Water presentation modules .ppt.ppt.pptx

Water presentation

1. Chapter 13 Water Resources

2. Composition of Seawater Average salinity of seawater = 35ppt 35ppt = saltwater 35-0.5 = brackish Below 0.5 = freshwater

3. Where does our water come from? Seawater 96.5%

4. Know these terms… Salinity & ppt Reservoir Hydrogen bond Polarity of a water molecule Melting/freezing points of water (°C & °F) Heat capacity Vaporize Sublimate Universal solvent Wetlands Drainage Basin / Watershed

5. AQUITARD

6. How do we use water? 68.3% of the world’s water usage is for… AGRICULTURE/IRRIGATION 21.3% is for industry 8.6% is for domestic and municipal use Do you know what “ARID” means??

7. Xeriscaping “zeer-i-scape” Greek word: xeros (“dry”) Refers to a landscape which will thrive in a semi-arid climate. Principles: Use space effectively Improve soil Limit size of turf Use good irrigation Mulch (to retain water) Choose plants that are well-suited to the growing conditions

8. How does development change the natural flow of water? Removing vegetation? How does losing forests affect wetlands?

9. Flood plains & Levees Developing in flood plains causes great economic loss. What can we do to help this?? Build smaller levees farther apart… Less expensive to build… Improves habitat in the flood plain.

10. Mississippi Watershed Floods of 1993 What happened? 50 deaths Property damage = $12B 70,000 people left homeless 8.7 M acres farmland lost Environmental Impacts Pesticides & agricultural chemicals washed into Gulf of Mexico Zebra mussels carried to new waters Exacerbating factors: (2) Building on flood plains (3) Constructing levees (1) Draining wetlands

11. Too Little Water Overdrawing Surface Waters 30% of water from rivers & lakes can be withdrawn without greatly affecting the natural ecosystem. If we withdraw more…… Wetlands dry up What organisms are affected most by this? Estuaries become saltier How does this affect productivity?

12. Subsidence due to aquifer depletion from porous rock ~San Joaquin Valley, CA~ In addition to subsidence, aquifer depletion can cause sinkholes & saltwater intrusion……….

13. Sinkholes don’t just come from overpumping groundwater… This sinkhole is 300 ft in diameter, and 18 feet deep. Formed from salt mining. Note the person in the lower left corner for size reference. Formed from oil drilling.

14. Saltwater Intrusion What’s going on here? Ever noticed this at the beach? Man… that shower was salty!! (and the tap water, too!!!) So… what is this caused by again? Aquifer depletion! And what else is caused by this??? Sinkholes!

15. Salinization of Irrigated Soil Irrigation water soaks through the soil area where the plant roots grow, adding to the existing water. The additional irrigation water causes the underground water-table to rise, bringing salt to the surface. When the irrigated area dries & the underground water table recedes, salt is left on the surface soil. Each time the area is irrigated this salinity process is repeated.

16. U.S. Water Budget (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) 15.9 trillion L precipitation per day After evaporation… ~5.3 trillion liters are left per day …But this never gets used… Leaving only this for us to use

17. U.S. Water Consumption (as a % of the renewable supply) West & Southwest have the biggest problem!! Average consumption = 44% of their renewable water National average elsewhere= 4%

18. Mono Lake, CA Inflow = rivers Outflow = evaporation only Over time, salinity will naturally ____________. Increase! Problem: much water diverted to Los Angeles Water level dropped ~46 ft Salinity increased drastically Affected brine shrimp, alkali flies, and their predators Dust storms increased Solutions: Water diversion stopped in 1989. Los Angeles is now funding reclaimed water projects to replace the water that used to come from Mono Lake.

