Water Resources Chapter 13. Core Case Study: Water Conflicts in the Middle East: A Preview of the Future Water shortages in the Middle East: hydrological

Water Resources

Chapter 13

Core Case Study: Water Conflicts in the Middle East: A Preview of the Future

Water shortages in the Middle East: hydrological poverty

Nile River

Jordan Basin

Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

Peacefully solving the problems

13-1 Will We Have Enough Usable Water?

1) Freshwater is irreplaceablea) Water covers about 71% of the surfaceb) Water makes up about 60% of our body and it’s properties affect life on earthc) You can only survive a few days without itd) It takes huge amounts to provide for our daily needse) Water also sculpts the surface, moderates climate, and removes wastes and pollutantsf) Water is one of our most poorly managed resources


g) We also charge too little for making it available, which encourages greater waste and pollution

h) Access to water is a global health issue, lack of access to clean water & sanitation is the largest cause of illness

i) WHO estimated that 1.6 million people die from waterborne diseases

j) It is also an economic issue, women's &children’s issue, national and global security issue and an environmental issue

Fig. 13-3, p. 319


2) Most of the FW is not available

a) Only about .024% of water is available

b) Rest is salt water, frozen or very deep underground

c) Hydrologic cycle: Water cycle works well, unless it is overloaded

d) We also interfere with the cycle by destroying wetlands, cutting down forest & global warming

e) We actually have plenty of water, but it is not evenly distributed


3) Where we get water

a) Groundwater: water in the spaces under ground

b) Zone of saturation: spaces completely filled with water

c) Water table: the upper level of the zone

d) Aquifer: underground caverns & porous layers where groundwater flows

e) Natural recharge: precipitation that percolates downward into aquifers


f) Lateral recharge: water flowing in from the side from rivers

g) Recharge is very slow and paving or building over areas has decreased the process

h) Nonrenewable aquifer: get very little recharge and are found deep underground and formed tens of thousands of years ago.

i) Water mining: process removing water from deep aquifers

j) Surface water: rivers, lakes, streams, etc.


k) Surface runoff: water that doesn’t move into aquifers

l) Water shed (drainage basin) land area where runoff supplies a river or other body of water

m) Most groundwater eventually flows into rivers, lakes estuaries or wetlands

4) We use a large portion of the reliable runoff

a) Reliable runoff: water that we can generally count on as a source of freshwater each year.


b) About 2/3 of annual runoff is lost by floodsc) We use about 34% of the world’s reliable runoffd) By 2025 we could be using 70% and 90% if per

capita withdrawal continues increasing at the current rate

e) Uses70% irrigation20% industrial10% residential

d) Affluence increases the amount of water used

Fig. 13-A, p. 321

Case Study: Freshwater Resources in the United States (pg 317)

More than enough renewable freshwater, unevenly distributed

Effect of• Floods• Pollution• Drought

2007: U.S. Geological Survey projection • Water hotspots

Fig. 13-5, p. 322


5) Water shortages will grow

a) Main factors leading to scarcity

1. dry climate

2. drought

3. too many people using a reliable supply

4. wasteful use of water

b) More than 30 countries face water scarcity, 60 are likely to have water stress

Fig 13-6 page 319 shows current degree of stress

Fig. 13-6, p. 323


c) Poor bear the brunt of water shortagesd) Un reported 1.1 billion people (1-6) lacked regular

access to enough clean watere) 2.6 billion lacked access to have basic sanitation 6) Long term drought is increasing

a) Caused by lack of normal rainfall & diminished groundwater due to falling water tablesb) Harmful environmental effects: dries soil, reduces stream flow, decreases tree growth & biomass, lowers NPP, reduces crop yield, causes a shift in biomes


c) The big dry: About 30% of the earth’s land experiences severe drought, by 2059 as much as 45% could experience extreme drought

d) Since 99, much of the US has experienced severe drought

e) There has been a drop in crop productivity and increased in arguments of water supplies between farmers and urban areas

