CHAPTER 4 - WATER AND ITS MANAGEMENT

4.1 Global water distribution

• Oceans cover 71% of the Earth’s surface.
• Oceans and seas contain 97% of all the Earth’s water.
• Only 3% of water on Earth is freshwater.
• Nearly two thirds (65%) of this 3% fresh-water is in the ‘deep freeze’ in the ice sheets.

4.2 The Water Cycle

Precipitation: moisture that reaches the surface in the form of rain, sleet, snow, or hail.
o Rain is the most common type.
• Surface run-off: precipitation that flows over the ground surface, eventually finding its way into
streams and rivers.
• Interception: precipitation that doesn’t reach the Earth’s surface due to being obstructed by trees
and plants.
• Infiltration: precipitation soaks into sub-surface soils and moves into rocks through cracks and
pore spaces.
• Through-flow: downslope movement of water through the soil, roughly parallel to the ground
surface.
• Ground water flow: slow horizontal movement of water through rock.
• Evaporation: water from oceans, seas and other water bodies is changed from water droplets to
water vapour (invisible gas) in the atmosphere due to heat.
• Transpiration: evaporation or diffusion of water from plant leaves.
• Condensation: water vapour converted back into liquid (water droplets) or solid (particles of ice)
due to a decrease in temperature with increasing height by air currents, e.g. clouds.

4.3 Water usage

DOMESTIC INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURAL

• At home for drinking and • In factories for: • Mainly for irrigation
cooking (3% of domestic o Cooling; (plants need water for
water) o Mixing and making Transporting minerals, for
o MEDCs: products such as dyes and photosynthesis, and for the
▪ Washing and flushing the paints; prevention of
toilet (50%); o Bottling and canning in wilting);
▪ Washing clothes (20%); food and drink industries; • For domestic animals.
▪ Gardening; o Power generation.
▪ Washing cars;
▪ Lost in leaks.
o LEDCs:
▪ Proportionately lesser than
MEDCs

4.4 Water supply

• Surface water: water in lakes, rivers and swamps.
• Ground water: water in the soil, and in rocks under the surface of the ground.
In places where insufficient water is present both in surface and ground water, sea water is used. The
sea water is made potable by removing salt.
• Potable: safe to drink.

WATER FROM RIVERS:

• Reservoirs: an artificial lake used as a source of water supply, usually created behind a dam or by
the side of a river (bank-side reservoir).
o Service reservoir: a reservoir where potable water is
stored e.g. Water tower and Cistern.
• Rivers: a large, natural stream of water flowing in a channel to the sea, a lake, or another river.
o They provide surface transfers of water to low-land areas where farms, villages, towns and cities
are concentrated.

WATER FROM THE GROUND:

• Aquifers: water stored in porous rocks under the ground.
o Alternating layers of permeable and impermeable rocks trap the water in permeable rock;

o Folded layers of rock so water accumulates the most in the down

fold;
o Permeable rocks outcropping on the surface receive new supplies
of rainwater;
o Water is stored in the limestone and sandstone (porous) rocks below
the water table;
o Mechanical pumps, or human labour are used to raise water to the
surface.

▪ Artesian aquifer: an aquifer in which the water is

under pressure.
▪ Water from a well sunk into an artesian aquifer will rise
to the surface without the need for a pump.

WATER FROM THE SEA:

Over 97% of the world’s water is sea water which is saline and not fit to be consumed. 2 ways to
make it potable are:
• Desalination: removal of salt from seawater by:
o Distillation: water is boiled and released as
vapour, leaving salt behind.
▪ The vapour is then condensed as liquid water and
can be used.
▪ 10-30% efficient and uses a lot of energy.
▪ Provision of energy and salt water (brine) is a
source of pollution.

o Reverse osmosis: pumping water at high pressure through a

fine membrane.
▪ 30-50% efficient and requires lesser energy than distillation.

4.5 Water quality and availability

• Water-rich countries: countries with plentiful fresh water supplies:
o Some are large countries with plenty of land for rain to fall on e.g. Russia, Canada, China, and some
with the world’s greatest rivers flowing through them e.g. Amazon, Yangtze, Mississippi.
o However, big areas do not ensure water availability e.g. Australia, Argentina, Sudan, due to
containing substantial areas of desert within its borders.
• Water-poor countries: countries with scarce fresh water supplies:
o Dominated by desert countries.
o Except Singapore and Mauritius since they receive high precipitation totals, but are tiny island
states that have only small areas for rain to fall on.
• Water conflict: conflict between countries, states, or groups over an access to water resources.
• Physical water scarcity: not enough water to meet both human demands and those of ecosystems
to function effectively.
o Arid regions frequently suffer from physical water scarcity.
o It also occurs where water seems abundant, but resources are over-committed.
• Economic water scarcity: caused by a lack of investment in water infrastructure or insufficient
human capacity to satisfy the demand of water in areas where the population cannot afford to use an
adequate source of water.
• Unlike Rural areas, Urban areas have higher access to safe drinking water because:
o Cities are more wealthy places with factories and offices;
o On average, people’s incomes are higher;
o Easier to put pressure on the politicians or leaders to make improvements;
o Wealthy people are more likely to live in cities;
o Water pipes are easier and cheaper to build when a lot of people live close together.