19. Colorado River Basin Provides water for LOTS of people in LOTS of different places Upper Colorado Region (CO, UT, WY) Lower Colorado Region (CA, NV, AZ, NM) Mexico

20. Colorado River Basin 1922: Colorado River Compact: Allotted water usage for upper & lower regions Problem: Upper Region used less (fewer people), giving more to the Lower Region, who grew accustomed to overusing the water. Now, more development in the Upper Region is causing strain, and Mexico gets little water which is often saltier than the ocean. Solution: desalting plant in AZ to help Mexico

21. Aquifer Depletion Most critical in 3 places: S. Arizona California The High Plains Remember, this can cause: Subsidence Sinkholes Saltwater intrusion

22. Ogallala Aquifer This aerial view shows the density of center pivot sprinklers being used in areas of Kansas. Each circular field includes more than 100 acres. (Kansas State University photo) Largest groundwater deposit in the world. Covers 6% of U.S. land Produces >15% of our wheat, corn, sorghum, and cotton Produces ~40% of our livestock Requires ~30% of U.S. irrigation water. Some areas are drawing water 40x faster than nature replaces it Some farmers are leaving because their farms are failing in dry spells. Some are trying dry-land farming, but it’s no cure! Solutions: water conservation , more efficient irrigation .

23. Global Water Problems

24. Global Water Random Facts!! Worldwide, the amount of fresh water is adequate to meet human needs But this doesn’t consider population distributions! Stable Runoff (portion of runoff from precipitation that is available throughout the year) is so low it’s not usable. Many people travel far to get their water Tends to perpetuate poverty WHO estimate: 1.4B: no safe drinking water 2.9B: no satisfactory means of domestic wastewater and fecal waste disposal 80% human illnesses result from insufficient water supplies and poor water quality caused by lack of sanitation. US AID (Agency for International Development) one of many that helps solve these global problems

25. Quick Discussion: In what ways does population growth affect water problems? Drinking Water: sometimes must be rationed! Drought issues are MUCH worse when population is so high. Conflict increases. Poverty increases. Food availability decreases (less irrigation)… may lead to famine!

26. Rhine River Basin Shared by: Switzerland, Germany, France, Luxembourg, & the Netherlands Traditionally: Switzerland, Germany, and France used the water industrially, then discharged the polluted water back into the river. The Dutch had to clean it up before they could drink it! Led to the ICPR (International Commission for Protection of the Rhine River) which formally recognized that international cooperation is essential

27. Aral Sea 1976 (between Uzbekistan & Kazakhstan) 1997 Same problem as Mono Lake!! Which was……..????? Inflow = rivers Outflow = evaporation only!! Rivers were diverted for irrigation By 1980s, >95% of the Aral Sea’s inflow was diverted! Total volume dropped by 80% ALL 24 native fish species are gone. Disease increasing (TB, anemia, resp. illnesses) Virtually no chance of being refilled.

28. Aral Sea 1976 (between Uzbekistan & Kazakhstan) 1997 Plans to save the Aral Sea ended with the breakup of the Soviet Union (1991). Responsibility shifted to: Uzbekistan, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, & Tajikistan They do have a joint fund “to prevent the complete disappearance of the Aral Sea” World Bank & UNEP are also helping Another BIG problem… Soviets buried hundreds of tons of anthrax bacterial endospores on an island in the Aral Sea… which may still be alive The US has been asked to help clean it up, but it may be prohibitively expensive.

29. JORDAN RIVER Supplies Israel, Jordan, the West Bank, & Gaza Strip Huge population increases Greater agricultural & economic needs Need more effective irrigation NILE RIVER Supplies 10 nations Upriver countries like Ethiopia & Sudan are using more and more water This could imperil Egypt’s water supply

30. Water Management

31. River Management: Flow through multiple jurisdictions, so common agreements must be made. Groundwater Management: More complicated… Extent of local groundwater supplies is unknown. Includes: Permits for drilling wells Limiting the # of wells in an area Restricting the amount of water that may be pumped from each well. Consumers rarely pay for the entire cost of H 2 O (transport, storage, treatment) Taxes pay for it! Raise the price = more efficient use Don’t write this – just think! ☺

