Summary: Geography 4.1-4.

2 – Threat and Supply to Water Resources

4.3 – China’s Water Resources
Uses of Water
 Water is essential to our daily life, and we need water to survive
 We use water to wash, bath and cook
 We also use water to grow crops, produce goods and even generate electricity

Water Footprint
 The amount of water we use, directly or indirectly
 Related to the level of economic development
 We use more water at home, in farms and factories as our income increases and living standards
improve, thus, water footprint become larger

Major Threat to the Global Water Supply

Inadequate Freshwater Supply    Water Shortages
DEMAND FOR FRESHWATER ⬆ SUPPLY OF CLEAN FRESHWATER ⬇
1. Increasing population Toxic and dirty substances enter
+
2. More economic activities + Higher living standard lakes, rivers and groundwater 
3. Wasting Eater pollute the clean freshwater

Freshwater Supply
 Only 3% of world water supply is freshwater, that we rely on
 2/3 of the freshwater on the earth is frozen in glaciers and freshwater, and cannot be used directly
 1/3 of the freshwater on the earth is found in rivers, lakes, plants, the atmosphere and groundwater

Water Cycle
 Water on the earth is found in three main storage areas: the atmosphere, the ocean and the land
 Water goes round and round between these storage areas through different processes in a cycle,
the movement of water is called the water cycle
Water Resources in China Groundwater 17.5% Others 1.1%
River and Lakes 81.4%
 China has a relatively large amount of water resources, but, with large population, the amount of
per capita water resources is low
 Water from rivers and lakes makes up the major freshwater resources of China

Major Rivers in China

 The most important ones are the Chang Jiang, the Huang
He and the Zhu Jiang, that serves about 700 million
people in China
 Chang Jiang has the largest river flow, which is 9,513,000
m3 per year
 The area drained by a river and its tributaries is called
river basin
 In China, the height of land decreases from the highlands
in the west towards the coast in the east, therefore, all
major rivers of China flow from west to east towards the
sea

Factors that affect the water resources in China

MONSOON CLIMATE
 Winds that change directions seasonally, blowing from one direction in summer, from the opposite
direction in winter
(1) Water absorbs and releases heat more slowly than the land
(2) Air moves from high-pressure to low-pressure areas
Summer Winter
The land is heated up by the sun. The land loses heat quickly than the sea.
Air become hot and it rises. Cold air over the land sinks.
Air pressure over the land is low. Air pressure over the land is high.
(1), air over the sea is relatively cooler than air over (1), air over the sea is relatively warmer than air
the land. over the land.
Cool air sinks, air pressure over the sea is higher Warm air rises, air pressure over the sea is lower
than over the land. than over the land.
(2), winds blow from the sea towards the southern (2), winds blow from the land towards the sea 
and northern parts of Asia.  ‘summer monsoon’ ‘winter monsoon’
Wind blowing from the sea to the land are onshore Wind blowing from the land to the sea are
wind, and carry a lot of moisture to the coastal offshore wind, and they are dry.
region.
Coastal China receives much rainfall in summer Areas affected by winter monsoon in China are dry
 The amount of precipitation received in a given place varies with the seasons 
The distribution of water resources is therefore highly uneven over time

DISTANCE FROM THE SEA

 The coastal areas in Chang Jiang received more precipitation than inland areas
China’s wet and dry region
 About 32% of the land is humid, which are mainly found in the southern part of China
 Semi-arid and arid lands occupy about 53% of the country’s total area, which are found mainly in
the north and the north-west
 The amount of water resources in China decreases from south-east to north-west
 Their distribution is uneven

Human Activities that affects the Water Cycle in China

DEFINITION CHANGE TO THE WATER CYCLE
cut down trees for timber and fuel ⬆ Overland Flow, Evaporation, River Flow
DEFORESTATION
wood ⬇ Infiltration, Transpiration, Precipitation
1. control the river flow
BUILDING DAMS ⬇ River flow downstream
2. use river water for irrigation
convert lakes to land for fishery,
RECLAIMING LAKES ⬇ River flow downstream
farmland and settlement
OVERDRAWING
GROUNDWATER for example, for industrial and
⬇ Groundwater storage  ⬇ River Flow
FOR HUMAN domestic uses
ACTIVITIES
Monsoon Climate (WB p. 13)