Water and its management

Distribution of water on Earth

• Fresh Water - 42 million km3
• Saline Water - 1358 million km3
• Only 1% of freshwater is easily available to
people(420 000 km3).
 The Water Cycle
• Glaciers melt to form liquid water.
• Evaporation
• Condensation
• Precipitation
• Transpiration
• Surface run-off
• Interception
• Infiltration
• Groundwater Flow
 Why humans need water ?
• Domestic Uses
 Drinking, cooking, washing clothes, flushing the toilet etc.

• Industrial Uses
 Cooling in the process of electricity
 Universal solvent

• Agricultural Uses
 Irrigation
 Photosynthesis
 Domestic animals require water
 Sources of fresh water for human use
• Groundwater
• Surface water
• Water from the sea
– Distillation
– Reverse osmosis
 Availability of safe drinking water around the world
• Water rich countries : Russia, China, Brazil, USA, Canada
• Water poor countries : United Arab Emirates, Kuwait
• Physical water scarcity: Low rainfall or high evaporation
• Economic water scarcity: Plenty of water but not available to
the population.
 Rural Areas vs Urban Areas
• More people living in cities and towns have access to water
than people living in rural areas because:
 More wealth.
 Many people can act together to force authorities to
provide water.
 Cheap to install water pipelines when many people live
together.
 Multi-purpose dam projects
• Generation of electricity
• Flood control
• Irrigation
• Tourism and Leisure
• Provision of water
• Creation of habitats for wetland species
• Access by boat to otherwise inaccessible areas
 Building a dam and its sustainability
• Should be built on narrow valley
• High up on the valley for higher g.p.e of water
• Away from developed areas to prevent pollution

o Dams are not always sustainable because their reservoirs can become silted. Dam
structure can deteriorate and fail due to pressure. Can also have bad effects on fish
population.
o But they are better than burning fossil fuels because they produce electricity
without emitting greenhouse gases and pollutants.
 Water-related diseases
• Cholera – caused by water contamination
• Typhoid – caused by water contamination
• Malaria – mosquitoes breeding on water
 Sewage Treatment
• Sewage is rich in organic matter and microorganisms
can live in it.
• It is disposed of into water bodies.
• It has to be treated in order to reduce biological
oxygen demand.
 Improved Sanitation
• Improved sanitation means separating human excreta
from contact with humans. Sanitation can be
improved by using latrines:
o Flush toilet
o Pit latrine
o Composting toilet
 Toxic compounds from industry
• Toxic substances from industries may enter into the water
bodies.
• Toxic substances consumed by animals - bioaccumulation
• They pass onto other animals and reach higher concentration
in a process called biomagnification
 Acid Rain
• Acidic rainfall that my cause environmental harm.
• pH lower than 5
• Toxic gases like carbon dioxide react with water in the
atmosphere to form acid.
• Can cause leaching, death of fish, reduction in minerals.
• Can be reduced by finding alternatives fossil fuels.
 Eutrophication
• Organic matter enters the water bodies.
• Encourages the growth of algae and causes algal
bloom.
• Bacteria feed onto algae and use up all of the oxygen.
• Living things relying on oxygen die.
Thank You!