Food, Energy and Water in the UK. Flashcards
What is a water deficit?
Not having enough water to meet population demands.
What is a water surplus?
Having more than enough water to meet population demands.
Where are areas of water deficit in the UK?
In the UK, there is a water deficit in London, and generally the South East of the UK, where there is a high population density.
Where are areas of water surplus in the UK?
In the UK, there is a water surplus in the North West, Scotland and Wales.
What is putting pressure on the UK water supply?
Some things that put pressure on the UK water supply is because people have more appliances that use lots of water, the UK population is predicted to increase by over 6 million people by 2040, and towns and cities are becoming more densely populated, increasing the risk of a water deficit.
What is the result of low quality and polluted water?
This reduces the volume of water available for use, putting pressure on water supplies and leading to a higher risk of deficit.
What are the sources of chemicals making their water into rivers?
They can be released from factories and businesses (releasing industrial waste), vehicles and fertilisers from farms.
Why can pollution be deadly for wildlife (key-term included)?
Pollution can be deadly for wildlife as it can lead to eutrophication (when water becomes overly enriched with minerals and nutrients) which cause excessive growth of algae.
Why can excessive growth of algae lead to other wildlife in the river dying?
Algae prevents light penetration, reducing photosynthesis for marine plants, as well as reducing oxygen, killing fish.
Who is responsible for testing water quality in all rivers, lakes and reservoirs?
The Environment Agency is responsible for this.
What is the main purpose of the Environment Agency?
The Environment Agency is responsible for testing water quality in all rivers, lakes and reservoirs, to reduce the risk of eutrophication.
What has the UK government been doing to reduce pollution in rivers?
The UK government has been steadily introducing new laws to reduce the amount of pollution being released into rivers.
What do the new UK laws include to limit pollution released into rivers?
The new laws from the UK government include strict rules about the types and amounts of fertilisers and pesticides used, and strict building and planning regulations in places close to rivers and lakes.
Planting woodland where runoff into rivers is high increase infiltration by how many times, and what does this result in?
Planting woodland where runoff into rivers is high can increase infiltration rates by 60 times, meaning that less pollution (e.g., fertilises and pesticides) reaches waterways but also improves the environmental quality of the local area.
What is the reservoir and destination in the water transfer scheme case study?
The reservoir is the Kielder reservoir and the destination is London.
What is the mathematical relationship between the growth of London’s population and the rest of the UK’s?
London’s population grows two times faster than the rest of the UK’s population.
What is the economic issue of our water transfer scheme?
The economic issue is that water requires dams that are expensive to build. For example, Birmingham Resilience project has estimated costs of £300 million.
What is the environmental issue of our water transfer scheme?
The environmental issue is that the building of the water transfer pipes can affect wildlife in rivers (fish migration can be disrupted by dams) - environmentalists.
What is our political issue of our water transfer scheme?
The political issue is that people who live in water surplus areas may not want to lose their water - locals.
Of food, water and energy, what resource have we chosen to study in detail.
While we have to learn all three generally, we have studied the resource of water in most detail.
