INTRODUCTION
from diarrheal diseases (90% of
 Water is the most important compound for all living
things
o Human baby (75%); adults (60%); brain
(85%); blood and kidneys (83%); muscles
(76%); bones (22%)
 Earth is also called the water planet
o Abundance of liquid water on Earth’s surface
distinguishes us from other bodies in the solar
system
o 70% of Earth’s surface is covered by oceans
o Half of Earth’s surface is obscured by clouds
(also made of water)
 1.4 billion cubic kilometres / 53 billion gallons per
person on Earth
o Over 97% is saltwater
 Most commonly used water sources: rivers and lakes
which contain less than 0.01% of the world’s water
 One of the most important environmental goals is to
provide clean water to all people
o Water is a renewable resource
 Evaporation and precipitation combine to replenish
our fresh water supply constantly
o Water availability is complicated by its uneven
distribution over the Earth
 Arid climate and densely populated areas have
combined in many parts of the world to create water
shortages which are projected to worsen in the coming
years due to population growth and climate change.
 Water overuse and water pollution have compounded
the water crisis that exists today
o Hundreds of millions people lack access to
safe drinking water
o Billions lack access to improved sanitation as
simple as a pit latrine
 nearly 2 million people die every year
which occur among children under the
age of 5)
 Most are easily prevented deaths
WATER RESERVOIRS AND WATER CYCLE
 Water is distributed in various locations, called water
reservoirs
 OCEANS
o Largest water reservoir
o 97% of all water
 Water is too saline for most human
uses
 WATER CYCLE / HYDROLOGIC CYCLE
o Shows the movement of water through
different reservoirs
 Oceans, atmosphere, glaciers,
groundwater, lakes, rivers, biosphere
o Solar energy and gravity drive the motion of
water in the water cycle
 SALINITY
o Abundance of dissolved ions in water
 EVAPORATION
o Change of water from liquid to gas, at ambient
temperatures
o A distillation process that produces nearly
pure water with almost no dissolved ions
 CONDENSATION
o Water changes from gas to liquid
o Forms clouds and sometimes precipitation
(rain and snow)
 After rainwater falls onto land, it dissolves minerals in
rock and soil, which increases its salinity
 Most lakes, rivers, and near-surface groundwater have
a relatively low salinity and are called freshwater
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PRIMARY FRESH WATER RESOURCES:
PRECIPITATION
 Precipitation levels are unevenly distributed around the
globe
o More precipitation falls near the equator
o Less precipitation tends to fall near 30 degrees
north and south latitude, where the world’s
largest deserts are located
o Intense sunlight at equator heats air, causing it
to rise and cool, which decreases the ability to
hold water vapour and result in frequent
rainstorms
SURFACE WATER RESOURCES: RIVERS, LAKES,
GLACIERS
 Flowing water from rain and melted snow on land
enters river channels by surface runoff and
groundwater seepage
 RIVER DISCHARGE
o Volume of water moving through a river channel
over time
o The relative contributions of surface runoff vs.
groundwater seepage to river discharge depend on
precipitation patterns, vegetation, topography, land
use, and soil characteristics.
 Soon after a heavy rainstorm, river discharge increases
due to surface runoff.
 The steady normal flow of river water is mainly from
groundwater that discharges into the river.
o Gravity pulls river water downhill toward the
ocean. Along the way the moving water of a
river can erode soil particles and dissolve
minerals.
 Groundwater also contributes a large amount of the
dissolved minerals in river water. The geographic area
drained by a river and its tributaries is called
a drainage basin or watershed
 Rivers are an important water resource for irrigation of
cropland and drinking water for many cities around the
world.
 Lakes can also be an excellent source of freshwater for
human use
o usually receive water from surface runoff and
groundwater discharge
o tend to be short-lived on a geological time-
scale because they are constantly filling in
with sediment supplied by rivers
o formed by glaciation, recent tectonic uplift,
volcanic eruptions
 may also be created artificially by
damming rivers (reservoirs)
 Glaciers represent the largest reservoir of fresh water
o generally are not used as a water source
because they are located too far from most
people
 Melting glaciers do provide a natural source of river
water and groundwater
 Over the past century, sea level has been rising in part
due to melting glaciers
 If Earth’s climate continues to warm, the melting
glaciers will cause an additional rise in sea level
GROUNDWATER RESOURCES
 GROUNDWATER
o water located in small spaces, called pore
space, between mineral grains and fractures in
subsurface earth materials (rock or sediment)
 Most groundwater originates from rain or snowmelt,
which infiltrates the ground and moves downward until
it reaches the saturated zone (where groundwater
completely fills pore spaces in earth materials).
 Although most people in the world use surface water,
groundwater is a much larger reservoir of usable fresh
water, containing more than 30 times more water than
rivers and lakes combined
 Groundwater is a particularly important resource in
arid climates, where surface water may be scarce
 groundwater is the primary water source for rural
homeowner
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Other sources of groundwater… WATER POLLUTION

 seepage from surface waters  WATER POLLUTION

 surface water deliberately pumped into the ground o Any physical or chemical change in water that
 irrigation adversely affects the health of humans and
 underground wastewater treatment systems (septic other organisms
tanks) o Varies in magnitude by location

