shape.
• Gases: When water is seen in a vapor form
and has no definite size or shape it is in a gas
form.
 Earth’s Water Budget

All water Fresh water Readily accessible fresh water

Groundwater
0.592% Biota
0.0001%
Rivers
Lakes 0.0001%
0.007%
Fresh water 0.014%
2.6% Atmospheric
Oceans and Ice caps
Soil water vapor
saline lakes and glaciers
moisture 0.001%
97.4% 1.984%
0.005%

Fig. 11-2, p. 238

 Condensation
The movement through plants The Clouds form

Transpiration

Precipitation
The rain falls Evaporation

The vapor rises

 80
70%
70
% of total water used

60
50
40
30 22%
20
8%
10
0
Agriculture Domestic Industry
Water uses
Surface water
Streams
Lakes
ponds
Wetlands
Rivers
Water falls
Artificial reservoirs
Water Pollution
 Groundwater Systems

Unconfined Aquifer Recharge Area

Evaporation and transpiration Evaporation

Precipitation

Confined
Recharge
Area Runoff

Flowing Recharge
artesian well Unconfined Stream
Aquifer Well
Water requiring Lake
Infiltration
table a pump
Infiltration
Unconfined aqui
fe r
Less
permeable material Confined aquifer
such as clay Confining impermea
ble rock la yer

Fig. 11-3, p. 239

 Groundwater Pollution
Polluted air

Hazardous
waste injection
Pesticides well
and fertilizers
Coal strip De-icing
road salt Buried gasoline
mine runoff and solvent tank

Pumping Gasoline station

well
Water Cesspool
Waste lagoon pumping well septic tank
Sewer
Landfill
Leakage
Accidental from faulty
spills casing

r Discharge
a q uife
r
w ate
h
d fre
s
u ifer Confined
e a q
o nfin a ter aquifer
c hw
Un r es
d f
n fine
Co Groundwater
flow

Fig. 11-26, p. 258

Tradeoffs of Withdrawing Groundwater
Trade-Offs
Withdrawing Groundwater
Advantages Disadvantages

Good source of water for Aquifier depletion from over-

drinking and irrigation pumping

Sinking of land (subsidence)

Available year-round when water removed

Polluted aquifiers unusable

Exists almost everywhere for decades or centuries

Saltwater intrusion into

Renewable if not over- drinking water supplies near
pumped or contaminated coastal areas

Reduced water flows into

No evaporation losses streams, lakes, estuaries,
and wetlands

Cheaper to extract than Increased cost, energy use,

most surface waters and contamination from
deeper wells
Fig. 11-13, p. 246
 Floods and Droughts
When does a shortage or excess of water become a disaster rather than a temporary
inconvenience? The answer may be obvious in prolonged drought or widespread
flooding, but not so clear-cut in communities already at health risk from poverty, poor
sanitation and limited coordination of health care and other services. Such
communities may be unable to restore normality after a water emergency.

Water disasters can be sudden, as in flooding, or progressive and long lasting, as in

drought. This affects both the way the disaster is identified and managed, and the
timescale of the health effects. The health effects can be classified as:
immediate, for example drowning or injuries during flooding;
intermediate, such as progressive food shortage or epidemics following a flooding; and
long term, such as epidemics and severe lack of food and drinkable water
 Droughts
• A drought is an extended period where water
availability falls below the statistical
requirements for a region. Drought is not a
purely physical phenomenon, but instead is an
interplay between natural water availability
and human demands for water supply.
 There are three main ways droughts impact lives and
communities. First, the economic impacts of drought include
losses in the timber, agricultural, and fisheries communities. Many of
these losses are then passed on to consumers in the form of higher
commodity pricing.
Next social impacts include increased chance of conflict over
commodities, fertile land, and water resources. Other social impacts
include abandonment of cultural traditions, loss of homelands,
changes in lifestyle, and increased chance of health risks due to
poverty and hygiene issues.
Finally, the environmental impacts of drought include loss in species
biodiversity, migration changes, reduced air quality, and increased soil
erosion.
 Benefits of dams

Hydroelectric power - electrical power generation is a major benefit

which may be cheaper and environmentally safer than energy derived
from fossil fuels or other electrical engineering sources.
Irrigation – regions with poor or unpredictable rainfall can be turned
into fertile farmland.
Water supply – providing dependable water supply for urban or
industrial use.
Flood control – holding back and channeling potentially dangerous
water flow.
 Tradeoffs of Large Dams and Reservoirs
Large losses Flooded land destroys Migration and Downstream cropland and
of water through forests or cropland and spawning of estuaries are deprived of
evaporation displaces people some fish are nutrient-rich silt
disrupted

Provides water
for year-round
Reservoir is useful for irrigation of
recreation and fishing cropland
Can produce Downstream
cheap electricity flooding is
(hydropower) reduced

Fig. 11-8, p. 243

 Some Problems with Dam Building
Risk of failure – when a dam fails it can be catastrophic. As
recently as recently as 2004 the Big Bay Dam in Mississippi broke
destroying nearly fifty homes. It is a major concern in civil
engineering to see that dams are safe from hazards such as
landslides and earthquakes.
Environmental – dams may destroy wild life habitats, drain
wetlands, and cause river pollution by reducing the river flow to
a level where the river can no longer self-cleanse.  Farm land can
be ruined by salt produced by the irrigation process.
Cost – dams are very expensive to build and may not provide
sufficiently economical electrical power generation, water
supply, or irrigation.
Ecological Wastewater Treatment

Fig. 11-34, p. 265

 Answers to the vocabulary quiz.
Condensation – when warm air collides with cold air and
droplets form.
Precipitation – droplets that after being condensed begin to
fall to the earth in the form of rain, sleet, hail, glaze, or
snow.
Erosion – the movement of soil by wind or water.
Melting – when a solid changes into a liquid.
Percolation – the movement of water through the soil.

Evaporation – The process of liquid water becoming vapor.

 What Can We Do?
What Can You Do?
Water Pollution

• Fertilize your garden and yard plants with

manure or compost instead of commercial
inorganic fertilizer.
• Minimize your use of pesticides.
• Never apply fertilizer or pesticides near a body
of water.
• Grow or buy organic foods.
• Compost your food wastes.
• Do not use water fresheners in toilets.
• Do not flush unwanted medicines down the
toilet.
• Do not pour pesticides, paints, solvents, oil,
antifreeze, or other products containing harmful
chemicals down the drain or onto the ground.

Fig. 11-36, p. 268

 What Can We Do?
What Can You Do?
Water Use and Waste

• Use water-saving toilets, showerheads, and faucet aerators

• Shower instead of taking baths, and take short showers.

• Repair water leaks.

• Turn off sink faucets while brushing teeth, shaving, or

washing.
• Wash only full loads of clothes or use the lowest possible
water-level setting for smaller loads.
• Wash a car from a bucket of soapy water, and use the hose for
rinsing only.
• If you use a commercial car wash, try to find one that recycles
its water.
• Replace your lawn with native plants that need little if any
watering.
• Water lawns and garden in the early morning or evening.

• Use drip irrigation and mulch for gardens and flowerbeds.

• Use recycled (gray) water for watering lawns and houseplants

and for washing cars.

Fig. 11-21, p. 251

Sustainable Water Use
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

Fig. 11-20, p. 251

Water