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sustainable management of water - Coggle Diagram
sustainable management of water
amount of precipitation an area receives determines how much water is available
flood
overflow of large amount of water onto normally dry land
flash flood
caused by exceptionally heavy rain over short period of time
often occurs in dry areas where there is not enough vegetation to allow rainwater to infiltrate the ground
creates surface runoff which quickly floods low-lying areas :
river flood
caused by sustained heavy or melt water (produced when snow & ice start to melt in the spring season)
large amount of rain and meltwater enter streams and tributaries which flow into rivers. water level in rivers rises then overflows the bank and floods the surrounding areas
droughts
long period of little to no rainfall in a specific area (lasts for months or yrs)
becomes drier than normal
not enough water available to replenish the amount used for human activities
water
uses of water :
domestic
uses water for household activities (eg. bathing,cooking, flushing toilets)
recreation
uses water for leisure activities (eg. canoeing, sailing, sport fishing)
agriculture
uses water to grow crops & rear animals for human activities (largest use of water worldwide)
industry
uses water to cool equipment in factors and power plants (needed as machines generate a lot of heat when they operate)
water pollution
occurs when harmful substances enter water bodies & causes water quality to fall (amount of clean water for use is thus reduced)
caused by human activities eg. people throwing rubbish into drains, factories releasing toxic chemicals inot the sea without prior treatment, etc.
impact is that water pollution poses a threat to aquatic ecosystems
pollutants (eg. pesticides & lead) kill plants & poison animals
excess nutrients (eg. fertilizers) causes algae bloom. when algae dies, it is decomposed by bacteria and will reduce oxygen in the water causing fish and aquatic animals to die
water management
improving water quality
countries implement law to maintain or improve water quality
singapore
environmental protection & management regulations
industries are not allowed to release wastewater into water bodies without permission
china
water pollution prevention & control law
requires cities with only one water source to set up emergency & back-up water resources
officials need to achieve clean water standards
reducing water consumption
1.the amount of water used tends to increase as a country's economy & population grows
countries encourage people to conserve & treasure water , as it may run out if it's used up faster than replenished
singapore
water efficiency labelling scheme (WELS)
grades water appliances with a tick rating
people are more aware of water-efficiency products in the market
aim: to lower singapore's per capita average household water consumption to 130L by 2030
south africa
WaterWiseTourism
campaign aimed at raising awareness of the needs to conserve water among tourists & businesses
improving water technologies
involves using technology to develop new ways of producing & conserving water
in Singapore: technology is used for NEWater (recycled water) and desalinated water
used water & seawater are processed & treated into drinking water using advanced membrane technology
not weather dependent: able to help singapore cope with threat of climate change
singapore: 4 desalinated plants
importing water
countries with relatively abundant (rich) water resources may allow their neighbours to import water from them
in singapore: we import water from malaysia via 2 water agreements (expires in 2061)
by 2061, singapore aims to rely on other management strategies to ensure it can produce enough water on its own to meet its people's needs