4.6 Multipurpose dam projects

• Example: The Ramganga Dam, Uttarakhand, India.

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
• Generation of electricity in hydro-electric Relocating people;
power plants; • Flooding land;
• Flood control; • Disrupting the life cycles of fish and other
• Irrigation; aquatic organisms;
• Creates recreational land for tourism and • Dam may become redundant due to
leisure; sediment build up;
• Provision of water; • Very expensive to build.
• Creation of habitat for wetland species; • Requires maintenance;
• Access by boat to otherwise inaccessible • Reduces jobs for farmers if natural fisheries
areas; are affected;
• Renewable source of energy; • Altering water supply for people
• Doesn’t produce greenhouse gases; downstream the dam;
• Reduces fossil fuel consumption; • Reducing soil enrichment downstream of
• Creates more jobs. the dam.

• Choice of site:
o High precipitation to provide sufficient water;
o Low temperature to prevent evaporation;
o Built on strong impermeable rock so water doesn’t drain and has a good foundation;
o Built high up in order to have good potential for hydro-electric power;
o Narrow, steep sided valley for economic reasons;
o Rivers and lakes nearby to provide water;
o Away from developed areas to reduce the risk of pollution in reservoirs;
o Easily accessible; o Maximises water storage capacity.
Sustainability of dams:
o Alternative for burning of fossil fuels as
no greenhouse gases are produced.
• Unsustainability of dams:
o Reservoir can become silted due to
material carried into it by rivers;
o Dam structure under a lot of pressure can
deteriorate and eventually fail;
o Have negative effects on the environment
and fish population.

4.7 Water pollution and its sources

• Sewage: waste matter that is rich in organic matter, thus microbial organisms can thrive in it.
o It is usually disposed in water bodies, and thus has to be treated.
• Domestic waste: sewage from rural and urban settlements carry many pathogenic micro-organisms,
increasing the content of nitrates and phosphates in rivers.
o Detergents, metals and other manufactured products contain traces of toxic chemicals.
• Industrial processes: use of chemicals, the processing of metal ores, and the leaching of metals
from waste heaps and dumps cause the presence of metals in rivers (e.g. Manganese, mercury,
copper).
o Gases from industrial chimneys enter the atmosphere, where they dissolve in water and form acid
rain.
• Agricultural practices: surpluses of phosphorous and nitrogen not absorbed by the plants are
washed from the land or percolate into the ground water.
o On farms, animal manure, synthetic fertiliser, and chemical pesticides are main sources.
o Agrochemicals: pesticides, herbicides and fertiliser.

4.8 Impact of water pollution

• Global inequalities in sewage and water treatment: developing countries have difficulty treating
water and sewage compared to developed countries as people aren’t educated and can’t put pressure
on the government.
• Risk of infectious bacterial diseases, typhoid and cholera: water-borne diseases are caused by
drinking contaminated water.
• Accumulation of toxic substances from industrial processes in lakes and rivers: reduces oxygen
in lakes and rivers, causing reduction in photosynthesis and death of fish and insect larvae.
• Biomagnification of toxic substances in food chains: increases concentration of a toxic substance
(e.g. mercury and pesticides) in the tissues of organisms at successively higher levels in a food chain,
causing illness.
o Bioaccumulation: accumulation of a toxic chemical in the tissue of a particular organism.
• Formation of acid rain: burning fossil
fuels such as coal and oil produce sulfur
dioxide (SO2) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx)
that are blown long distances and react with
water in the atmosphere.
o SO2 dissolves in water to form sulfuric
acid, and NOx dissolves to form nitric acid
that fall in the form of rain.
o pH: measured by acidity or alkalinity.
▪ Ranges from very acidic, 1, to very alkaline, 14.
▪ 7 is neutral.

• The effect of acid rain on organisms in rivers

and lakes:
o Lower pH makes the environment intolerable
for aquatic life;
o Fish egg-laying is reduced, and young fish are
malformed;
o Leaching of heavy metals such as aluminum,
lead and mercury from the soil into the water;
o Aluminum clogs fish gills and causes
suffocation;
o Minerals essential for life, notably calcium and
potassium, are washed out of the lake or river, reducing algae growth and leaving less food for fish
and other animals.
• The effect of acid rain on trees and vegetation: Can cause dieback which is the death of a tree
or shrub that starts at the tip of the root or leaves and spreads towards the centre of the plant, caused
by unfavourable conditions like acid rain.