7) Competition in water short areas

a) Farmers are losing the battle for water


b) Some areas are reducing irrigation water needs by importing grain

c) Water shortages are causing an increase in the competition in the world’s grain markets

d) Using crops for biofuel adds to the competition

e) Bottom line: farmers, cities and car owners are increasingly competing for access to the world’s grain and water supplies, which in turn can degrade some of the natural capital that provides these resources (page 320)


7) Who should own & manage FW Resources

a) Most believe that everyone should have access to water, but who will pay to make it available?

b) Most water resources are owned by governments and managed as publicly owned resources for their citizens.

c) Some governments are hiring private companies to manage it or selling their water resources

d) 2French Companies (Veolia & Suez) are trying to buy or manage as much of the water as they can


e) 85% of Americans get their water from publicly owned utilities, but within 10 yrs these companies plan to control 70% of the water supply in the US.

f) The public-private partnership has had mixed results

(page 320)

g) Many oppose full privatization of water because they believe that water is a public resource too important to be left in private hands

h) It is difficult and costly to regain control, private companies encourage waste, poor may lose access

13-2 Is Extracting Groundwater the Answer?

1) Water tables fall

a) Most aquifers are renewable and provide drinking water for about ½ of the world

b) In the US it provides most of the rural areas, 1/5 of urban areas

and 37% of irrigation

c) Figure 13-7 Page 321


d) The world’s 3 larges grain producers and several other countries are overpumping many of the aquifers

e) More than ½ a billion people are being fed by grain produced through the unsustainable use of groundwater and the number is expected to grown

f) Inexpensive tubewells has accelerated overpumping

g) As the tables fall, farmers drill deeper wells, buy larger pumps and use more energy to pump water eventually depleting the aquifer

Fig. 13-12, p. 327


h) Hydrologist estimate that because of aquifer depletion most irrigated agriculture in Saudi Arabia may disappear within 1-2 decades

Pg 322

Case Study: Aquifer Depletion in the United States

Ogallala aquifer: largest known aquifer

Irrigates the Great Plains Water table lowered more than

30m cost of high pumping has

eliminated some of the farmers Government subsidies to continue

farming deplete the aquifer further Biodiversity threatened in some

areas California Central Valley: serious

water depletion

2) Groundwater Overpumping Has Other Harmful Effects

a) Limits future food production

b) Increases the gap between rich and poor: poor farmers can’t afford pumping, lose land and move to overpopulated cities

c) Land subsidence: occurs with sand and rock in aquifers collapse, prevents recharge, causes buildings and roads to collapse

d) Sinkholes: appear suddenly and unexpectedly

e) Can cause saltwater intrusion into aquifers

Science Focus: Are Deep Aquifers the Answer? (page 324)

Locate the deep aquifers; determine if they contain freshwater or saline water

Major concerns• Geological and ecological impact of pumping

water from them

• Flow beneath more than one country•Who has rights to it?

13-3 Is Building More Dams the Answer?

1) Advantages and Disadvantages

a) Reservoir: artificial lake created by a dam

b) Main goal: capture & store runoff to be released as needed to control floods, generate electricity & supply water for farming and cities

c) Also provide recreational activities

d) There are 800,000 dams worldwide

e) They have increased reliable runoff by 1/3 and hold 3-6 times as much water than flows in rivers & produce about 20% of electricity

Fig. 13-13, p. 328


f) They have displaced 40-80 million people, flooded productive land, & impaired some important ecological services

g) About 1/5 of F W fish and plant species are extinct or endangered due to dams & water withdrawals destroying free flowing rivers

h) Reservoirs loose large amounts of water and eventually fill in (about 50yrs)

i) About 85% of US dams will be 50 by 2020


3) Rivers are running dry & lakes are shrinking

a) Dams and withdrawal can reduce flow & prevent river water from reaching the sea

b) Only 21 of the 177 longest rivers run freely from source to sea.

