CHAPTER 4

WATER AND ITS MANAGEMENT

Learning outcomes
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
• discuss how water is distributed over the Earth
• discuss the water cycle
• explain how people can obtain fresh water, and what they use
the fresh water for
• discuss the availability of water that is safe for drinking across
the world
• discuss the use of dams
• discuss different causes of water pollution
• discuss the effects of water pollution on human populations and
the environment
• discuss methods for improving access to good quality and
reliable quantities of water
• explain the methods used to control and eradicate malaria and
cholera.
 Amazing water
Water (H2O) is a
remarkable substance.
It is a liquid at room
temperature, which is
unusual enough
compared with closely
related compounds,
such as hydrogen
sulfide (H2S), which
are gases at room
Figure 1 A recent breakthrough indicates that Mars had a planet-wide groundwater temperature. Add to
system and in some point of time they could’ve had some living organism on the red this the fact that the
planet.
solid form (ice) is less
dense than the liquid and many substances can dissolve in the liquid it is not
hard to see why people are fascinated by it. More than this though, water is
vital for life as we know it. Astronomers searching for evidence of life outside
Earth often look for water as a sign that such a thing may be possible. Recent
evidence that water exists on Mars has fuelled speculation that life may exist
there as well or at least may have done so in the past.
Crucially, water is also
transparent. We think
life on Earth arose in
the sea about 3000
million years ago and
did not emerge on
land until about 600
million years ago. A
vital process for life is
photosynthesis by
green plants, which
requires light to
Figure 2 Scientists agree that there’s oxygen from ocean plants in every breath we take.
occur. The ability of
water to let at least some light penetrate it would have allowed photosynthetic
organisms to develop in the sea thousands of millions of years ago. Its ability to
dissolve many substances makes water a very good source of small molecules,
such as the minerals and sugars that life requires.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned that not enough
people have a basic level of access to clean drinking water and sanitation. Dr
Maria Neira, the WHO's Director for Public Health, commented in May 2014
that too many people lack a basic level of drinking water and sanitation. Water
is vital for life, and it is required not only in quantity but, importantly, in good
quality. Even though we rely on water so much, both at a personal and at a
national level, we also abuse and pollute it.

Figure 3 Some people have to travel a long way each day to collect water.
PART 1: THE DISTRIBUTION OF WATER ON EARTH

Although more than 75% of the Earth's surface is covered in water, only 3% of
this water is fresh (non-salty) and potentially usable by humans. This is about
42 million km3 of fresh water. However, much of this water is locked up in the
polar ice caps or glaciers. In fact, less than 1% of the Earth's fresh water is
readily available for people to use

Figure 4 The distribution of the Earth's water.

This amounts to 420 000 km3, which is about 60 million litres of water for
every person on Earth. On average, one person uses about 1.5 million litres a
year. This is both directly, for drinking and washing, for example, and
indirectly, in the manufacture of products that a person uses. Although it
seems that there is plenty of water for everyone, the situation is not that
simple. Half of the available fresh water is found in just six countries: Brazil,
Russia, Canada, Indonesia, China and Colombia. In addition, much of it is not
suitable for drinking. So, there are many challenges to providing people with
enough clean, safe water.
Worldwide, women suffer the burden of collecting water, which can take them
up to 6 hours a day. Women walk an average of 6 km in Africa and Asia to
collect water. A study in Tanzania showed that reducing the time for collecting
water by 15 min increased girls' school attendance by 12%. Collecting water
can deny women time for a significant education from an early age.