• Nutrient enrichment leading to

eutrophication:
o Increase in nutrients, such as nitrates and
phosphates, in a water body causes algae
bloom (rapid growth of algae – algal
bloom).
o Death of algae causes an increase in
organic matter that acts as food for bacteria
as they decompose the dead algae.
o Bacteria use up oxygen, reducing oxygen
content in the water and causing the death
of organisms.
4.9 Managing pollution of fresh water

• Treatment of sewage: aims to reduce the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) of the sewage.

o Sewage outfall: waste water from homes and industries is taken to a sewage treatment plant in
sewers.
o Screening tank: large objects are removed from the waste using a coarse grid.
o Primary treatment, first settling tank: solid organic matter, mainly human waste, settles at the
bottom of the tank (sludge), which is treated in a sludge-digester.
▪ Clean water then overflows the sides of the tank and is taken to the next stage.
o Secondary treatment, oxidation: water is pumped into a tank where oxygen is bubbled through
it.
▪ This encourages the growth of bacteria and other microbes that break down organic matter, which
cause BOD.
o Secondary treatment, second settling tank: water enters, where bacteria settle to the bottom,
forming more sludge.
▪ This cleaner water overflows the sides of the tank as effluent, usually discharged into a river.
o Sludge digester: oxygen-free conditions are created that encourage the growth of bacteria which
can break down the sludge, releasing methane, that can be burnt.
▪ Treated sludge can be dried in sludge lagoons and used as organic fertiliser on farmland.
o Tertiary treatment: further filtering out of its effluent or its chlorination which produces even
cleaner effluent that protects the habitat in which it is released.

• Water treatment: Water is made potable by undergoing coagulation treatment, being filtered and
disinfected.

o Coagulation: Particles in the water are stuck together and settle to the bottom of the container.
o Water is then filtered through sand.
o Chlorination: to kill remaining pathogens, chlorine is added as a disinfectant.

• Improved sanitation: separates human excreta from contact with humans, achieved by toilets and
latrines.
Waste can be removed by:
o Connection to a system of sewer pipes or sewerage, that collects human faeces, urine and waste
water.
o Connection to a septic system, which consists of an underground, sealed settling tank.
o Flush toilet: uses a holding tank for
flushing water, and a water seal that
prevents smells.

o Pour toilet: has a water seal but uses water poured

by hand for flushing.
 o Pit latrine: type of toilet that collects human faeces in a
hole in the ground that is sometimes ventilated to take away
smells.

o Composting toilet: dry toilet in which vegetable waste, straw,

grass, sawdust, and ash are added to the human waste to produce
compost.

• Pollution control and legislation: puts pressure on polluters to find ways to reduce pollutants.
o Industries are required to monitor the pollution they cause and keep it within set level.
o Bi-national Great lakes water quality agreement
(GLWQA): a loading limit of phosphorus was set at 11000 metric tonnes year-1 in response to
eutrophication issues in the Great Lakes of USA and Canada.
o Fines for exceeding set limits.
o Companies may be prosecuted and in extreme cases, forced to shut down.
o Companies may need government agreement on strategic plans to reduce pollution levels.
o Incentives may be used to encourage companies to take part, such as grants or tax relief, for those
that do achieve a reduction in pollution.

4.10 Managing water-related disease

• Water-borne disease: spread by consuming contaminated water due to poor sanitation and
untreated sewage, or by washing food, pots and pans, or hands and face in dirty water.
o Examples: cholera and typhoid.
• Cholera: intestinal infection that causes severe diarrhoea that may lead to dehydration and
eventually death.
o Causes: poor sanitation, contamination of water and food, disruption of piped water supplies after
a natural disaster occurrence.

• Strategies to control cholera:

o Ensure that sewage and drinking water are kept separate;
o Sewage removed directly into a treatment works;
o Water being treated before it’s delivered into homes;
o Do not use contaminated water to wash food;
o Hands should be washed after contact with any faecal material;
o Boiling water and chlorination.
• Water-bred disease: the carrier breeds in water and spreads the disease by biting its victims.
o Example: malaria.
• Malaria: a life-threatening disease which is transmitted through the bite of an infected Anopheles
mosquito (vector) that carries the Plasmodium parasite. Once bitten, the parasite reaches your
bloodstream.
o Symptoms: high temperature and fever, diarrhoea, dehydration and feeling weak.
• Life cycle of the malaria parasite:

• Strategies to control malaria:

o Sleeping under mosquito nets and using antimalarial drugs in and around homes;
o Draining marshes and stagnant pools to eliminate breeding grounds;
o Put kerosene over the tops of pools to choke the larvae;
o Spray antimalarial drugs on stagnant areas of water to kill the larvae;
o Use vaccinations;
o Educate people on the risks of malaria by setting up campaigns and programmes.