1. Water

2. Key H20 Characteristics
Water is the prime constituent of all living organisms.
Water moves easily-from one physical state to another, and from one place to another.
Water slowly absorbs and releases large quantities of energy.
Water is a superior solvent.
Michael D. Lee Ph.D. Geography and Environmental Studies
(Source: Wright & Nebel 2002)

3. Importance of Water Properties
Running water can quickly erode topsoil rendering farmland infertile and streams contaminated.
Lack of access to clean water supplies can quickly lead to dehydration and death.
Chemical spills, excess nutrients & acids dissolved in H20 can lead to massive die offs.
Michael D. Lee Ph.D. Geography and Environmental Studies

4. Available Water Total = 326 million cubic miles
                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    
Available Water
Total = 326 million cubic miles
97% of Earth’s water is in oceans
2.997% is locked up in ice caps and glaciers
0.003% is easily accessible
Soil moisture
Groundwater
Water vapor
Lakes
Streams

5. Water Supply & Use

6. Hydrologic Cycle Powered by solar energy and gravity
Evaporation and precipitation
Continuous recycling of water
Runoff
Infiltration
Evaporation
Temporary storage as snow and ice
Temporary storage in lakes
Temporary storage in plants (transpiration) and animals
Chemical reactions with rocks and minerals
Volcanism also causes melting of snow caps and mudflows as melted water mixes with ash
Source of additional water? volcanism (steam)

7. Surface Water
Surface runoff flows into streams, lakes, wetlands and reservoirs
A watershed or drainage basin
Region that drains into a streams, lakes, wetlands or reservoirs
watershed.asp

8. Groundwater
As precipitation infiltrates and percolates through voids in soil and rock
Pores, fractures, crevices, etc.
Shallow rock has little moisture
Zone of saturation is at a depth were ground is filled with water
Top of this zone is water table
Falls in dry weather
Rises in wet weather

9. Aquifers
Porous, water-saturated layers of sand, gravel or bedrock through which groundwater flows
Area of land that supplies water to aquifer is called the recharge area
Natural recharge is when water percolates downward, but sometimes lateral recharge occurs

10. Groundwater Movement
Groundwater moves from recharge area through an aquifer and out a discharge area
well, spring, lake, geyser, artesian well, steam, ocean
Normally moves downhill at only a meter per year
Some aquifers get little recharge and were formed thousands of years ago
Removal from these nonrenewable resources is called water mining

11. Use of Fresh Water United States China 41% agriculture 87% agriculture
38% power plant cooling
11% industry
10% public
China
87% agriculture
7% industry
6% public

12. Water Use Globally People and Planet
70 per cent of all water withdrawn for human use on an annual basis is soaked up by agriculture (mostly in the form of irrigation)
Industry accounts for 23 per cent
Domestic use (household, drinking water, sanitation) accounts for about 7 per cent

13. Water Use People and Planet
The average person needs a minimum of five litres (1.3 gallons) of water per day to survive in a moderate climate at an average activity level, according to UN figures.
The minimum amount of water needed for drinking and cooking, bathing and sanitation is 50 litres (13 gallons).

14. Water Use - (minimum 13 gallons) People and Planet
The average person in the United States uses between to 300 litres of water ( gallons) per day for drinking, cooking bathing, and watering their yard.
The average person in the Netherlands uses 104 litres per day (27 gallons).
The average person in the African nation of Gambia uses litres per day (1.2 gallons of water).

