Water, Water, Everywhere… Miss Knight and Mrs. Byers

Consider this… Describe as best as you can where the water in your home comes from. Do you think that the water you drink at home is pure or polluted? Explain your answer.

Precipitation-water falling to the ground as rain, snow, sleet or hail Condensation- when water is converted into liquid form from the gas form (ex. cup “sweats” on a hot day) (ex. clouds form)

Evaporation- water being turned into a vapor from the liquid form (returns to air) Transpiration- evaporation from plants’ leaves

Runoff- water flow over soil from precipitation that leads to a body of water

Runoff is sometimes called non-point source. If non-point source contains man- made pollutants it is called non-point source pollution…more to come later on this

Water is Renewable! Water cycle recycles water naturally So why is there a water scarcity?

World’s Water Only 3% of the world’s water is freshwater.01% of all Earth’s is accessible drinking water –Soil –Usable groundwater –Water vapor –Lakes and streams

Where’s the Water? Two sources of water –Surface water –Groundwater

Surface Water Water on the Earth’s surface –Rivers –Streams –Lakes –Wetlands

How are rivers made? All rivers are the result of precipitation. So how did large rivers, such as the Mississippi, get so large?

Watersheds Rivers are formed from land areas draining to a common point These land areas are called watersheds

What determines where water will drain? Water drains from areas of high elevation to lower elevation Watershed boundaries are determined by elevation of the surrounding land

Groundwater Water that is stored underground Gets underground by seeping through the soil Area of land that precipitation seeps through is called recharge zone Water is stored underground in aquifers

Aquifers Can be made of gravel, stone, sand Holds water that can be used by people Wells are designed to tap into the aquifer’s reserve

Groundwater can dissolve rock formations and sinkholes can form 

Why is water so important? Drinking Aquatic and marine life Industry & mining Cleaning Growing food Vegetation Heating and cooling

Water Usage in the U.S. Residential Use per Person –Lawn watering (95 L/day) –Toilets flushing (90 L/day) –Bathing/Showers (70 L/day) –Brushing teeth with water running (10 L/day) –Cleaning (20 L/day) –Cooking and Drinking (10 L/day) –Other (5 L/day)

Other Uses of Water Industrial Use –Make goods –Dispose of waste –Generate power 1,000 L of water to make 2.2 lbs of aluminum! (another reason to recycle!) Agricultural Use –Watering crops 300 L of water to produce one ear of corn!

What can we do to get more water? Desalination- –2 main ways Heating water and collecting the steam to re- condense into drinking water Reverse osmosis- applying pressure causing water to flow against the concentration gradient using a semi-permeable membrane to separate the salt Transport Ice- –To areas in need of fresh drinking water

Take a minute… If we can desalt water, why are we running out? It is costly! Many poorer countries are the ones struggling with freshwater availability

So what are other options? Water conservation! How can you conserve water? Low-flow toilets and showerheads Water the lawn at night Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth Take shorter showers Fill washing machine and dishwasher, do not run half-full loads