Water science
Challenges
By 2050, 20% of world population at risk of floods
5.7 billion people will live in water-scarce areas
New wave of infrastructure is necessary for water security development
Population growth effects climate change increase
Water science
Hydrologic cycle
Water balance
Overview: hydrologic cycle: renewable freshwater cycle
Submarine groundwater discharge (SDG): direct groundwater outflow
across the ocean-land interface into the ocean
SGD = freshwater gw + recirculated sw
Physical processes in runoff generation: precipitation runoff
infiltration groundwater evaporation/ transpiration
Water balance: the amount of water stored in a particular location at a specific
time
Watershed: area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a
river
Close balance: change in storage = inflow – outflow
Delta S = P – Q -ET + Gin – Gout
o S= storage
o P= precipitation
o Q= discharge
o ET= evapotranspiration
o Gin= groundwater input
o Gout= groundwater output
Flowpaths
Hillslope: difference in elevation in landscape
Slice of hillslope
Surface pathways
o Direct precipitation: P that falls directly into the stream channel
o Overland flow/surface runoff/ surface wash: water moving across the
soil surface often in concentrated flows that may cause rill or gully
erosion
Subsurface pathways
o Subsurface stormflow/ interflow/ throughflow: shallow, slope-parallel
flow over an impending horizon
, Groundwater flow: water infiltrating through the soil matrix or through
preferential pathways to an unspecified underground depth and is
conveyed laterally and/or vertically to the stream channel along permeable
zones
Watershed: group of hillslopes with inconsistencies
Demand can not exceed supply
water management
what is the goal of water management: water security
describe sustainable water resources management:
Satisfy the changing demands without system degradation = sustainable
Fully contribute to the objectives of society while remaining their
ecological, environmental, and hydrological integrity
3 blocks
o Science
o Sustainability
o Management
Why water management
Water scarcity
Floods
Water quality
Water pricing
Mitigation
Two trends
Sustainability
Need for grassroots participatory approach
Water sustainability issues
Too little water (water scarcity)
On global scale we don’t have a water scarceness
But we do because of:
o Distribution water
Too much water (floods)
Floods
Economic loss
People/animals die
Economic flood development
Too polluted water (water quality)
Water quality is degrading
Dead zones
Eutrophication
Issues
o Upstream vs downstream conflicts on meeting water quality
standards
o Threats from aquatic nuisance species
o Quality standards for recycled water
o Nonpoint source pollution discharges including sediment from
erosion
Environmental and health impacts of
o Heavy metals and dioxins
o Pharmaceutical products
o Micropollutants and nanoparticles
Too expensive or too cheap water (water pricing)
Municipality vs investor owned water utilities
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