WATER RESOURCES AND WATER PULLUTION

INTRODUCTION:

We live in a planet called water planet because it composed of 71% of water but few of these water is potable or useable. Our body is also composed of 60% water. We can survive for a few weeks without food but only a few days without water. Despite its importance, we still managed it poorly by wasting and polluting it.

WILL WE HAVE ENOUGH USABLE WATER?

>If wasting and polluting our fresh water continues, it will lead to lack of usable water for us. >The WHO estimates that an average of 3,900 children younger than age 5 die from water borne diseases because of lack of access to safe drinking water.

> 1/6 of people doesnt have sufficient access to clean and this situation will possibly get worst over time.

MOST OF THE EARTHS FRESH WATER IS NOT AVAILABLE TO US.

About 0.024% of fresh water is available to us in accessible ground water deposits and in lakes, rivers, and streams.

WHERE DO WE GET FRESH WATER ?

Groundwater >Groundwater is water located beneath the earth's surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water.

Surface Water >Surface water is water collecting on the ground or in a stream, river, lake, wetland, or ocean.

WATER SHORTAGE WILL GROW

WATER SHORTAGE WILL GROW

Aral Sea- located at Kazakhstan.

 In

2007, climate researcher David Rind and his colleagues projected that by 2059, as much as 45% of earths land surface could experience extreme drought, mostly as a result of climate change.

HOW CAN WE INCREASE WATER SUPPLY?

WAYS ON HOW TO INCREASE WATER SUPPLY

Reducing unnecessary waste of water. Reuse Withdrawing groundwater, building dams and reservoirs. Transporting surface water from one area to another. Converting salt water to fresh water (desalinization).

DISADVANTAGES OF BUILDING DAMS AND RESERVOIRS

Water life is affected Deforestation Displacement of farmers and village people It obstruct the natural flow water Local pollution by fertilizers that are spread on farm fields and run into reservoirs during rain events.

Effects of Groundwater Overpumping

Groundwater

overpumping can cause land to sink, and contaminate freshwater aquifers near coastal areas with saltwater.

Figure 14-11

DISADVANTAGES OF DESALINIZATION

The process of desalination requires pretreatment and cleaning chemicals, which are added to water before desalination to make the treatment more efficient and successful. These chemicals include chlorine, hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide, and they can be used for only a limited amount of time

Once they've lost their ability to clean the water, these chemicals are dumped, which becomes a major environmental concern. These chemicals often find their way back into the ocean, where they poison plant and animal life. Brine is the side product of desalination. Most desalination plants pump this brine back into the ocean, which presents another environmental drawback. The supersaturated salt water also decreases oxygen levels in the water, causing animals and plants to suffocate.

HOW CAN WE USE WATER MORE SUSTAINABLE?

In 20 years' time, water availability will be 40 percent below where it needs to be to support a growing global population. That is the stark warning from the 2030 Water Resources Group, a collection of industry experts, academics and NGOs which earlier this year produced a report detailing the scale of the looming water crisis.The report, entitled Charting Our Water Future.

WAYS TO USE WATER MORE SUSTAINABLE

We can use water more sustainable by cutting water waste, raising water prices, slowing population growth, and protecting aquifers, and other ecosystems that store and release water.

REDUCING WATER WASTE

> These are examples of simple tips on how to reduce water waste: Use water-saving toilets, showerheads, and faucet aerators. Repair water leaks Turn off sink faucet while brushing teeth, shaving, or washing. Wash only full loads clothes if possible

Use recycled(gray) water for watering lawns and house plants and for washing car. Replace your lawn with plants that need little if any watering. Water your plants only in the early morning or evening.

FLOODING

HOW CAN WE REDUCE THE THREAT OF FLOODING? Preserve forest and watershed. Preserve and restore wetlands in floodplains. Straighten and deepen streams(channelization). Build floodwalls along streams.

WATER POLLUTION

WATER POLLUTION

WATER POLLUTION

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater). Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.

MAJOR WATER POLLUTANTS

Pollutant Sewage that includes domestic wastes, hospital wastes, excreta, etc. Source/Cause Sewarage of rural and urban areas. Effect Oxygen depletion Spread of diseases/ epidemics Minamata disease (resulted from the contaminated waters of the Minamata bay in Japan in 1953) - causes numbness of limbs, lips and tongue, blurred vision, deafness and mental derangement.

Metals-Mercury

Industnal wastes

Lead

Industrial wastes

Absorbed into blood and affects PBCs, liver, kidney, bone, brain and the penpheral nervous system. Lead poisoning can even lead to coma.

Cadmium

Cadmium industnes, fertilisers

Deposited in organs like the kidney, pancreas, liver, intestinal mucosa, etc. Cadmium poisoning causes headache, vomiting, bronchial pneumonia, kidney necrosis, etc.

Arsenic

Fertilisers

Arsenic poisoning causes renal failure and death, It can cause nerve disorder, kidney and liver disorders, muscular atrophy, etc.

Agrochemicals like DDT

Pesticides

Accumulates in the bodies of fishes, birds, mammals including man. Adversely affects the nervous system, fertility. Causes thinning of egg shells in birds.

HOW TO PREVENT WATER POLLUTION?

These are 5 ways to help minimize water pollution:

1.Use less water 2.Use environmentally-friendly household products 3.Apply natural pesticides and fertilizers

4. Dont litter 5. Dispose of toxic products with care

SOME ORGANIZATIONS THAT HELP IN SOLVING WATER POLLUTION AROUND THE WORLD
Tree People - mission is to inspire the people of Los Angeles to take personal responsibility for the urban forest - educating, training and supporting them as they plant and care for trees and improve the neighborhoods in which they live, learn, work and play. Nature Conservancy - mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive

Trees Water People - develops and manages continuing reforestation, preserving local trees, wetlands, watershed protection, appropriate technology, and environmental education programs in Central America, Mexico, and the American West. WWF - World Wildlife Fund - mission is to stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption

THANK YOU