32. The point of water management is….. … to provide a sustainable supply of high-quality water! Water supplies are obtained by building dams diverting water removing salt from seawater or salty groundwater

33. Good Things: Ensure year-round supply of water Generate electricity Flood control for areas downstream They let water out slowly to minimize impact Recreation Bad Things: Heavy sediment deposition upstream Little sediment gets past the dam Downstream riverbed is deeply cut (poor habitat)

34. Periodic Flooding Sometimes, damming a river is detrimental to wildlife & the rest of the ecosystem. Periodic Flooding can help with this by… Rebuilds beaches & sandbars Kills exotic vegetation that has come in Partly restores fish spawning habitats

35. Sometimes, you just gotta tear it down… If it adversely affects fish populations, sometimes it’s best to tear it down. That’s a lot of money out the door… You know you love my animations… ☺

36. Columbia River Problem Biggest problem here: Salmon Population Dams impeded salmon migrations Plus, they’ve been overfished in the Pacific! Logging near their habitat caused sediment pollution increase in water temperature

37. Columbia River Solutions Fish Ladder installation Doesn’t help much: don’t get through easily (dumb fish!) Hatcheries built to replenish the stock But they’re not genetically compatible with the wild fish Barges transport some of the fish But they don’t “learn” where to go that way… like fishy cheating. Generators periodically shut off so they don’t get mashed by the turbine blades But we lose electricity at these times! Extra water released to help them get downstream faster But that water is economically “wasted” no electricity or irrigation water from it!

38. Grand Coulee Dam (Columbia River) Oh no, Harry!! We can’t get upstream to make the fish of tomorrow!!! DAM!!

39. Fish Ladder (Bonneville Dam, Columbia River, Oregon) Hurray!!! A Fish Ladder!!!

40. Missouri River Longest River in the US Drains 1/6 of the country. It’s been diverted & altered in many ways Big Fight: Farmers vs. Environmentalists! Farmers : if we restore the natural flow of the river, I lose my irrigation water! Environmentalists : if we don’t restore the natural flow, most of our fish will be gone! it will continue to deteriorate until we restore its natural floodplain!

41. Water Diversion in Southern California Lots of aqueducts to divert the water. $$$$$$$$ Diverting the river causes severe damage

42. Desalination Distillation Reverse Osmosis Uses less energy (better technology) -Disposal of the salt is a problem… -Big industry in N. Africa & Middle East

43. Water Conservation ~ Reducing Agricultural Water Waste~ Microirrigation (drip or trickle irrigation) reduces water use by 40-60% Use lasers to level fields Reduce water consumption. Challenge: sophisticated irrigation is $$$$$$$ It’s expensive for AMERICANS – imagine if you were a subsistence farmer in CHINA or INDIA!!

44. Water Conservation ~Reducing Water Waste in Industry~ In the US, five industries use 90% of the industrially used H 2 O Recycle it! Reduces water use & therefore reduces water treatment costs. Stricter pollution control laws help as well.

45. Water Conservation ~Reducing Municipal Water Waste~ Use Gray Water (next slide) Wastewater reuse Treated & used for purposes like irrigation Israel is GREAT at this! Many of the pollutants are from treated sewage, which actually benefits crops! Other conservation methods: Consumer education Water-saving household fixtures (or fixing leaks!) Economic incentives to save water Install a water meter: if I pay attention, I’ll conserve more! $ rebates for installing water-saving devices Make it more expensive!

46. Recycling Water “Gray Water” …already been used in sinks, showers, washing machines, and dishwashers. Can be used when clean water is not required (flushing toilets, washing the car, sprinkling the lawn)

47. Water Conservation One of the biggest incentives to reduce water usage: $$$$$$ Make them pay more!

48. Water Conservation ~Reducing Water Waste at Home~ What can we do at home / school / work?

49. Residential water use in 3 highly developed countries