Water is often envisioned as the bloodstream of biosphere. It is a universal medium that is crucial for sustainability of both ecological and human societies. There is no substitute for water. More than 70% of the earth surface is covered by water. However, only 3% of this reserve is fresh water that can be used for human consumption. 90% of the earth's fresh water resources is contained in groundwater and ice, and only 10% is water is contained in surface reservoirs - rivers, lakes, wetlands, and streams. [Girard, 2013].
Although sustaining life is one of the main key purposes of the water, present-day agriculture and many industry branches heavily rely on the abundance of the water resource. For example, water is used as heat transport fluid in thermoelectric energy systems, such as nuclear and fossil fuel fired power plants and concentrating solar power farms. It is used as solvent and raw material in chemical manufacturing. Mining industry utilizes significant amount of water in hydraulic fracturing and oil recovery. Those industries are important parts of modern infrastructure; hence, the water demand must be met to keep the power and food production at the necessary level.
To plan sustainable utilization of water resources, we must understand how the water cycle works at the global and local scales. The amount of water on earth is finite, and the natural water cycle is a system that controls the circulation and redistribution of that resource. You must be familiar with the water cycle concept from your early science classes. But you can get a refresher from the following short video:
This quite general and deceivingly simple concept of water cycle has a number of limitations which are important to understand:
To add some quantitative information to the picture, please take a look at the US Geological Survey (USGS) [5] website.
If you scroll down and click on any of the components of the water cycle, you will get comprehensive information on that reservoir. Note the dramatic difference in water capacity of different reservoirs. Try to remember at least the order of magnitude of the specific water reserves, since such quantitative perception can be quite useful in sustainability analysis.
Annual evaporation from the ocean is about 80,000 cubic miles versus 15,000 cubic miles from the land. Given the amounts of water evaporated and precipitated are almost equal, the total amount of water exchanged between the atmosphere and the earth surface is about 95,000 cubic miles. Out of the water evaporated and then returned by rainstorms, 24,000 cubic miles fall on land as precipitation. The average annual precipitation over the land is 26 inches, but it is not evenly distributed. Arid locations may get under 1 inch of precipitation, whereas some others can get more than 400 inches. The total annual precipitation in the United States is about 30 inches per year, which accounts for about 4300 billion gallons per day. The total water flow from surface and subsurface sources is about 8.5 inches per year, i.e., about 1200 billion gallons a day. This amount is available for human use, including domestic, industrial, agricultural, and recreational use. Considering that the difference between precipitation and stream flow is -21.5 inches per year (3100 billion gallons per day), this amount is assumed to return to the atmosphere (through evaporation and transpiration). This returned volume roughly accounts for 70 % of the total water supply. [Source: USDA [6], 2001]
In nature, the hydrological cycle is well-balanced, and fluctuations of environmental water stocks are reversible. But when some of the parts of the system are interfered, resilience of the system may be jeopardized. This can happen when the anthropogenic water consumption cycle is plugged in to the natural water cycle. The main troubles currently experienced because of mismatch of the anthropogenic and natural cycles include:
While the above-listed factors may have acute local effect, recent research also shows that large-scale hydraulic engineering produces global-scale impact on the earth's water cycle, raising the global sea level.
Read through the following article that discusses the main man-made factors that affect the natural hydrological balance. While you are welcome to read the whole article, put the main focus on Table 1, which quantifies those effects, and sections on "Major classes of water engineering" and "Impacts of Human control...", which explain the specific mechanisms within the cycle.
Journal article: Vorosmarty, C.J., Sahagian, D., Anthropogenic Disturbance of the Terrestrial Water Cycle, BioScience, vol. 50, pp.753-763. (Full article can be accessed via Library e-Reserves in Canvas.)
Some of the things to reflect on in this reading:
The idea of sustainability in water management implies matching the natural water cycle and technical (anthropogenic) water use cycle together with minimal damage and maximum mutual support. A new approach to integrated managing water resources is known as total water cycle management, where water supply, stormwater, and wastewater are all considered during the design process.
The diagram in Figure 6.1. presents the water cycle in terms of stocks and flows. It illustrates the connections between different natural processes and reservoirs and also introduces the anthropogenic water paths into the system. The diagram is quite busy, so it would be useful to walk through it step by step. The video embedded below provides commentary to different parts of the diagram and also shows the links where water-treatment technologies must be applied to provide compatibility between the environmental and anthropogenic spheres. While watching, you may need to switch to 'full-screen' and HD quality setting to better see smaller details.
Click on the image to view the large version
As you can see in the diagram in Figure 6.1, the boundaries between the natural and human-controlled water systems are where the sustainable water treatment technologies should come into action. The bottom line is that the role sustainable water technology is to reconcile the natural and anthropogenic cycles and to alleviate mutual harm and system misbalance.
The following list gives you some examples of possible actions that help to keep combined water system sustainable (can vary with location):
Water regime management
Water quality
Water conservation
Water value
Many of these actions require efficient technologies of water control and water treatment. The following sections of this lesson provide you with some examples and technical details on current practice of water treatment and prospective technologies for the future.
Which of the following continental water storage reserves has the largest global capacity?
Click for answer.
What processes in the water cycle are responsible for depletion of continental water storage?
Click for answer.
Links
[1] https://www.sfwmd.gov/our-work/kissimmee-river
[2] http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxstrong/8455826149/sizes/l/
[3] https://www.nsf.gov/
[4] https://www.youtube.com/embed/al-do-HGuIk
[5] https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/water-cycle-diagrams
[6] http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/factpub/aib326.html
[7] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/eme807/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.eme807/files/files/cycle_scheme_4m.pdf