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Water Resources & Usages (Uses (Used unsustainably: overload of water…
Water Resources & Usages
Uses
Only 0.024% is used.
Used unsustainably:
overload of water pollutants, use up more than what natural sources can replenish it.
Problems caused
: shrinking lakes, disappearing wetlands, water pollution, reduced fish population, extinction, poverty, global health, diseases, international tensions
Virtual water: water that is not directly consumed but is used for production.
The higher the freshwater use compared to freshwater availability, the higher the
freshwater scarcity stress
Availability
It is a scarce source; only 0.024% of water supply is available as freshwater.
Groundwater
: precipitation soaks into ground and sinks downward.
Aquifer
: underground layer of water-bearing semi permeable rock
Unconfined aquifers
: water seeps from the ground surface directly above the aquifer.
Confined aquifers
: impermeable rock layers that prevents water from seeping into the aquifer.
Ground water from aquifers
Advantages
: useful for drinking & irrigation, exists everywhere, renewable, cheaper to extract.
Disadvantages
: depletion from over pumping, sinking of land, nonrenewable, pollution.
Problems from over pumping
: increasing poverty and civil unrest, inequality, saltwater seeping, land subsidence.
Solutions
: efficient water use, subsidize water conservation, stop growth of water intensive crops, raise price of water, build rain gardens, use permeable paving materials.
Water transfer
Aqueducts, dams, desalination
Costs
: a lot of water is lost due to leaking and evaporation, ecosystems are degraded, communities from where water is taken may not be able to sustain.
Sustainable Use:
reduce leaks, toilet flushes, showering time
use drip irrigation, grow less thirsty crops, polyculture farming
hydroponics, stop water subsidies