 RECHARGE AREAS  Major water pollution issue globally

o locations where surface water infiltrates o Lack of disease-free water
the ground rather than running into rivers or
evaporating TYPES OF WATER POLLUTION
o e.g. wetlands
 SEWAGE
o The release of wastewater from drains or
sewers
 AQUIFER
o Includes human wastes, soaps, and detergents
o large area of sub-surface, porous rock that
o Causes 2 serious environmental problems:
holds water is an aquifer
o commonly drilled, and wells installed, to
 Enrichment
provide water for agriculture and personal use
 Fertilization of a body of
WATER USE IN THE WORLD water by high levels of plant
and algal nutrients (nitrogen
 WATER DEMAND (of an area) and phosphorus)
o a function of the population and other uses of
water  Increase in Biological Oxygen
Demand (BOD)
 Global total water use is steadily increasing at a rate  Amount of oxygen needed by
greater than world population growth microorganisms to
decompose biological wastes
o During the 20th century global population  As BOD increases Dissolve
tripled and water demand grew by a factor of Oxygen (DO) decreases
six
o OLIGOTROPHIC
 The increase in global water demand beyond the rate of  Unenriched, clear water that supports
population growth is due to improved standard of small populations of aquatic
living without an offset by water conservation organisms

o Increased production of goods and energy o EUTROPHIC

entails a large increase in water demand  Slow-flowing stream, lake or estuary
enriched by inorganic plant and algal
 The major global water uses are: nutrients such as phosphorus
o irrigation (68%)  Often due to fertilizer or sewage
o public supply (21%) runoff
o industry (11%)
 DISEASE CAUSING AGENTS
o Infectious organisms that cause diseases
 Originate in the wastes of infected
individuals

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 o Common bacterial or viral diseases: o Lead
 Typhoid, cholera, bacterial dysentery,  Found in old paint, industrial
polio, and infectious hepatitis pollutants, leaded gasoline
o Mercury
o Monitored by testing for presence of E. coli in  Mercury bioaccumulates in the
the water via a fecal coliform test muscles of top predators of the open
 Indicates the presence of pathogenic ocean
organisms
 RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCES
 SEDIMENT POLLUTION o Contain atoms of unstable isotopes that
o Excessive amounts of suspended soil particles spontaneously emit radiation
 Originates from erosion of o Sources
agricultural lands, forest soils exposed  Mining
by logging, degraded stream banks,  Processing radioactive materials
overgrazed rangelands, strip mines,  Nuclear power plants
and construction  Natural sources

o Problems  THERMAL POLLUTION

 Limits light penetration o Occurs when heated water produced during
 Covers aquatic animals and plants industrial processes is released into waterways
 Brings insoluble toxins into
waterways o Organisms affected

 INORGANIC PLANT AND ALGAL NUTRIENTS o Temperature affects reproductive cycles,

o Chemicals such as nitrogen and phosphorus digestion rates, and respiration rates
that stimulate the growth of plants and algae  Warm water holds less DO than cold
 Harmful in large concentrations water
o Sources:
 Human and animal wastes, plant WATER QUALITY TODAY
residues, atmospheric deposition, and
 Two Types of Water Pollution
fertilizer runoff
o Causes:
o Point Source Pollution
 Enrichment, bad odors, and a high
 water pollution that can be traced to a
BOD
specific origin
 Discharge via pipes, sewage, and
 ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ditches
o Chemicals that contain carbon atoms
 Natural examples: sugars, amino
o Non-point Source Pollution
acids, and oils
 Pollutants that enter bodies of water
 Human-made examples: pesticides,
over large areas rather than being
solvents, industrial chemicals, and
concentrated at a single point of entry
plastics
 Diffuse, but its cumulative effect is
very large
 INORGANIC COMPOUNDS
 Ex: runoff from agricultural fields or
o Contaminants that contain elements other than
parking lots
carbon
 Examples: acids, salts, and heavy
metals
o Do not degrade easily

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INDUSTRIAL WASTES IN WATER

 Different industries generate different pollutants

o Food processing plants- high BOD
o Paper mills- High BOD and toxic compounds

 Many industries recover toxins before they go into the

waste stream

MUNICIPAL SEWAGE TREATMENT

 Primary treatment
o Removing suspended and floating particles by
mechanical processes

 Secondary treatment
o Treating wastewater biologically to
decompose suspended organic material;
reduces BOD

 Sewage Sludge
o Solids remaining after primary and secondary
sewage treatment has been completed

 Tertiary treatment
o Advanced wastewater treatment methods that
are sometimes employed after primary and
secondary treatments
o Reduce phosphorus and nitrogen

OTHER NOTES / REMINDERS:

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