EN 8491

WATER SUPPLY
ENGINEERING
Sources of water
Our main sources of water for drinking, washing, agriculture and industry are surface water, groundwater and collected
rainwater, all of which are dependent on rain and snow falling on the Earth’s surface.

• Surface water
Rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds are widely used as water sources 
 The amount of available surface water depends largely on rainfall.
 When rainfall is limited, the supply of surface water will vary considerably
between wet and dry seasons and also between years.
 One way to overcome this problem is to construct a dam across a river to
create a reservoir that provides water storage.
 Large surface water reservoirs may be used for hydroelectric power
generation, regulating water releases to control river flows, for
recreational purposes and to provide water for agricultural, municipal and
industrial uses. Smaller dams are also used to enable irrigation
 The water collects behind the dam and flows under gravity into irrigation
channels leading to the fields.
Groundwater
• An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing rock. Water-bearing rocks
are permeable, meaning that liquids and gases can pass through them.
• Groundwater is the water contained in aquifers . This is replenished
or recharged by precipitation that percolates through the soil to the water table,
and by water seeping from streams, as well as other bodies of surface water,
such as lakes and wetlands.
• The water table is the top of the groundwater below the land surface. Its level
fluctuates seasonally and from year to year as the inputs from precipitation and
the outputs vary. The depth of the water table also varies with location, from
being near to the land surface in areas close to surface water bodies and in
humid climates, to being hundreds of metres below the land surface in drier
regions.
• Groundwater reaches the surface naturally through springs or artificially through
wells. Springs typically rise up where the water table meets the land surface.
• Springs are important sources of water to feed streams and are attractive
cultural and landscape features in themselves. Wells and boreholes are dug by
hand or drilled by machine. These have to be deep enough to extend below the
water table so that water can be drawn up by bucket or by pumping.
Rainwater
•Rainwater is also an important source of water, although on a
relatively small scale. Collecting rain from roofs or other hard-
surfaced areas and storing it until it is needed can provide a valuable
source of water for many purposes.
Water source selection
•The quantity, quality, and reliability of available water are three
main factors that need to be considered when evaluating water
sources. Socio-cultural and technical issues may also be important.
This section provides an overview of some of these different factors.
Water quantity
•If you were selecting a new source of water for a community you
would need to be sure that the volume of water that could be
supplied would be sufficient to meet the community’s needs, both
now and in the future. It would also be important to consider the
reliability of the source over time.
Water quality
• The quality of water required depends on what it will be used for. Drinking
water must be clean and safe to drink and protected from any contamination
by pathogens or other pollutants. The primary concern must be to prevent
the transmission of waterborne diseases. For other water uses such as for
domestic washing or for agricultural or industrial uses, the quality is less
critical.
• In general, surface water sources are likely to contain many different
materials and potential pollutants. These include micro-organisms, some of
which may be pathogens, and small solid particles referred to as suspended
particulates or suspended solids. These make the water turbid . 
• Turbidity (the cloudiness of water) is a measure of water clarity. Turbidity is
considered a useful approximate measure of water quality because pollutants
and micro-organisms can be carried on the surface of suspended solids.
• The more turbid or cloudy the water is, the more suspended particles there
are in it, and the more polluted the water is likely to be. It is important to
realise, however, that clear water is not necessarily clean, because some
contaminants may not be visible.
Fluoride

• Fluoride in drinking water is a well-known health concern. In some parts of

Ethiopia concentrations in groundwater exceed the World Health Organization
guideline of 1.5 mg/l (milligrams per litre). The highest concentrations, which
can be greater than 10 mg/l, are found in waters causes for people living in this
area, dental and skeletal fluorosis are significant public health problems causing
brown patches on the teeth, joint pain, limited movement of joints and,
ultimately, crippling.

• The National Fluorosis Mitigation Project has responsibility for planning a

national strategy to deal with this problem. Several methods of defluoridation
(removing fluoride from water) using chemicals or bone char have been
successfully trialled at community and household levels .
• However, selecting an affordable and sustainable standard technology for
widespread use is challenging.
Technical requirements
• The development of the source must be technically feasible and the operation
and maintenance requirements for the source abstraction and supply system
must be appropriate to the resources available. Supply systems are likely to be
misused if they cannot be operated and maintained either by community
members or by organisations and institutions within the area. People who have
responsibility for the maintenance of water sources or distribution points should
be properly trained and rewarded for their contribution, to ensure sustainability.

