3 Natural water cycle 3.

3 Using the natural water cycle

3.3 Using the natural water cycle

The natural water cycle is used to produce potable water. In general, precipitation collected on land in lakes,
rivers or in the form of groundwater is used for this purpose. In coastal regions with little rain, people also
sometimes resort to collecting seawater; however, this has to be treated using complex desalination
processes.
In order to create potable water, the precipitation is fed into reservoirs, treated and supplied to consumers
via pipes (A). Potable water contaminated by use flows via discharge pipes into waste water treatment plants
where it is treated and drained into lakes or rivers (B). Process (A) is referred to as drinking water supply and
process (B) as drainage.

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Figure 8: Using the natural water cycle

A Water supply
B Drainage
C Building drainage

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