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Water - quality and sustainability - Coggle Diagram
Water - quality and sustainability
Water scarcity
Climate change
Climate change causes weather patterns to become more intense and last longer. This results in water scarcity as droughts are now more dry and last longer.
Drought
Droughts are extended periods of time characterised by the lack of rainfall. Droughts can cause significant water scarcity depending on its severity and length.
Unicef statistics
Four billion people — almost two thirds of the world’s population — experience severe water scarcity for at least one month each year.
Over two billion people live in countries where water supply is inadequate.
Half of the world’s population could be living in areas facing water scarcity by as early as 2025.
Some 700 million people could be displaced by intense water scarcity by 2030.
By 2040, roughly 1 in 4 children worldwide will be living in areas of extremely high water stress.
less than 1% of water is drinkable
Majority of water is stored in the ocean but it is too salty to drink
Desalination plants are too expensive for many areas that are short on water to implement
Many groundwater pockets near the surface have been drained
2% of water is frozen
97% of water is salt water
Floods
Floods can contaminate drinking water, resulting in people having to find alternative water sources or running the risk of getting sick due to consuming contaminated water
urban and land management
Agriculture
Manure runoff
The excrement of livestock are often not managed in an effective manner causing them to get pushed into waterways and pollute the water
Fertilizer runoff
When fertilizers get washed into waterways, they provide the water with excess minerals such as phosphates and nitrates which can trigger algae blooms
Erosion
Bad land management practices such as allowing livestock to overgraze can make the ground softer and make it easier for rain or rivers to erode the ground.
Industrial/chemical waste
Factories often times produce chemicals that are dangerous to wildlife. If these chemicals are not properly disposed, they can get washed into waterways where they damage the aquatic ecosystem
Future of water
More cities recycle sewage water already for agriculture however not many of them use this recycled water as drinking water
Hydroponics to save water
Hydroponics is a method of farming plants without soil and instead uses a nutrient rich water solution. This method increases the growth rate of plants, saves more space and most importantly saves water
Education
Educating students on the importance of saving water and water saving strategies
Educating students on the processes that sewage water has to go through before being considered safe for drinking is a major step in breaking the stigma around drinking this type of water.
Reducing climate change
Climate change makes droughts longer and harsher, contributing to water scarity
climate change leads to more intense weather events that can lead to the contamination of drinking water
The south west of Australia has seen a 16% decrease in rainfall from April to October since 1970 and a 20% decrease in rainfall from May to July.
Measures to reduce climate change
Reduce fossil fuel usage
Switch to renewable alternatives such as wind or solar
Reduce emissions from areas such as agriculture, transportation and energy production
Water pollution/quality
Waste/Litter
Plastic
Harms wildlife and makes water unsafe for drinking
Can get stuck to wildlife and choke them or inhibit their growth
Can make water unsafe for human consumptioin
Statistics
1-2 million tons of plastic enter the oceans each year
up to 83% of tap water world wide contains microplastics
Chemical waste
Factories produce toxic chemicals and if these chemicals are not disposed of properly they can make their way into drinking water and make the water unsafe to drink
Oil
Poisons wildlife
Significantly reduces photosynthesis by blocking sunlight from reaching plants, reducing oxygen levels
Fertilizer run off
Phosphorus
Algea blooms
Nitrate
Small particles are suspended in water because they have negative charges and also are too small for gravity to pull down
Floods can contaminate drinkable water
turbidity
turbidity is the measure of the clarity of water, or how cloudy/hazy it is. Higher turbidity means that the water is
murkier and indicates the presence of suspended particles which can be hazardous for wildlife.
microorganisms
Microorganisms such as algae and phytoplankton produce oxygen, raising the oxygen levels in water.