15. Water Use - United States
In 1990, about 408 billion gallons (Mgal/d) of water were used each day
Of that, about 339,000 Mgal/d was fresh water and about 69,400 Mgal/d was saline water
California used the most water, about 46,800 Mgal/d, with most of that going towards irrigation
The state with the second-highest water use was Texas, with about 25,200 Mgal/d, mostly for use in the power-production industries and for irrigation

16. Water Water Pollution Too little Water Supply, Renewal and Use
Dams and Reservoirs
Transferring water
Groundwater and Saltwater
Efficiency
Too Much Water
Water Pollution

17. Too Little Water Causes Dry climate
Drought - a period in which precipitation is much lower and evaporation is much higher
Desiccation - drying of soil because of such activities as deforestation and overgrazing
Water stress - low per capita availability of water caused by overpopulation

18. Precipitation Varies Greatly
US cities vary in their precipitation from an average of less than 8 to 60 inches a year.
Globally, the extreme is even greater – averages of less than 1 inch to more than 70 inches per year.
However, this masks variations between years.
Some locations may get ten times more, or less than 1/10 of their annual average from year to year.
Meeting demands for water when precipitation is so highly varied creates many challenges.

19. whyfiles.org/131fresh_water/ 2.html
atmos.htm
whyfiles.org/131fresh_water/ 2.html

21. Egyptians perfected the shadouf to draw water from canals and the river to the adjacent bank and into ditches.
Michael D. Lee Ph.D. Geography and Environmental Studies
Nomadic herders and, later, sedentary civilizations developed chains of wells – qanats, karez, foggaras, falaj – to route water across miles of desert from distant aquifers.

22. Water for Power
In addition to its uses for municipal purposes (drinking, sanitation, etc.) and for farming, moving water also has tremendous power to do work.
This too has been harnessed for millennia – first to lift water out of the river itself, then to grind grain and turn gears for machinery like looms, and then for electricity.
Water wheels have been in use for more than 2,000 years and were thought to have been a major factor in the advancement of European societies in the middle ages, as labor was freed for other purposes than farming.
Following the discovery of electricity and the pioneering of electric light by Edison, in the 1880s hydropower systems were built to generate electricity to send through transmission lines to homes and businesses.
Michael D. Lee Ph.D. Geography and Environmental Studies

23. Example of noria – water driven wheels lifting water into irrigation ditches or elevated aqueducts (This is in Vietnam)
Slaters Mill in Rhode Island, one of the earliest American water powered industrial systems.
Artists impression of the Three Gorges Project, Yangtze River, China – world’s biggest hydropower project 19 m kW.
Michael D. Lee Ph.D. Geography and Environmental Studies

24. Increasing Water Supplies
Build dams and reservoirs to store runoff
Bring in surface water from another area
Withdraw groundwater
Convert salt water to fresh water (desalination)
Improve the efficiency of water use

25. Chinese Dam Fish Bypass System Earthen Dam Aswan Dam, Egypt Hoover Dam

26. Large Dams - Pros Collect and store water from rain and snow
Produce electricity
Irrigate land below the dam
Control flooding
Provide water to cities, towns and rural areas
Provide recreational activities such as swimming, boating, fishing

27. Large Dams - Cons Enormous loss of water due to evaporation
Mass of water can cause earthquakes
Flooded land destroys forests or cropland and displaces people
Danger of Dam collapse
Downstream areas deprived of nutrient-rich soil, which will eventually clog the reservoir
Migration and spawning of fish disrupted
Expensive to build

28. California’s Water Water Law California’s Water Projects
Los Angeles Aqueduct
Hetch-Hetchy
Salton Sea
Colorado Aqueduct
Central Valley Project

29. Water Law Riparian Rights (Sharing)
from English Common Law
applies to surface waters
owner of waterfront land to use amounts correlated with other riparian owners.
Works well in areas with water surplus
Prior Appropriation (1st come, first served)
from Spanish law
no preference given to those adjoining water course
water rights based on use; earliest has rights
use protected as long as it is continuous and “reasonable”

30. Los Angeles Aqueduct (DWP) Eastern Sierra
Started in 1908 by William Mulholland
appropriated water feeding Owens Valley
taps surface flow from Eastern Sierra south
250 miles, cost $25,000,000 and took five years
pipe and flume, tunnel, and trench
gravity feed, no pumping
generates hydroelectric power
L.A. purchased riparian land, used appropriation rights to get away with this. Ranchers in Owens Valley fought back with dynamite and guns - California’s only range war.

