Water Resources and Water Pollution

Chapter 9
Water Resources
Water
Earth s surface is covered by 71% water
Essential for life
can survive only a few days without water
Supply of Water Resources
Water Cycle
continuously collected, purified, recycled and distributed
Watershed
A watershed describes the total area contributing drainage to a stream or river
May be applied to many scales
A large watershed is made up of many small watersheds
Water sources
Surface runoff 2/3 lost to floods and not available for human use.
Reliable runoff = one third
Amount of runoff that we can count on year to year
Groundwater
Zone of saturation
Water table
top of zone of saturation
Aquifer water saturated layers of sand, gravel or bedrock through which groundwa
ter flows.
Recharge slow ~ 1 meter per year
Use of Water Resources
Humans directly or indirectly use about 54% of reliable runoff
Withdraw 34% of reliable runoff for:
Agriculture
70%
Industry 20%
Domestic 10%
Leave 20% of runoff in streams for human use:
transport goods, dilute pollution, sustain fisheries
Could use up to 70-90% of the reliable runoff by 2025
Too Little Water
Problems in the
West
Dry climate
Drought
Desiccation
Water conflicts: Western US
Water conflicts: Global
Too Much Water: Floods
Natural phenomena
Aggravated by human activities
Rain on snow
Living on floodplains
Impervious surfaces
Removal of vegetation
Draining wetlands
Deforestation and flooding
Using Dams and Reservoirs to Supply More Water: The Trade-offs
Tapping Groundwater
Year-round use
No evaporation losses
Often less expensive
Potential Problems:
Water table lowering
too much use
Depletion
U.S. groundwater being withdrawn at 4X its replacement rate
Saltwater intrusion
near coastal areas
Chemical contamination
Reduced stream flows
Reducing water waste
read section 9-4

Solutions
Sustainable Water Use
Not depleting aquifers
Preserving ecological health of aquatic systems
Preserving water quality
Integrated watershed management
Agreements among regions and countries sharing surface water resources
Outside party mediation of water disputes between nations
Marketing of water rights
Raising water prices
Wasting less water
Decreasing government subsides for supplying water
Increasing government subsides for reducing water waste
Slowing population growth
Pollution Source terminology
Point source = pollution comes from single, fixed, often large identifiable sour
ces
smoke stacks
discharge drains
tanker spills
Non-point source = pollution comes from dispersed sources
agricultural runoff
street runoff
Types of Water Pollution
from Table 9-1 p. 187
Sediment
logging, roadbuilding, erosion
Oxygen-demanding wastes
human waste, storm sewers, runoff from agriculture, grazing and logging, many ot
hers
Nutrient enrichment = Eutrophication
N, P from fertilizers, detergents
leads to increased growth in aquatic systems, ultimately more non-living organic
matter
BOD
As micro-organisms decompose (through respiration) organic matter, they use up a
ll the available oxygen.
Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) Amount of oxygen required to decay a certain amou
nt of organic matter.
If too much organic matter is added, the available oxygen supplies will be used
up.
Eutrophication
Eutrophic
well-fed, high nutrient levels present in a lake or river
Oligotrophic poorly-fed, low nutrient levels
Water bodies can be naturally eutrophic or oligotrophic, but can also be human-c
aused
Types of Water Pollution (con t)
from Table 9-1 p. 187
Disease-causing organisms
from untreated sewage, runoff from feed lots
Toxic chemicals
pesticides, fertilizers, industrial chemicals
Heavy metals
lead, mercury
Acids (to discuss later)
Elevated temperatures = Thermal Pollution
water is used for cooling purposes, then heated water is returned to its origina
l source
any increase in temperature, even a few degrees, may significantly alter some aq
uatic ecosystems.

Groundwater Pollution
Agricultural products
Underground storage tanks
Landfills
Septic tanks
Surface
impoundments
Oil Spills
Exxon Valdez released 42 million liters of oil in Prince William Sound, contamin
ating 1500 km of Alaska coastline in 1989
Was the cleanup effective?
Most marine oil pollution comes from non-point sources:
runoff from streets
improper disposal of used oil
discharge of oil-contaminated ballast water from tankers
Growth of population
Supply & demand are in growing conflict
supply is finite water management driven
by values and needs
Increases demand/use of water
Increases land use and changes vegetation and permeability
Increases demand for instream values instream flows are for people
Water Rights
Water collectively belongs to the public
Cannot be owned by individuals
Individuals or groups may be granted rights to use water
Legal authorization to use a predefined quantity of public water for a designate
d purpose.
Irrigation, domestic water supply, power generation
Water Rights
State law requires certain users of public waters to receive approval from the s
tate prior to using water.
Any use of surface water which began after 1917 requires a water-right permit.
Withdrawals of underground water from 1945 requires a water-right permit.
Instream flows
Result the more we know about stream ecology, the more we realize that all the w
ater has instream value, meaning there is no surplus
Compromises and minimizing impact
thresholds for rate of impact
Other ways to achieve ecosystem goals
wider view, not just flows watershed land
management
Legal/political aspects of instream flow
provide a flow of water sufficient to adequately support food fish and game fish
populations in the stream (RCW 77.55.050)
provide protection and preservation and where possible enhancement, of wildlife,
fish, and other environmental values
(RCW 90.54)
protect fish, game, birds, and other wildlife, recreational and aesthetic values
and water quality (RCW 90.22)
antidegradation requirements of Washington s water quality standards (Ch. 173-201
A WAC, following Federal Clean Water Act)
Instream flows
Other ways to achieve ecosystem goals wider view, not just flows watershed land
management
Avoid headwater disturbance
Vegetation
Geology and topography
Maintain longitudinal and lateral connectivity
Avoid mainstem in-channel storage
Allow floodplain to function as floodplain
Flow restoration
Markets and transfers
Need to protect restored flows

Enforcement
Opportunities
Parks and wilderness areas
Renewable natural resource management and harvest (forestry, grazing, secondary
forest products)
Municipal watershed protection
Low intensity sustainable agriculture
Watershed Planning
The 1998 legislature passed ESHB 2514, codified into Ch. 90.82 RCW, to set a fra
mework for developing local solutions to watershed issues on a watershed basis.
Ch. 90.82 RCW states: The legislature finds that the local development of water
shed plans for managing water resources and for protecting existing water rights
is vital to both state and local interests.
Watershed Planning
RCW 90.82.005
Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to develop
a more thorough and cooperative method of
determining what the current water resource
situation is in each water resource inventory area of the
state and to provide local citizens with the maximum
possible input concerning their goals and objectives for
water resource management and development.
Watershed Planning
Each implementation plan must contain strategies to provide sufficient water for
: (a) Production agriculture; (b) commercial, industrial, and residential use; a
nd (c) instream flows. Each implementation plan must contain timelines to achiev
e these strategies and interim milestones to measure progress