UNIT 1 - WATER

Unit Outline What is water and why do we need it? What is happening to harm our water supply? Can we measure this harm close to home or measure qualities of local water supplies? (Lab) What impacts on humans because of the harm to our water resources? What will happen if we don’t stop the cycle of harm to our water resources? How can we stop the cycle of harm to our water resources?

WHAT IS WATER AND WHY DO WE NEED IT?

Where is our water? As a natural resource, fresh water is___________________. However, quantities of ______________________________ _________________________________________________ 97.5% of all the Earth’s water is salt water, and unusable by humans. Of the 2.5% of Earth’s water that is fresh 79% is found in ice, 20% is in groundwater and 1% is in _________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________

Surface Water Sources of surface water included rainfall and melting snow, glaciers and ice caps. Water travels from these sources to bodies of surface water as runoff Runoff is water that flows over land and had not been absorbed into the ground. Runoff can flow into standing, or still, bodies of surface water such as lakes and ponds, or it can join up with a river system

Watershed Pretend you are standing at a river’s mouth, where its waters meet the ocean. Now picture tracing drops of water back up the river, through smaller and smaller branches of the river system, right back to the original spot where it fell as precipitation. If you could do that with every drop of water that flows out of a river, you will have defined its watershed. A watershed includes all of the land area that supplies water to a particular river system. The interconnected nature of watersheds greatly influences how they are managed. Once washed into a river, the pollution flows through the rest of the watershed and eventually into the ocean

Canadian Watersheds =english/watersheds-list =english/watersheds-list =english%2Fmap&city=Leask+&province=sk =english%2Fmap&city=Leask+&province=sk

Groundwater Any precipitation that reaches Earth’s land surface that does not evaporate, flow into rivers, or get taken up by organisms soaks into the surface. ______________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________. Groundwater makes up on fifth of Earth’s freshwater. As water is pulled down into the ground by gravity, it encountered different layers of soil and rock. Layers containing ________________________________________, thorough which water can pass are called _______________. Layers with __________________________are called _________________________. Water soak through permeable layers until it reaches an impermeable layer, it is trapped and can’t move any deeper. The water then begins to fill up the spaces available in the permeable layers. In this way, groundwater gets contained within aquifers, sponge like rock, sand or travel that hold water

Getting groundwater to the surface Sometimes the aquifers naturally rise towards the surface creating ________________. Other times, groundwater bursts to the surface like a _________________. Most of the _______________________________________ ____________________________________ to reach the groundwater, these are called _______________________.

How we use water Agricultural: ______________________________________ _________________________________________________. Farmers and ranchers who produce the food you eat must use water for their crops and livestock. ________________ _________________________________________________ Industrial: Most manufacturing and industrial processes require water. _____________________________________ _________________________________________________ Personal use – Every day an average person uses _________of water for indoor and outdoor activities, bathing, cleaning and drinking