Water demand and supply

• In India are suffering from water stress or water scarcity. The world is
heading towards a fresh water crisis, partly due to mismanagement and
partly due to the unequal distribution and small amount of fresh water
available in the first place. This crisis is already evident in many parts of
the world, varying in scale and intensity depending on the time of the
year, climate and location.
• The imbalance between the demand for and the supply of
water is increasing globally.
• On the one hand, the volume available for supply remains
much the same but has additional problems of contamination
of surface and groundwater sources, inefficient utilisation of
available supplies and the uncertainties of climate change.
• On the other hand, the demand for fresh water per capita is
rising as countries develop economically. Industrial
development leads to additional demands for water and, at the
same time, agriculture is becoming increasingly dependent on
irrigation to produce food for the growing population.
• The global challenge is to find ways to manage the increasing
demand for water but this is not to say that everyone should
use less water. Developing countries still use far less water per
capita than developed regions
• Household use in developing countries is especially low,
reflecting the difficulty many people have in obtaining clean
water for personal use. Improving access to water is
important so that people can use more water for household
and personal hygiene, which will improve living standards
and bring significant benefits to health and well-being.
• Population growth, urbanisation and migration all affect the
availability and quality of water resources. With the rapid
increase in urbanisation, meeting the demand for fresh
water will be difficult for cities. Rapid urban growth in
developing countries puts tremendous pressure on
inadequate water supply systems and can lead to water
shortages. The next two study sessions look more closely at
urbanisation and its causes and effects.
 UNIT – 1
SOURCES OF WATER
Overview

Community water systems obtain water from two sources:

1. Surface water
2. Ground water

People use surface and ground water every day for a variety of purposes, including drinking,
cooking, and basic hygiene, in addition to recreational, agricultural, and industrial activities.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the majority of public
water systems (91%) are supplied by ground water; however, more persons (68%) are supplied
year-round by community water systems that use surface water . This is because large, well-
populated metropolitan areas tend to rely on surface water supplies, whereas small, rural
areas tend to rely on ground water.
1.1 PUPLIC WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM
 1. SURFACE WATER
Surface water is water located on top of
the Earth's surface such as rivers,
stream, river, lake, reservoir, or ocean.
(or)
Surface water is water that collects on
the ground or in a stream, river, lake,
reservoir, or ocean.
The vast majority is produced by
precipitation and water runoff from
nearby areas.
According to the EPA, 68% of community
water system users received their water
from a surface water source, such as a
lake
GROUND WATER

Definition :
• The simplest definition of groundwater is that it is water
that is underground. Of all the fresh water on Earth, about
20% is groundwater.
• Groundwater is used for drinking water by more than 50
percent of the people in the United States, including almost
everyone who lives in rural areas.
• As water seeps into the ground, it continues downward due
to gravity until the surrounding ground is saturated with
water.
• Water that collects or flows beneath the Earth surface, filling
the porous spaces in soil Sediment and rocks. Ground
originates from rain and from melting snow ice.
• Water which is below the earth’s crust and not more than
2500 feet below earth crust are called as groundwater.
Water below the earth crust and above 2500 feet of earth
crust is considered as fresh water. Few examples of
groundwater are mentioned below:
1. Springs
2. Wells
3. Aquifers
  

 Advantages and disadvantages of using groundwater as a water source.

Advantages: Disadvantages:

• Often has a high mineral content (i.e.

• Likely to be free of pathogenic
has naturally occurring substances
bacteria that are not from living organisms)
• Usually free of turbidity and such as calcium, magnesium, iron
colour and manganese
• Can usually be used without • Usually requires pumping for
extraction
further treatment
• May have a high level of bicarbonate,
• Can often be found in close carbonate and chloride
vicinity to consumers • Poor in oxygen content
• Economical to obtain and • Can contain chemical contaminants
distribute such as arsenic, fluorides and nitrates
• The water-bearing soil or rock • If it gets polluted, treatment can be
difficult to achieve
provides a natural storage point
CHARACTERIZATION AND SIGNIFICANCE
Odour
  Water source development

One of the main duties of a water supply provider is to ensure that a safe and
plentiful water supply is available to all segments of a community at a reasonable
cost. This may mean seeking new water sources to satisfy demand. Identifying
potential new sources and assessing their viability prior to development is a skilled
technical task that requires several different factors to be assessed. These factors
include:

Volume of water required: This will depend on demand, which relates to the

number and type of potential users. Will the new source be able to meet the
demand of all users? Have future increases in demand and population growth
been taken into consideration?
Quality: Is the water from a safe and protected source? If not, what will be the
level of treatment needed and how will this be achieved? What is the risk of
pollution of the source?
Seasonal variations: Is the new water source reliable, or is it vulnerable to seasonal
variations in the availability of water? How will this be accommodated?
Distance between source and users: How far must the water be
transported? What is the sort of distribution system that will be
needed? What are the engineering requirements for the system?
Cost: Following on from all the above, what is the cost of
developing the new source (both capital and continuing operating
and maintenance costs) into the future?
Environmental impact: What are the predicted environmental
consequences of developing the water source? Will the benefits of
the new supply outweigh any disadvantages?
Sustainability: Can the water source be developed and used in such
a way that it does not compromise the future ability to supply
water? For example, the rate of abstraction from a spring should
not exceed the rate of natural replenishment.