Everyone can think of the different uses of water that they personally do everyday or on vacations Take a minute to think However, there are many behind the scene uses that inadvertently make us use more water than we think.

70% of the global freshwater is allotted for agriculture Primary form of consumptive use of water is for irrigation A nonconsumptive use would be where the water has time to replenish Our rapid population growth requires that we put this much water into farming and industries that need the water for their constructive processes Bad irrigation practices lead to a loss of 20% of that water to evaporation when the lands are over watered When surface water is not used, the over pumping of groundwater can lead to other problems underground

Water is diverted to reach areas that would normally not be fertile or make a place habitable People want to live near water, farmers want to extend their farm lands, industries want to have cheaper land and the water brought to them Projects that have diverted water The Colorado River is diverted from the Rockies to Las Vegas and Los Angeles China is trying to now divert the Yangtze River from southern China to northern China (Yellow River) to provide for the dry months of that part of the country

Even though people that live in areas where flooding is common, they complain and we have built levees and dikes to control and divert the flood waters Normal floods will cause short term damage to homes and buildings. Broken levees can cause flooding to be more severe from the amount and the pressure of the water that is released Over 45,000 dams have been built worldwide These provide benefits and costs to the areas where they are placed Allows for easier transportation Destroyed ecosystems down river Generates hydroelectric power Accumulates toxins and pollutants in the reservoirs behind them

Depletion of Surface water We are withdrawing consuming water at an unsustainable rate Threatens the growth and life of cities that are down river Alters the ecology and communities of the river and delta systems of the river Devastates industries (fisheries and agricultures) with the loss of a freshwater source Water mining (withdrawing water before it can be replenished) is depleting aquifers

Loss of Wetlands Extensive draining of wetlands for agricultural uses are causing the many ecosystem services to be slowed or broken Filtering pollutants Wildlife communities Controls floods Maintains drinking water supplies

Depletion of groundwater With water mining, the aquifers that most rural people rely on are being drained and not being replenished (kind of like overdrawing on a bank account with out more money coming back in) When the water drops further in the ground, it becomes more expensive to obtain it When too much groundwater is removed from coastal areas, salt water then is drawn into the ground, making the water undrinkable

Depletion of groundwater Water helps to support the land and rock layers underground When too much water is drawn out, the soil and rocks become weakened and can drop into the unsaturated spaces His forms sinkholes

Depletion of water leads to shortages which can then lead to conflict States in the western US have sent National Guard troops to other states to prevent the building of dams that would have prevented other states from receiving that water down stream These conflicts will increase as the population increases Water is a key element in disputes between counties were water is scarce and the rivers cross borders Examples: Israel and Palestine; India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan Europe has water sharing treaties to prevent the damming and redirection of surface water

In 2008, American drank on average 29 gallons of bottled water We do this because of portability, convenience, and because we think it tastes better Bottled water is no safer or healthier for you Because of the strict laws that the government has on water purification techniques, all you are paying for is the packaging. Because we are creating the plastic for the bottle, we then use fossil fuels for the transportation of said bottles, it has a very detrimental effect on the ecosystems of the world 3-4 Bottles are thrown away, not recycled. That produces about 1.5 million tons of plastic waste The companies are also removing the groundwater from communities that needed the water in the first place

Increase supply or decrease demand Desalination- the removal of salt from seawater or other water of marginal qualities Is expensive, requires large amounts of fossil fuel energy, creates salty outwash, and kills aquatic life Increasing the efficiency of irrigation on crops better techniques (drip or low pressure spray irrigation) reducing the runoff from farm lands choosing crops to match the climate and land selective breeding and GMOs will create varieties that will require less water

Low flow showerheads and toilets in homes using dishwashers instead of washing dishes using rain barrel for watering your lawns proper plants in lawns that increase the retention of water in the lawns basic practices of shutting off the water when not in direct use