Water supply for human consumption, irrigation, and other uses is a serious worl

Question

Water supply for human consumption, irrigation, and other uses is a serious world-wide concern.

a)     In class, we talked about 3 main sources of water supply

i)    List and briefly discuss these sources.

ii) What limitations do each of these sources have?

iii) In each case, what can we do to “get around” these limitations?

iv) Discuss examples of situations where the use of one or another of these sources would be appropriate and situations where the use would be inappropriate.

b)    Choose ONE of the sources of water supply that you listed in part b(i) of this question and discuss how

i)    Agricultural run activity might affect it.

ii)   Urban runoff might affect it.

c)   Consider where you live (or where you grew up). What are some of the issues related to water pollution in that area?

d)                     As climate continues to change, predictions indicate there will be a decrease in water availability, especially in the areas being supplied by snowmelt. You and a colleague are asked to create a management practice plan that will help minimize the possible decrease in water supply from the Colorado River in the western United States. Your colleague’s approach suggests harvesting great forest areas in order to allow meltwater to fill reservoirs, to be available for irrigation and to generate power in lower elevations. Do you agree? Explain your position and your management practice plan.

Explanation / Answer

A i) Three main sources of water for human use and irrigation are as follows

Rain water:

Rain water is the final step of hydrological cycle, water gets into the sky by evaporation and again comes to earth due to condensation. Every place in the world gets more or less some amount of fresh water from rain sources. Some of the rivers are perennial which are very much dependable on rain water. It is the purest form of natural water without any contamination, but while descending into the atmosphere, it gets impurities. Now a days rain water harvesting has become a new way of storing rain water.

The harvesting of rainwater simply involves the collection of water from surfaces on which rain falls, and subsequently storing this water for later use. Normally water is collected from the roofs of buildings and stored in rainwater tanks

Surface water:

Surface water refers to the water which is present in ground surface in the lakes, rivers, ponds and oceans. The volume of the Earth’s water supply is about 326 million cubic miles. Each cubic mile is greater than 1 trillion gallons. Although water is abundant on a global scale, more than 99% is unavailable for our use. A mere 0.3% is usable by humans, with an even smaller amount accessible! The oceans, ice caps, and glaciers contain most of the Earth’s water supplies. Ocean water is too saline to be economically useful, while glaciers and icecaps are "inconveniently located.

Surface water sources: Lakes impounding reservoirs, streams, seas, irrigation canals

Ground water:

Groundwater is water found below the earth's surface. This cut-away image depicts a typical private residential well. Residents who have a private well get their water from a groundwater source. It plays as the main source for drinking water in many of the parts of the earth. In the arid regions, ground water is the main source for irrigation and human use. Ground water is effected by surface water. It is reported that if the surface water is used inadequately, it adversely affect the ground water sources. Water pollution has become a eye catching problem in recent days.

Ground water sources: Springs, wells, infiltration wells

The quantity of water required for a community depends upon:

ii) Limitations of ground water

Limitations of surface water

iii) Remedies to overcome limitations of ground water

Remedies to overcome limitations of surface water

IV) Appropriate usage of different water

Surface water: It shall be used for electricity generation and industrial usage. But presently 64% of the ground water is used in industries which is not good. Surface water shall be used for drinking and other human needs, whereas ground water is used extensively some of the places.

B) Agricultural run activity affect

i) Agricultural runoff activity effects the surface water in the following ways.

ii) Urban runoff activity effects the ground water in the following ways.

C) In my home town the following are the problems with water pollution

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