Water Quantity Reading Quest

Water Quantity Reading Quest

Water, Water Everywhere  

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75% of the earth is water 1. 72% of the water in the world is in the oceans 2. Only 3% of the water in the world is freshwater 3. 2% of the freshwater is frozen in glaciers  4. Only 1% of all the freshwater is accessible for human use (the rest is frozen) 

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If you look at the overall breakdown of water, the majority of the usable freshwater is actually found as groundwater.

Fresh Water Sources Surface Water Rivers, Streams, and Lakes

Groundwater Aquifers and Springs

Texas Surface Water Resources 15 major river basins 191,000 miles of rivers and streams

Canadian

Red Sulphur Brazos

Sabine

Cypress

Trinity

7 major estuaries

Neches

Colorado Rio Grande S an

G ua S da an lu An p e Lavaca to ni o Nueces

Ja ci nt o

Neches-Trinity Trinity-San Jacinto

San Jacinto-Brazos

~ 200 springs

Brazos-Colorado

Colorado-Lavaca Lavaca-Guadalupe

San Antonio-Nueces

Nueces-Rio Grande

6 million acres of bottomland hardwoods and forested wetlands

Surface Water Distribution  

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Surface water is easy to access. 5. Surface water comes from rain run-off that drains and collects in rivers and lakes. 6. Not all areas receive equal water: In the U.S. there is much more available surface fresh water than in the west.  The western part of the U.S. relies heavily on groundwater 

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The areas in which surface water collects is called a watershed

Watersheds 

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7. Def. the area in which all water, sediments, and dissolved materials drain from the land into a common body of water Watersheds are important because they return water, continuing the water cycle

Characteristics of a Watershed

8. Physical Characteristics  Can be large or small  A large watershed consists of many smaller ones

The Mississippi River Delta is a very large watershed, made up of hundreds,

Characteristics of a Watershed 8. The physical characteristics of the land affects how and where water in the watershed flows Watersheds drain from higher to lower elevations www.digital-topomaps.com

Topographic Map

Characteristics of a Watershed 9. Water quality in the watershed is directly impacted by humans: Anything that flows down your storm sewer goes directly into the nearest body of water!! Impacts include: Mining, forestry, agriculture, construction, urban street runoff, parking lot runoff, chemically treated lawns and gardens, failing septic systems, leaking sewer pipes etc.

Sewer pipes travel to sewage treatment plants, but storm sewer pipes drain directly

Who Lives in a Watershed?  Everyone! Major US Watersheds

Russian Dolls and Watersheds? 

Russian Dolls – each large doll has a smaller doll inside

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Watersheds – each large watershed is formed by many smaller watersheds.

The larger the body of water, the larger the watershed. Mississippi River Watershed Colorado River Watershed San Gabriel River Watershed

What is Ground Water? 

10. Groundwater comes from run off that seeps deep into the ground, filling underground springs, streams, or aquifers

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It may take hundreds of years for groundwater to “recharge”, or fill back up again as we use it.

What is the Water Table? 

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11. The water table is the top portion of an underground aquifer, that rises or falls according to the amount of water available. The water table is typically higher in the spring and lower in late summer Porous rock in aquifers hold water. The more available space, the more water it can hold.

WATER TABLE

Water Table 

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12. The area in which the porous rock is filled with water is called the saturated zone. 12. The area of the porous rock that does not contain water (located above the level of the water table) is called the unsaturated zone.

Unsaturated zone Saturated zone

Ground Water Distribution 

13. Aquifers are areas underground, usually made of porous rock, that has water between the layers. This water is accessible to humans through drilling wells.

Aquifers 

14. Materials that make the best aquifers include: Material sorted into distinct layers (limestone)  Coarse-grained materials (sand and gravel)  Bedrock with large openings in the cracks  Lava rock contains large spaces within the rock to hold water 

Major Texas Aquifers

15. Porosity vs. Permeability 

Both the porosity and permeability of the material below ground determines the overall ability of an aquifer to hold water

Porosity:

Permeability:

The amount of water the material can hold

The rate at which water moves through a material.

The more spaces, or the larger the spaces, the more porous the material

Formations with large interconnected pores usually transmit water more quickly.

Well sorted soils with the same grain sizes hold more water than those with varying sizes

Permeability is important because it determines how quickly pollutants pass through, and how quickly

Ground Water 

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16. Water returns, or recharges, to its groundwater source very slowly. 16. Recharge sources include:   

rainwater or snowmelt Groundwater flow from other areas Other bodies of water that sit over an aquifer can “lose” water to that aquifer

17. Recharge Areas 

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Occur where permeable soil allows water to seep into the ground They may be small or large They are only a fraction of the larger aquifer below Material must be permeable for water to pass into the aquifer below

18. Discharge 

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Discharge – when groundwater leaves the ground either naturally or because of human reasons Characteristics include: Area must be permeable to water  Groundwater can discharge into streams, rivers, etc.  Man-made wells tap into groundwater, causing artificial discharge 

19. Cone of Depression 

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Caused from the discharge of groundwater by using wells The area in which the well removes the water causes a cone of depression Click here for animation

Overuse of Groundwater 

20. If water is pumped out faster than it can recharge, two things can happen… The water table will drop  The land could sink (subsidence) 

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Click here for groundwater animation

21. Subsidence 

This is caused when too much groundwater is removed from an area, and pressure from the top layers condenses the empty spaces. In other words, the land sinks.

