Water, Water, Everywhere…

Miss Knight and Mrs. Byers

Consider this…

• Describe as best as you can where the water in your home comes from.

• Do you think that the water you drink at home is pure or

polluted?

Explain your answer.

• Precipitation-water falling to the ground as rain, snow, sleet orhail• Condensation- when water is converted intoliquid form from the gas form (ex. cup “sweats” on a hot day) (ex. clouds form)

• Evaporation- water being turned into avapor from the liquid form(returns to air)• Transpiration- evaporation from plants’ leaves

• Runoff- water flow over soil from precipitation that leads to a body of water

• Runoff is sometimes called non-point source. If non-point source contains man-made pollutants it is called non-point source pollution…more to come later on this

Water is Renewable!

• Water cycle recycles water naturally

• So why is there a water scarcity?

World’s Water

• Only 3% of the world’s water is freshwater

• .01% of all Earth’s is accessible drinking water– Soil– Usable groundwater– Water vapor– Lakes and streams

Where’s the Water?

• Two sources of water– Surface water

– Groundwater

Surface Water

• Water on the Earth’s surface– Rivers– Streams– Lakes– Wetlands

How are rivers made?

• All rivers are the result of precipitation.

• So how did large rivers, such as the Mississippi, get so large?

Watersheds• Rivers are formed from land areas

draining to a common point

• These land

areas are called

watersheds

What determines where water will drain?

• Water drains from areas of high elevation to lower elevation

• Watershed boundaries are determined by elevation of the

surrounding land

Groundwater• Water that is stored underground

• Gets underground by seeping through the soil

• Area of land that precipitation seeps through is called recharge zone

• Water is stored underground in aquifers

Aquifers• Can be made of gravel, stone, sand

• Holds water that can be used by people

• Wells are designed to tap into the aquifer’s reserve

• Groundwater can dissolve rock formations and sinkholes can form

Why is water so important?

• Drinking

• Aquatic and marine life

• Industry & mining

• Cleaning

• Growing food

• Vegetation

• Heating and cooling

Water Usage in the U.S.• Residential Use per Person

– Lawn watering (95 L/day)– Toilets flushing (90 L/day)– Bathing/Showers (70 L/day)– Brushing teeth with water running (10 L/day)– Cleaning (20 L/day)– Cooking and Drinking (10 L/day)– Other (5 L/day)

Other Uses of Water

• Industrial Use– Make goods– Dispose of waste– Generate power

• 1,000 L of water to make 2.2 lbs of aluminum!• (another reason to recycle!)

• Agricultural Use– Watering crops

• 300 L of water to produce one ear of corn!

What can we do to get more water?

• Desalination-– 2 main ways

• Heating water and collecting the steam to re-condense into drinking water

• Reverse osmosis- applying pressure causing water to flow against the concentration gradient using a semi-permeable membrane to separate the salt

• Transport Ice- – To areas in need of fresh drinking water

Take a minute…

• If we can desalt water, why are we running out?

• It is costly! Many poorer countries are the ones struggling with freshwater availability

So what are other options?

• Water conservation!• How can you conserve water?• Low-flow toilets and showerheads• Water the lawn at night• Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth• Take shorter showers• Fill washing machine and dishwasher, do not run

half-full loads