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Summary readings GEO3-2133
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An extensive summary of the syllabus of the literature for the exam of Integrated water and soil management.
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1Literature for Water & Soil management
1. Tyler Miller (2012). Living in the environment - excerpts chapter 13 & 20 2
Chapter 13. Water resources 2
Chapter 20 - water pollution 4
2. CAP-NET (2008). Introduction to Integrated Water Resources Management. 6
3. Netherlands Hydrological Society (1998). Water in The Netherlands - chapter 4 & 5 8
4. Schot (1990). Groundwater systems analysis of the Naardermeer wetland, The
Netherlands. 11
5. Schimmel et al. (2019). Facilitating sustainable geo-resources exploitation: A review of
environmental and geological risks of uid injection into hydrocarbon reservoirs 13
6. Griebler et al. (2015). Groundwater ecosystem services: a review. 15
7. Breure et al. (2018). Soil and land management in a circular economy 17
8. Ebbing et al. (2003). Towards an integrated land–sea stratigraphy of the Netherlands. 20
9. Gri oen et al. (2014). A technical investigation on tools and concepts for sustainable
management of the surface in the Netherlands 23
10. Fisher et el. (2019). The recycling and reuse of steelmaking slags - A review 28
11. Strobl & Robillard (2008). Network design for water quality monitoring of surface
freshwaters. A review. 31
12. Hanlon (2020). Bangladesh farmers push for temporary ooding to correct Dutch
polder failure. 35
13. Seddon et al. (2020). Understanding the value and limits of nature-based solutions to
climate change and other global challenges 37
14. Syvitski (2009). Sinking deltas due to human activities. 42
15. Hoekstra & Chapagain (2007). The water footprint of nations: Water use by people as
a function of their consumption pattern. 43
16. Stijnen et a. (2012). The technical and nancial sustainability of the Dutch polder
approach 46
17. Hadian & madani (2013). The water demand of energy: Implications for Sustainable
Energy Policy Development 50
18. USDA (nd). How to Read a Topographic Map and Delineate a Watershed. 52
19. Engelen & Kloosterman (1996). Hydrological Systems Analysis - chapter 1 + 2 53
Chapter 1 - stages in the development of water resources management 53
Chapter 2 - Introduction to Flow System 54
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1. Tyler Miller (2012). Living in the environment -
excerpts chapter 13 & 20
Chapter 13. Water resources
Core case study: Colorado river story
During the past 50 years, this once free- owing river has been tamed by a system consisting of 14 major
dams and reservoirs, and canals that supply water to farmers, ranchers, industries, and cities => provides
water and electricity to roughly 30 million people in seven states of the USA and helps produce 15% of the
nation’s crops. But so much water is withdrawn from this river
to grow crops and support cities in a dry, desertlike climate, that very little of it reaches the sea. To make
matters worse, the system has experienced severe drought, or prolonged dry weather
=> an example of emerging shortage of water due to growing population and economies that cause an
increase in demand.
13.1 will we have enough usable water
Despite its importance, water is one of our most poorly managed resources.
Water is:
- Economic issue: vital to reduce poverty and producing food and energy
- Women and children issue: Almost half of the world’s people do not have water piped to their homes and
as a result, poor women and girls often are responsible for nding and carrying daily supplies of water
- National and global security: increasing tensions both within and between nations over access to limited
water resources that they share.
- Environmental issue: because excessive withdrawal of water from rivers and aquifers results in falling
water tables, decreasing river ows, shrinking lakes, and disappearing wetlands. This loss of water in
combination with water pollution result in declining water quality, lower sh populations, species
extinctions, and degradation of aquatic ecosystem services
Many countries, especially in the middle east and Africa, they are facing now stress from water scarcity.
Currently, about 30% of the earth’s land area— a total area roughly 5 times the size of the United States—
experiences severe drought.
-> lack of water sharing agreements are the reason why water con icts are increasing
In 2009 UN stated that 1.2 billion people—one of every six in the world— lacked regular access to enough
clean water for drink- ing, cooking, and washing. The report also noted that by 2025, at least 3 billion will
not have clean water
What it will cause:
- greatly increased incidences of sickness and death from drinking contaminated water;
- millions of environmental refugees from arid and semiarid regions engaged in a desperate search for
water, land, and food;
- intense con icts within and between countries—especially in the water-short Middle East and Asia—over
dwindling shared water resources.
Solutions ?
- provide more water by reducing unnecessary waste of water.
- increasing water sup- plies by withdrawing groundwater;
- building dams and reservoirs to store runo in rivers for release as needed;
- transporting surface water from one area to another;
- converting salt-water to freshwater (desalination).
13.2 is extracting groundwater the answer
Most aquifers are renewable resources unless the groundwater they contain becomes contaminated or is
removed faster than it is replenished by rainfall
-> water tables are falling in many areas because the rate of pumping is greater than the rate of natural
recharge. The widespread drilling of inexpensive tube wells by small farmers, especially in India and China,
has accelerated aquifer over-pumping. Saudi Arabia gets about 70% of its drinking water at a high cost by
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removing salt from seawater, a process called desalination. The rest of the country’s water is pumped from
deep aquifers, which are about as nonrenewable as the country’s oil.