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22. Once an area has collapsed, it cannot be undone. Subsidence in Las Vegas Valley

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Subsidence Near Coasts 

23. There are two main harmful consequences of a collapsed area near the coast:

lowers the land below sea level, causing flooding  Sea water may move into the groundwater areas, making the aquifer A neighborhood area along the coast between salty andHouston unusable 

and Beaumnont sank due to coastal subsidence. Residents had to leave, permanently.

Hydrologists 

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A hydrologist’s job is to study and work with water to develop ways to increase groundwater supplies 24.Hydrologists are trying to fix the groundwater issue by pumping water back into the aquifers.

Human Water Use and Conservation

Human Water Use 

1. Three things are putting more of a demand on our water use: Increasing human population  Agricultural demand from irrigation  Need in industry and energy sources 

Drinking Water 

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In most urban communities water is withdrawn from either a surface water body like a lake, reservoir, or stream, or from a underground aquifer. It is then treated at a drinking water treatment plant and distributed to individual homes, businesses, and industries through a network of underground pipes.

Human Water use 

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Demands on freshwater are increasing everyday due to personal needs of an increasing number of people, and increasing number for industry and agriculture. The more demands we have on water, may increase temporary shortages around the globe. The western half of the US is faced with supply problems because of it’s dry climate, population increases, and agricultural demands, which have led to increased use of groundwater. 

The groundwater is depleting at a very fast rate, and the aquifer in the midwest US may have less than 30 years of useful life left.

Even though water recycles… 

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2. If too many people require water during the same period of time, then there may not be enough water readily available…it takes time for water to “recycle” Not all areas have the same amount of water available Not all areas have surface water available, and must use groundwater sources. When the aquifers become too low, they will be unusable.

The Water Budget 

3. What is it? The availability of water in a given location  If the supply of water doesn’t meet the demand, then certain steps must be taken in order to have enough for important needs  Water rationing, minimizing watering yards, etc. may become necessary to meet the needs of an areas water budget 

4. Rainfall in the U.S.  

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Rainfall in the United States is not equal in all parts The eastern half of the U.S. receives 2/3 of the rainfall, and the western half only receives 1/3 The western half of the U.S. relies heavily on groundwater to meet it’s needs 5. The demand for water may soon become higher than the supply can handle 

Aquifers in the west are shrinking rapidly!

Dams and Reservoirs:

Humans have irrigated crops and built dams to control water for centuries.

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6. Four uses of water from dams:

Storage of water- for drinking, home use  Reduce flooding- regulate flow of water  Energy supply (hydroelectric power)generating electricity  Irrigation of crops  Recreational uses-- Many lakes are formed from damming rivers, ie… Lake Houston, Lake Conroe, Lake Livingston 

Dams and Reservoirs 

7. Four negative effects of dams: Destroys natural habitats of animals  Displaces homes/people  Disrupts fish migrations  Alter water temperature and oxygen content  Increases water loss- disrupting natural stream flow  Alter scenic areas  Water losses are tremendous from dam reservoirs. 

Fish Ladders 

One way to protect fish trying to swim past dams is by building a fish ladder, as seen here on the right. This fish ladder is located on the Columbia River.

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8. The rate of water loss in reservoirs is very high, because there is a greater surface area of water exposed to the sun. This dam is Evaporation increases. similar to the one that forms Lake Houston on the San Jacinto River. It is a dam created for drinking

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Possible Solutions: Desalination 9. Desalination is the 9. Desalination is the removing of the salt from sea water, so that it is fit for humans to use as freshwater. 10. The problem is it uses a lot of energy, so it costs a lot to do this. 10. Another problem is the disposal of the brine…the salt they take out of the water.

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Desalination is an involved process using reverse osmosis.

Desalination Plant Cost

Solution: Water From Icebergs 

11. The idea of melting icebergs for water use is not a new idea. The problems, however, include: It is very expensive and time consuming to tow it  We do not know the ecological consequences  We don’t know how much water would be left in it by the time it reached its destination 

Solution: Cloud Seeding 

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Silver iodide crystals are capable of causing rain in areas that are lacking when the compound is released in the sky. 12. Negatives include: Do we have the right to take rain away from one area to meet the needs of another?  Silver iodide is a poison that may harm the ecosystem  What effects would changing weather patterns have on the planet? 

Conservation 

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On average, every American uses about 150 gallons of water a day. Remember, water continually recycles. The problem is that if too many people need it at the same time, there eventually won’t be enough to meet the needs of everyone. 13. The focus of solving our water dilemma involves conserving water where we can. Even changing one or two practices can help conserve water.

Conservation and Legislation

National Environmental Policy Act  

1969 Federal agencies must consider the impacts of their actions on the environment when building, or doing industrial projects

Clean Water Act  

1972 The base for water quality standards today

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National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

Protects surface waters by regulating and reducing the amount of pollution discharged into them

Safe Drinking Water Act  

1974 requires public drinking water systems to protect drinking water sources, provide water treatment, monitor drinking water to ensure proper quality and notify the public of contamination problems.

Environmental Protection Agency  

Also called the EPA Implements and authorizes permits, establishing drinking water standards, and enforces environmental laws

FUN FACTS

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It takes about 100 gallons of water to wash your car It takes about 2000 gallons of water to manufacture a car. Toilet: 3-5 gallons per flush Shower: 7 gallons per minute Bathtub: 35 gallons full tub Clothes washer: 30 gallons per load on a full wash Dishwasher: 15 gallons per load on full wash Bathroom faucet: 2-5 gallons per minute