A COURSE MODULE ON MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: PEOPLE & EARTH’S

ECONOMICS
PRELIMINARY TERM
Lesson 3
Objectives:

 Describe the water component of the earth and the water quality, pollution, and regulation;
 Compare the surface and groundwater resources;
 Evaluate the country’s ways of water management, economics and policy.

WATER ON OUR PLANET, SURFACE AND GROUND WATER RESOURCES, WATER QUALITY, POLLUTION
AND REGULATION, WATER MANAGEMENT, ECONOMICS AND POLICY
Water is simply two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen bonded together. Despite its simplicity,
water has remarkable properties. Water expands when it freezes, has high surface tension (because of the polar
nature of the molecules, they tend to stick together), and others. Without water, life might not exist on Earth, and
it certainly would not have the tremendous complexity and diversity that we see.
Water on our Planet
Distribution of Earth’s Water
 Earth’s oceans contain 97% of the planet’s water, so just 3% is freshwater, water with low concentrations of
salts (see Figure 1). Most freshwater is trapped as ice in the vast glaciers and ice sheets of Greenland.
Three States of Water
 Water is the only substance on Earth present in all three states of matter: solid, liquid, or gas.
(and Earth is the only planet where water is present in all three states.)
Surface and Ground Water Resources
 The term hydrosphere describes all of the earth's oceans, surface water, groundwater, and the polar
ice caps and atmospheric water combined. Community water systems obtain water from two sources,
surface water, and groundwater. People use surface and groundwater every day for various
purposes, including drinking, cooking, and basic hygiene, in addition to recreational, agricultural, and
industrial activities.
Stream Processes
 Streams are natural channels that convey water downslope by gravity. Although streams vary in size and
location, all streams perform three basic geological processes. These are erosion, transport, and
deposition of sediments. Streams typically originate in hilly or mountainous areas as melt water from
melting ice and snow, beginning as small gullies. As these gullies flow, they erode the surrounding
rocks and soils into a channel. Broken bits of surrounding rocks are carried in the stream channel as
sediment.
Sediment Transport
 Discharge. The volume of water flowing through a stream during a unit of time. In general, the greater the
discharge, the greater the volume of sediment moved. The behavior of sediment particles within a stream
is influenced by the shape, size, and composition.
 Bed Load. The movement of large, heavy, coarse-grained sediments. It is characterized by a
combination of irregular movements known as hydraulic action. Sediment transport is impeded by friction
with the stream bed. Sometimes, the stream velocity is sufficient to make heavier sediment particles
"jump" or "skip" along the stream bed. This type of sediment transport is called saltation
 Turbulence caused by rapidly moving water and partially suspended or churned-up sediment scan create
a scouring action, known as abrasion, which can sometimes dislodge other sediment particles and
cause them to be transported by suspension or hydraulic action.
Young Stream: Deep, V-Shaped Channel
 In hilly terrain, a stream flows downhill quickly. Most of the erosion is "down-cutting," that is, the erosion is
concentrated at the bottom of the stream bed, creating a relatively narrow, deep, V-shaped channel that is
mostly straight and free from extensive meanders or floodplain. This stage of stream evolution is referred to
as a geologically young stream.
Mature & Old Age Stream: Wide, U-Shaped Channel
 When a stream slows down in an area where the slope is general, the water begins to erode the side
banks rather than the stream bed, creating a broad, U-shaped channel and a meandering
stream course. Such a stream called a geologically mature stream makes point bars on the stream's
slower-moving "inner bend" while eroding cut banks on the stream's faster flowing "outer bend."
Stream meanders may change over time and sometimes maybe abandoned when the river cuts a
straighter "short-cut," leaving a crescent-shaped, abandoned river channel known as an oxbow lake.
Floodplains
 Slow stream velocity causes sediment deposition to occur; combined with the shallower depth of the
channel, a mature stream is more prone to flooding. Water may flow over the river banks, carrying
sediment off to the land adjacent to the stream channel. Over geologic time, the sediments carried by
periodic flooding or “overbanked discharge,” on average, every 2.5 years, produce a floodplain. The
mounds of sediment caused by flooding are called natural levees
The Watershed
 The watershed is a concept that treats all surface water in terms of a single integrated unit with in
boundaries determined by the topography (shape) of the land. The boundaries of a watershed are the
highest points (usually the crests of hills, called the watershed divide) defining the perimeter of the
watershed
Groundwater
 Groundwater is the collective water that exists in porous rock formations or unconsolidated
sediments. This water fills in the void spaces in what is known as the saturated zone. The top surface
of the groundwater is called the water table or piezometric surface of the saturated area.
 Rock formations containing extractable groundwater are known as aquifers. Rocks rich in clay minerals
(such as shales) "bind up" water through adsorption, such that the water is not extractable and is
classified as aquitards. An extreme example of an aquitard is called an aquiclude. Aquicludes are
often used to locate hazardous waste landfills because they provide a natural barrier to leaking
waste containers
 The rate of groundwater flow through a rock formation is called permeability.
 Aquicludes may act as a confining layer preventing the downward movement of groundwater and
sometimes creating a locally elevated or perched water table. If the perched water table outcrops at
 thesurface (note in the diagram below the left edge of the perched water table ends at the slope of the
hill),groundwater may form a spring or a seep.

Water Quality, Pollution and Regulation

Water Quality
 Water quality is measured by several factors, such as the concentration of dissolved oxygen, bacteria
levels, the amount of salt (or salinity), or the amount of material suspended in the water (turbidity). In some
bodies of water, the concentration of microscopic algae and quantities of pesticides, herbicides, heavy
metals, and other contaminants may also be measured to determine water quality.
 There are things you can do to prevent degradation to sanctuary waters, such as supporting and
participating in advanced wastewater treatment programs that remove unwanted nutrients and harmful
bacteria, using “pump-out” stations for your vessel’s sanitation device, using as many “green” products as
possible at home, and reducing or eliminating the use of fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides.
Water Pollution
 Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it
negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and
groundwater. Water pollution results when contaminants mix with these water bodies.
Water Regulation
 Water regulation means manipulation of the flow of a watercourse for the purposes of other water
operations. 'Diversion of water' shall mean water regulation performed by transferring surface water from
one water area to another.
Water Management, Economics and Policies
Water Management
 Water management is the control and movement of water resources to minimize damage to life and
property and to maximize efficient beneficial use. Good water management of dams and levees reduces the
risk of harm due to flooding. Irrigation water management systems make the most efficient use of limited
water supplies for agriculture.
 Drainage management involves water budgeting and analysis of surface and sub-surface drainage
systems. Sometimes water management involves changing practices, such as groundwater withdrawal
rates, or allocation of water to different purposes.
Water Economics and Policies
 Water Economics and Policy examines the demand for water by all its competing uses, including irrigated
agriculture, energy, urban supply, and environmental restoration and management. Policies are examined
for their influence on water supplies, water demands, and economic values of water reallocations among
agricultural, environmental, energy, and urban users. It examines the role of water markets, water user
decisions, institutional adjustments, and water-related policies with respect to resource costs, water quality,
profitability, and environmental effects.