Water EQ3 (5.3) Flashcards

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1
Q

what are some factors that reduce the amount of available water for humans to drink ?

A
  • evepotranspiration
  • discharge in to the sea
  • saltwater encroachment
  • contamination of water by toxic pesticides
  • over abstraction
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2
Q

what is water insecurity ?

A

this is when people have an inadequate supply of water less than 1700m3 per person

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3
Q

what is the difference between water stress and water scarcity ?

A

water stress is when the demand for water exceeds the available amount during a period and people have around 1700m3 per person but water scarcity is is when resources are low and people have bellow 1000m3 per person

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4
Q

what is water scarcity like around the world ?

A
  • North and South America have a lot of water stability
  • places like the Middle East, India, central Europe and North Africa have high water security
  • Middle east and Northern Africa worst off
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5
Q

what are the three main factors driving water demand ?

A
  1. population growth
  2. economic development
  3. rising living standards
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6
Q

what are the two different types of water scarcity ?

A

physical scarcity: where water availability does not meet water demand
economic scarcity: where access to water is limited by poor infrastructure, technology and governance

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7
Q

what are some examples of water scarcity throughout the world ?

A
  • Ogallala aquifer provides 1/3 of all US irrigation but is seriously depleted
  • sub Saharan Africa suffers economic scarcity from poverty and lack of infrastructural development
  • Egypt imports 50% of food due to water scarcity
  • Ganges faces physical stress doe to pollution and over abstraction
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8
Q

what are the human causes of the Karachi water crisis ?

A
  • criminal gangs take water and sell it on the black market for profit
  • lack of investment and organisation from water board
  • there are illegal water pipes with links to corrupt water board officers
  • population of 20 million in the city
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9
Q

what are the physical causes of the Karachi water crisis ?

A
  • rains have stopped coming due to climate change

- salt water encroachment is occurring-underground seawater getting in to aquifers and turning freshwater salty

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10
Q

what are the social impacts of the Karachi water crisis ?

A
  • people must queue for hours to get water
  • those that rely on criminal pipes struggle once they are cut away
  • sewage water is being drunk
  • water is only turned on once every two weeks and people must get up at midnight to collect it once it is switched on
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11
Q

what are the economic impacts of the Karachi water crisis ?

A
  • some have to spend half of their income on water
  • less crops and money from agriculture due to lack of irrigation
  • water is very expensive due to black market traders
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12
Q

what are the environmental impacts of the Karachi water crisis ?

A
  • vegetation is dying
  • rivers have completely dries out
  • wells have become salty due to salt water encroachment
  • desertification occurring
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13
Q

what are the reasons water is used for ?

A
  • agriculture accounts for the majority of water use and lads to a lot of groundwater depletion
  • industry and energy use up around 20%
  • domestic use accounts for the least amount withdrawn however this is on the rise due to rising living standards
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14
Q

what are some different hard engineering water supply schemes ?

A
  • water transfers which is diverting water from one drainage basin to another
  • mega dams
  • desalination which is expensive but is useful for countries with a lack of freshwater
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15
Q

What was the main reason for the water crisis in the Maldives ?

A

They relied very heavily on a desalination plant for most of their water however when it was damaged in a storm they didn’t have any people with the skills to fix the desalination plant.

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16
Q

what is the WPI ?

A

the water poverty index and it allows us to understand the extent of water availability. It looks at 5 perspectives and adds scores together to get an overall score.

17
Q

Why are water prices so high in Denmark ?

A

It deters unnecessary consumption and increases awareness about saving water. This has been successful as Denmark has seen a drop in water usage from a per capita usage of 170 litres a day in 1989 to 114 litres per day in 2012

18
Q

why are California’s water supplies threatened ?

A
  • serves 50 million people
  • average rainfall has dropped by 10% since 1922 and temperatures have increased
  • the Colorado river which they rely on fro water supplies 8 states and includes 11 major dams and reservoirs
19
Q

what are the conflicts between sharing water resources for the Colorado river basin ?

A
  • the agreement for sharing water was made in 1922 and is outdated
  • conflict between USA and Mexico. A more recent agreement gives Mexico a fairer share
  • native Americans don’t get a fair share
  • farmers plant thirsty crops like Almonds and this uses up a lot of water- lead to conflict between farmers and other civilians
20
Q

what are the different players involved in water management?

A
  • the UN try to encourage and facilitate the cooperation of countries in trans-boundary water sources
  • the EU set policy and targets for water quality and require basin wide assessments
  • national govts. make sue country is complying with policy
21
Q

what are some of the Berlin rules on water resources ?

A
  • the public have a right to be involved in decision making
  • sustainability must be considered
  • there must be cooperation over shared resources between regions and countries
  • all groups must receive a fair share
22
Q

What are some examples of international water conflicts ?

A
  • Turkey plan the GAP project which includes developing dams over the Tigris-Euphretes river which would block water to Syria and Iraq
  • Israelis, Syrians and Jordanians all in dispute over shrinking water supplies
  • there are disputes between countries on the river Nile especially Ethiopia and Sudan who have deprived the flows to Egypt and this has led to conflict
23
Q

what are some sustainable water management techniques ?

A
  • smart irrigation uses automated sprinkler and drip systems which only water crops according to soil moisture and dryness
  • rainwater collection
  • recycling waste water
  • restoration of damaged rivers, lakes and wetlands
24
Q

what are the pros and cons of the south-north water project ?

A

pros:
- transfers water to areas with a surplus
- boost economic development especially inn cities like Beijing
- reduce abstraction of groundwater
cons:
- it is already delayed and won’t be complete until 2050
- it will submerge 370km2 of land
- it could drain too much water from south China

25
Q

what are the positives and negatives of Israel’s desalination plant ?

A

pros:

  • a lot of power is from solar panels
  • produces 600 tonnes of portable water per hour
    cons:
  • each station uses a lot of power and this produces CO2
  • produces brine which harms the ecosystems
26
Q

what strategies has Singapore taken up in their holistic water management scheme ?

A
  • they use a lot of water collection and 20% of their water comes from rainwater collected in reservoirs and catchments
  • 30% of the city’s water supply comes from recycled water
  • 10% comes from desalination plants
  • their aim is to become completely self sufficient and use only their own recycled water, rainwater and desalinated water
27
Q

what is eutriphication ?

A

when fertilisers are washed in to rivers and increase the growth of algae in the river which stops sunlight getting to the river and destroys the system

28
Q

what are some water supply issues in developing countries ?

A
  • sewage disposal which can lead to diseases such as cholera and typhoid
  • chemical fertilisers which contaminate groundwater and can lead to eutriphication
  • industrial pollution- 400 tonnes generated each year
  • dams can stop sediment which reduces floodplain fertility and can kill fish
29
Q

what is IWRM ?

A

integrated water resources management and it attempts to create a close cooperation between basin users and players. This works well on a small scale but not so much on a larger one