Certain bacteria which break down organic material such as algae release consume large amounts of oxygen which can suffocate wildlife
Salinity - the amount of dissolved salt a body of water contains
Salt water cannot be safely consumed by humans or used in the majority of agriculture making it signicantly less useful than fresh water
The salinity of water can be reduced by using a desalination plant to seperate the salt from the water
Erosion
Erosion increases water turbidity which can suffocate and harm marine life
Water can pick up dangerous substances through the process of erosion which will harm marine life
Bushfires
The debris that bushfires produce such as ash land inside waterways and can poison marine life
Bushfires can burn down buildings that house toxic chemicals which may fall into waterways, poisoning marine life
Forever chemicals (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances)
Forever chemicals do not break down easily due to strong carbon fluorine bonds. This can be hazardous for humans and wildlife as it can stay in the body and interfere with bodily functions
Marine and freshwater ecosystems
Waste from marine life
The waste from marine life contains nutrients such as phosphate and nitrate which can trigger algae blooms
nutrient runoff causes algal blooms
Algae requires macronutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium so when a large amount is present in waterways, it can cause large amounts of algae to grow in a short period of time, this is called an algae bloom
Oxygen levels
Temperature changes oxygen levels
Because warm water molecules have more energy, they can break the bonds that oxygen has with the water which causes the oxygen to bubble out of the water, reducing the dissolved oxygen levels inside the water.
As temperature increases, dissolved oxygen levels decrease and vice versa
Moving water has higher oxygen levels than stagnant water
Certain types of bacteria consume large amounts of oxygen when they consume algae blooms
Phosphate levels
When excess phosphate accumulates in bodies of water through a process called eutrophication, it can trigger algae blooms
Some amount of phosphate is required in a healthy marine ecosystem as it is a crucial building block for DNA, RNA and cell membranes however to much phosphate can be harmful for aquatic ecosystems
Nitrate levels
Moderate amounts of nitrate is important for a healthy aquatic ecosystem as they are a crucial building block for DNA, RNA and cell membranes. However, excess nitrate can trigger algael blooms
Excess nitrate usually comes from fertilizer or manure run off.
Algael bloom
Algael blooms get decomposed by bacteria when they die which consume large amounts of oxygen, leading to extremely low oxygen areas in waterways known as "dead zone". These deadzones have the potential to suffocate marine life which then also decomposes, feeding more algea blooms.
34,000 dead animals have been reported as a result of the Adelaide algae bloom and the exact number is most likely much higher
Plastic pollution
Plastic
Harms wildlife and makes water unsafe for drinking
Can get stuck to wildlife and choke them or inhibit their growth
Statistics
1-2 million tons of plastic enter the oceans each year
52% of sea turtles globally are estimated to have ingested plastic
Ground water and geology
Most water underground are stored in formations called aquifers. Aquifers are layers of permeable, porous sediment such as rocks or sand which hold large amounts of fresh water. This water can be extracted through wells.
Nutrients collect from rocks and feeds aquatic plants and micro-organisms which in turn feed larger aquatic animals.
Water carves formations through rocks which can create caverns, caves, aquifers or canyons.
Water use and management
Water purification methods
flocculation
Aluminum sulfate is typically added during flocculation to make small particles clump together and sink
Flocculation is a water purification method that involves making the suspended particles in water clump together so that they can sink to the bottom and be removed from the water.
Distillation
Distillation is a process of purifying water that involves evaporating the water into vapor and collecting the vapour so that it can condense back into pure water.
Desalination
Desalination is the process in which salt is removed from salt water. It is primarily used to turn seawater into fresh water so that it can be drunk or used in agriculture
Desalination uses reverse osmosis to squeeze water through a semi-permeable membrane that does not let salt through, seperating the salt from the saltwater
Recycling sewage water
The major issue that is stopping recycled sewage water from being consumed is the stigma that surrounds it. This can be remedied by educating people on how intensive the process of recycling sewage water is and how safe the end water is for drinking
Most cities already purify sewage water but the water is only used for agriculture, not for human consumption.
Reverse osmosis
Reverse osmosis is a process of purifying water that involves pushing impure water through a semi permeable membrane to remove suspended particles
Cost of purifying water
The cost of purifying water ranges greatly depending on the system used. The adelaide desalination plant cost $2.2 billion to manufacture with an additional operation cost of around $30 million each year.
Water used for agriculture (according to agriculture australia agriculture accounts for 74% of water consumption)
Protecting important aquatic formations
Aquifers
Rivers
Lakes
As lakes do not flow anywhere, any litter or pollution that is put into a lake will stay there and collect up over time. Therefore, it is vital to prevent pollution and littering around lakes as their affects will accumulate over time
Reservoir
Because reservoirs typically store drinking water, it is especially important to makes sure the water in reservoirs do not get contaminated to avoid people getting sick