c) Climate change will worsen the situation in many areas

d) Many smaller rivers have totally disappeared

e) some lakes and seas are shrinking and disappearing because of water diversion

Fig. 13-17a, p. 332

Case Study: The Colorado River Basin— An Overtapped Resource (pg 327)

2,300 km through 7 U.S. states, 14 Dams and reservoirs, Located in a desert area within the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountains, Water supplied mostly from snowmelt of the Rocky Mountains

Supplies water and electricity for more than 25 million people, Irrigation of crops, Recreation

Four Major problems• Colorado River basin has very dry lands

• Modest flow of water for its size

• Legal pacts allocated more water for human use than it can supply

• Water flowing to the mouth of the river has dropped

Case Study: The Colorado River Basin— An Overtapped Resource

Case Study: China’s Three Gorges Dam (page 328)

World’s largest hydroelectric dam and reservoir Benefits

• Electricity-producing potential is huge

• Holds back the Yangtze River floodwaters

• Allows cargo-carrying ships Harmful effects

• Displaces about 5.4 million people

• Built over a seismic fault

• Rotting plant and animal matter producing CH4

• Will the Yangtze River become a sewer?

13-4 Is Transferring Water from One Place to Another the Answer?

1) Ca transfers massive amounts of watera) California water project used dams, pumps &

aqueducts to transport water from northern to southern Ca

b) Northern and Southern Californians feud over how the state’s water should be allocated

c) Agriculture consumes ¾ of the water withdrawn in Ca

d) Northern argues that it degrades the Sacramento River, threatens fisheries and reduces the ability to flush pollutants out of the bay & it is wasted

Fig. 13-16, p. 331

13-4 Is Transferring Water from One Place to Another the Answer?

d) It is projected that global warming will reduce the water available in in Ca and many will have to leave the southern part

Case study: The Aral Sea disaster page 330 Large-scale water transfers in dry central Asia Salinity Wetland destruction and wildlife Fish extinctions and fishing Wind-blown salt Water pollution Climatic changes Restoration efforts

2) China Plans a Massive Transfer of Water

a) He Chinese government has started to transfer water from 3 southern rivers to its northern provinces

b) Cost will be about 62.5 Billion and use a series of canals, dams, reservoirs and pumping stations

c) By 2050 the system will transfer 10 times more water than the Ca project

d) Critics worry that pollutants will contaminate northern water supplies, could damage southern ecosystems

2) China Plans a Massive Transfer of Water

e) Others point to increased desertification in north eroding biodiversity & reducing water for 96 million people

f) Northern has large populations, intensive agriculture and rapid industrialization

g) Also it will reduce overpumping of aquifers

h) However, climate models predict northern China will become more wet due to global warming

13-5 Is Converting Salty Seawater to Freshwater the Answer?

1) Desalination: removing of salt from sea water

2) Distillation: using evaporation-condensation

3) Reverse osmosis: uses high pressure to push water through a membrane

4) Problems

a) high cost and energy footprint

b) chemicals used kill many marine organisms

c) produces briny water, that contaminates coastal areas or land when dumped

5) Currently desalination is practical for water-short, wealthy countries or cities

Science Focus: The Search for Improved Desalination Technology (pg 333)

Desalination on offshore ships• Solar or wind energy

Better membranes

Better disposal options for the brine waste

Reduce water needs, conserve water

13-6 How Can We Use Water More Sustainably?