31. LA Aqueduct is

32. Mono Lake
In 1941, L.A. DWP started diverting Mono Basin streams to add to L.A. Aqueduct.
Mono Lake’s volume halved while salinity doubled. The simple ecosystem began to fail and threatened migrating birds and nesting gulls.
The state and courts now mandate raising the level of the lake 17 feet. It will take about 20 years.

33. Hetch Hetchy: San Francisco Water
Hetch Hetchy Valley, in Yosemite National Park, dammed. Completed in 1931.
175 mile aqueduct and O’Shawnasy Dam, powerhouse, provide cheap power to the city of San Francisco.
95 mile Mokelumne aqueduct, starts at Pardee Dam and reservoir.
Together they provide about 1/3 of Bay Area water.
Controversy helped to strengthen John Muir’s Sierra Club.

35. The Salton Sea Man-made by accident in 1905.
Irrigation in Imperial Valley had flooded an ancient overflow channel of the Colorado River.
Unusually heavy spring runoff and lack of control gates caused a two-year flood into the Salton Sink.
The Southern Pacific Railroad had to move its tracks five times that season to higher ground.
Eventually the S.P.R.R. took control and put the river back but by then the Salton Sea was created.
Hoover Dam now controls Colorado and prevents delivery of sediment to Yuma and the delta.
7_6text.html

36. Colorado River Aqueduct
Established 1928 to bring water to L.A. and rest of Southern California
First delivery in 1940; serves 15 million people
Lawsuit from Arizona (1953) finally began to be implemented in amount will decrease and this amount will be replaced by State Water Project water.
Five pumping stations
Diversions for agriculture

37. The State Water Project: The California Aqueduct
Constructed beginning in the 1960s.
About 1/2 for irrigation, about 1/2 for domestic use.
Domestic use supply helps offset that lost to Arizona in 1985 court case.
Includes the huge Oroville Dam on Feather River in Sierra foothills.
Pumps at Tracy lift water, then it flows by gravity to the Tehachapi Mountains.

38. Dams and Global River Degradation
Shasta Dam, CA
Aswan Dam, Egypt Lake Nasser

39. Upstream of Dams - Negative Impact
Environment
Loss of terrestrial/riparian habitat and species
Creation of artificial lacustrine (lakes) system
exotic species introductions
Reservoir/storage for contaminants
Cultural / social
Loss of cultural resources
Displacement of families (villages, regions)
Water quality hazard
Economic
Shift in land use / economy
Water loss via evaporation
Water loss via seepage
Aesthetic
landscape inundated

40. Downstream Impacts of Dams
Altered hydrology - no seasonality
Altered water quality/character
Modify nutrient cycling
Reduce sediment supply
Channel adjustments
Habitat modification
Species impacts
River fragmentation

41. The ‘Dam’ Balance
Some dam removal (small dams) or operational changes (larger dams)
Bruce Babbit (Secretary of the Interior) oversaw the creative destruction of two California dams in 2000
Saelzer Dam on Clear Creek near Redding, for Salmon
Matilija Dam in Southern California
Dams continue to be built until good sites are gone, or it is not economic to build them.
Global numbers? We do not know

42. Three Gorges Dam
World's largest hydroelectric dam, Three Gorges, Yangtze River.
million people will be displaced.
The entire project is to be completed in 2009.