Withdrawing groundwater trade-o s + solutions: groundwater depletion
Advantage Disadvantage Prevention Control
Useful for drinking and Aquifer depletion from Waste less water Raise price of water to
irrigation overpumping discourage waste
Exists almost everywhere Sinking of land Subsidize water Tax water pumped from
(subsidence) from conservation wells near surface waters
overpumping
Limit number of wells Set and enforce
Renewable if not Pollution of aquifers lasts minimum stream ow
overpumped or decades or centuries levels
contaminated
Do not grow water- Divert surface water in
Cheaper to extract than Deeper wells are intensive crops in dry wet years to recharge
most surface waters nonrenewable areas aquifers
Overpumping of aquifers not only limits future food production, but also increases the gap between the rich
and poor in some areas.
- Water tables drop -> farmers must drill deeper wells + buy larger pumps + use more electricity.
- Poor farmers cannot a ord -> lose their land and work for richer farmers, or migrate to cities
Withdrawing large amounts of groundwater sometimes allows the sand and rock in aquifers to collapse.
This causes the land above the aquifer to subside or sink, a phenomenon known as land subsidence.
Sharply de ned, dramatic subsidence is sometimes referred to as sinkholes. Once an aquifer becomes
compressed by subsidence, recharge is impossible.
13.3 is building more dams the answer ?
- Building dam-and-reservoir systems has greatly increased water supplies in some areas, but has also
disrupted ecosystems and displaced people.
Dam= structure built across a river to control river’s
ow. The main goals of a dam and reservoir system
are to capture and store runo , and release it as
needed to control oods, generate electricity
(hydroelectricity), and supply water for irrigation and
for towns and cities. Reservoirs also provide
recreational activities. They have increased the annual
reliable runo available for human use by nearly one-
third.
Downsides: displaced people, ooded areas, one out
of ve of the world’s g=freshwater sh and plant
species are either extinct or endangered. =>
excessive water withdrawals and prolonged severe
drought
Example= 97% of lake Chad has shrunk
Climate change: a problem because a lot of glaciers
are disappearing and it will be a problem for the river
that are fed by them -> problem for farmers
13.4 is transferring water from one place to another the answer
Transferring water from one place to another has greatly increased water supplies in some areas but has
also disrupted ecosystems.
Water waste, like growing lettuce in desert like environment like in California U, is part of the reason why
many products include large amounts of virtual water. One factor contributing to ine cient water use is that
governments (taxpayers) subsidise the costs of water transfers and irrigation in some dry regions. Without
such subsidies, farmers could not make a living in these areas.
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Aral Sea disaster:
This large-scale water diversion project, coupled with drought and high evaporation rates due to the area’s
hot and dry climate, has caused a regional ecological and economic disaster. => the southern area lost
90% of its volume of water and about 85% of the area wetlands have been eliminated, together with many
bird and mammal species. It is also 3 times saltier, which is a problem for the aquatic fauna. => alteration of
the climate with summer now more extreme
13.5 is converting salty seawater to freshwater the answer ?
Desalination= involves removing dissolved salts from ocean water or from brackish (slightly salty) water in
aquifers or lakes. Distillation involves heating saltwater until it evaporates
Reverse osmosis= uses high pressure to force saltwater through a membrane lter with pores small
enough to remove the salt.
They meet less than 0.3% of the world’s demand
Problems:
- high cost
- Kills many marine ecosystem
- Huge quantities of salty wastewater
13.6 how can we use water more sustainability ?
We can use water more sustainably by cutting water waste,Get agreements among regions and countries
sharing surface water resources, raising water prices (but it makes it di cult for low-income farmers and
city dwellers to buy water), slowing population growth, and protecting aquifers, forests, and other
ecosystems that store and release water.
Reducing Irrigation Water Waste
- Line canals bringing water to irrigation ditches
- Irrigate at night to reduce evaporation
- Monitor soil moisture to add water only when necessary
- Grow several crops on each plot of land (polyculture)
- Encourage organic farming
- Avoid growing water-thirsty crops in dry areas
- Irrigate with treated waste water
- Import water-intensive crops and meat
Chapter 20 - water pollution
20.1 what are the cause and e ects of water pollution ?
Water pollution= any change in water quality that can harm living organisms or make the water un t for
human uses such as irrigation and recreation.
Point source= discharge pollutants into bodies of surface water at speci c locations through drain pipes,
ditches, or sewer lines.
Non point sources= are broad and di use areas, rather than points, from which pollutants enter bodies of
surface water or air.
The leading cause of water pollution agriculture activities and industrial facilities and mining
One of the major water
pollution issue is that we face
is infectious disease organisms
through drinking water
contaminated with waste.
Clean drinking water is not
accessible to 1 billion people
and 1.6 people die yearly for
infectious diseases form
o rg a n i s m s l i k e b a c t e r i a ,
viruses, parasitic protozoa and
parasitic worms
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