1) Reducing water wastea) Estimated that 65-70% of water is wasted through

evaporation, leaks and other means

b) It may be feasible to reduce this to 15% and meet most of the world’s water needs in the future

c) Increasing efficiency would decrease burden on wastewater plants and reduce the need for new projects

d) Main cause of waste is low cost of water, due to subsidies


e) Users have little incentive to invest in water-saving technologies

f) Prices will increase with scarcity

g) Lack of subsidies for improving efficiency also leads to waste

h) Goals of these subsidies would be to improve irrigation efficiency and to use inexpensive means to collect rainwater and pipe it where needed

2) Can we cut irrigation waste?

a) About 60% of irrigation water is lost


d) Flood irrigation: loses 40%, pumps water down ditches to crop

e) Center pivot, low pressure sprinklers: uses pumps to spray water on a crop 80% of water reaches crop

LEPA puts 90-95%

f) Drip irrigation (microirrigation): most efficient, delivers small amounts of water to crops through perforated tubing, costly but 90-95% efficient, crop yields are 20-90% more (only 1% of crop fields)

g) Capital cost of a new drip system is 1/10 as much per hectare as conventional systems.

Fig. 13-18, p. 335

Fig. 13-121 p. 335


3) Developing countries use low-tech methods

a) Treadle pumps: human powered pumps to move water

b) Rain water harvesting:

c) Polyculture, agroforestry, perennials (control weeds)

d) Fog-catcher nets: plastic nets funneling fog into containers

Fig. 13-20, p. 337


4) We can cut water waste at home

a) Chemical, paper, oil, coal metals & processed food uses almost 90% of water by US industries

b) Many recycle the water to reduce costs

c) Most could be redesigned to waste less water

d) Flushing: largest use of domestic water in USnewer toilet us no more than 1.6 gal (6.1 L)

e) Low-flow shower heads can cut water in half

(saves 5,000 gallons per person per year)


f) 40-60% of the water supplied in developing countries is lost through leaks, about 10-30% in the US

g) It would cost less to repair leaks than to build new dams or other methods to supply additional water

h) In arid places companies & homes are using drip irrigation and xeriscapping reducing water use by 30-85%, also reduces labor cost and fertilizer usage

i) Gray water: slightly used water recycled to irrigate, flush & wash cars

j) Under pricing is a major cause of excessive use and waste in homes and industries

Fig. 13-22, p. 338

Fig. 13-22, p. 336


5) We can use less water to remove wastes

a) We use large amounts of water to flush away waste materials

b) Within 40 yrs we could need the world’s reliable flow of river water to dilute and transport wastes

c) Mimicking nature could save much of this water

d) Waterless composting toilet would also reduce water use (page 337)

6) Use water sustainably (page 337-338)

Fig. 13-23, p. 339

Fig. 13-24, p. 339

13-7 How Can We Reduce the Threat of Flooding?

1) Some areas get too much water from flooding

a) Floodplain: usually include wetlands, help provide flood and erosion control, maintain water quality, & recharge groundwater

b) People live here because of fertile soil, water supply, flat areas, transportation

c) To reduce flood threats, people have channelized, built dams and levees, but these can increase flood damage with heavy rains


d) Floods provide benefits

1. productive farmland

2. groundwater recharge

3) refill wetlands

e) Flood kill thousands of people each yr & cause 10s of billions of dollars in damage

f) Floods affect more people than the combined other natural disasters


g) Human activities contribute to the increase

1. Removal of vegetation (especially on hillsides)

2. Removing mangrove forests in coastal areas

3. Draining and building on wetlands

4. Living on flood plains

5) Global warming (about 150 million people on coast are likely to be flooded by 2070)

Fig. 13-25, p. 340

Case Study: Living Dangerously on Floodplains in Bangladesh page 339

Dense population

Located on coastal floodplain

Moderate floods maintain fertile soil

Increased frequency of large floods

Effects of development in the Himalayan foothills

Destruction of coastal wetlands


2) We can reduce flood risks

a) Fig 13-26 page 340

b) Preserve and restore wetlands

c) Think about where you live

We Can Reduce Flood Risks

Rely more on nature’s systems• Wetlands

• Natural vegetation in watersheds

Rely less on engineering devices• Dams

• Levees

Fig. 13-27, p. 342

Documents

Water Resources Chapter 13. Core Case Study: Water Conflicts in the Middle East: A Preview of the Future Water shortages in the Middle East: hydrological