43. Summary of California Water Systems
Very complicated.
Politically controversial - Owens Valley, Dams, Habitat changes, reduced flushing of SF Bay Delta.
California has the most advanced and expensive water delivery system in the world.
Most of the water (about 80%) is used by agriculture; essential to California’s huge farm industry.
Michael D. Lee Ph.D. Geography and Environmental Studies

44. Tapping Groundwater
About half of the drinking water in the United States is pumped from aquifers
Roughly 40% of the water in streams/river is from groundwater
The number one removal of water from aquifers is for irrigation for farming

45. Groundwater Problems Aquifer depletion Aquifer subsidence
more water is removed than is naturally refreshed
Aquifer subsidence
land sinks due to withdrawal of groundwater (Mexico City)
Intrusion of salt water into aquifers
Contamination from multiple sources

46. Groundwater Depletion
Aquifer Depletion
95% of water removed from Ogallala Aquifer is for irrigation and the removal rate is greater than the refreshing rate
Saudi Arabia, China, northern Africa, southern Europe, Middle East, Thailand, India

47. Aquifer Subsidence
Well casing projecting from the ground (40 years)
Mexico City’s aquifer has shrunk enough that land has dropped up to 7.5 m

48. Salt Water Intrusion
“One-third of the water supply for coastal areas of Greater Los Angeles comes from local ground-water sources.
Saltwater has penetrated a part of the supply, and a significant part of the remaining supply is at risk.”
U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 030–02

49. Desalination Removal of salts from ocean water
reverse osmosis
using high pressure
The Santa Barbara facility began operation in March 1992

50. Reducing Water Waste
Up 70% of water is lost through evaporation & leaks
repair leaky pipes/canals
recycling
use of gray water (i.e. from shower) for irrigation etc.
water conservation
efficient toilets, faucets, & shower heads
irrigation efficiency (only 40% reaches crops)
drip irrigation, central–pivot, computer monitoring

51. Types of Benefits
Possible benefits of canal replacement with pipeline:
reduction in seepage losses
improvement of head and on-farm water delivery
better operation of distribution network
reduction in maintenance costs

52. Direct Potable Water Reuse
Drinking Water
Wastewater
Treatment

53. Windhoek, Namibia Population: 220,000 Severe water shortage
First and only city using direct potable water reuse (Since 1968)

54. Windhoek, Namibia 40% of water demand returned as wastewater
2,000 m3/day of reclaimed water
Basic public acceptance
No significant epidemiological trends
Data consistent with WHO health trends

55. Denver, Colorado
Direct Potable Reuse demonstration project ( )
Drinking water influent is secondary treated wastewater
Several barriers of treatment
Standard Drinking Water Treatment
Carbon Adsorption
Ultraviolet Irradiation
Reverse Osmosis/Ultrafiltration
Air Stripping
Disinfection (ozonation and chlorination)

56. Denver, Colorado High water quality (meets all EPA standards)
No adverse health effects
Tested on animals
Carcinogenic and reproductive tests
Public awareness and education programs
Majority of acceptance if sufficient need exists

57. Specific Uses for Recycled Water
Toilet flushing
Subsurface drip irrigation
Safer
Non-aerosolizing of water and pathogens
More prone to clogging
Requires more maintenance
More efficient
Less evaporative water loss
Feeds roots of plants/grass directly

59. Too Much Water: Floods
Natural flooding is caused primarily by heavy rain or rapid melting snow.
This causes water in a stream to overflow it normal channel & flood the adjacent area, called a floodplain.
Floodplains, which include highly productive wetlands, help to:
Provide natural flood & erosion control
Maintain high water quality
Recharge groundwater
When the floodwater recede, deposits of silt are left behind, creating a nutrient-rich soil.

60. Too Much Water: Floods
People have been settling in floodplains for several reasons:
Fertile soil
Sufficient water for irrigation
Flat land suitable for agriculture
Use of nearby rivers for transportations
However, each year floods (“natural disasters”) kill thousands of people & cause tens of billons of dollar in property damage. Human activities have contributed to the sharp rice in flood frequencies which dramatically increased flood deaths & damages.

61. Flooding Human activities that increase flooding: removing vegetation
logging
overgrazing
forest fires
mining
destruction of wetlands
building on floodplains
urbanization
© Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

62. Too Much Water: Floods Natural phenomena
Aggravated by human activities
Renew and replenish
Floodplain
Levee
Flood
wall
Dam
Reservoir