Understanding Water Resources: Types, Uses, and Conservation, Slides of Environmental Science

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 Total:

97% salt water

3% freshwater

 Freshwater:

70% glaciers

29% aquifers

1% lakes, rivers, streams

 Includes lakes, rivers,

streams, wetlands,

estuaries

 Watershed : the area of

land that is drained by a

river (= river basin)

 River system: the

flowing network of

water draining a river

basin

Confined aquifer = water-bearing, porous rocks are trapped between layers of less permeable substrate (i.e., clay)  aquitard – the impermeable layer that confines the aquifer  a confined aquifer is under a lot of pressure  wells that tap into confined aquifers are called artesian wells Unconfined aquifer = no upper layer to confine it  readily refilled by surface water that percolates down through permeable layers above it  definition of recharge zone : any area where water infiltrates Earth’s surface and reaches aquifers

Recharge zone

aquitard

 Aquifers can be refilled as water percolates down through the recharge zone (or area), may take a long time

 Some aquifers contain water that has been there for thousands of years

 Porosity – amount of space between particles of the rock

 Permeability – ability of the rock or soil to allow water to flow through it

 Pollution can enter the groundwater through the recharge zone – it can then travel to other places through the underground water system, even showing up years later

Which category has the highest

use overall in the world?

Which category uses the most

water in the U.S.?

Which category is

the second highest?

http://individual.utoronto.ca/abdel_rahman/paper/fpmp.html

Many steps of the process of converting wood to paper uses water

It takes about 10 liters of water to make one sheet of A4 paper (about 8 ½ x 11)

How does water use compare in developing and developed

countries?

Which countries have more than 50% of their water used by

industries?

Which countries have the highest percent of their water

use dedicated to agriculture?

3. Residential (=municipal) –

drinking, cooking, cleaning

Take a shower:

50 gallons

Flush the toilet:

6 gallons

Large load of laundry:

60 gallons

Brushing teeth, water running:

2 gallons

Dishwasher load:

10 gallons

Washing face/hands:

5 gallons

http://www.tampagov.net/dept_Water/information_res

ources/Saving_water/Water_use_calculator.asp

Water footprint calculator

Here’s how it is figured: It takes about 155 gallons of water on average to grow a pound of wheat. So the virtual water of this pound of wheat is 155 gallons. For a pound of meat, the virtual water is 5 to 10 times higher. There’s a virtual water count for everything. The virtual water footprint of a cup of coffee is 37 gallons; an apple, 19 gallons; a banana, 27; a slice of bread, 10; a sheet of paper, 3; and a pair of leather shoes, 4,400, according to Waterfootprint.org, a Unesco-run Web site providing a calculator for individual and national water use. In fact, virtual water in internationally traded food and products such as these accounts for 15 percent of global water consumption.