The Challenges Of Resoures Management [optional] Water

Question 1

What is ‘water security’?

Answer 1

Having access to enough clean, safe drinking water that aids well being and economic development

Question 2

What is meant by water deficit?

Answer 2

Supply of water is lower than the demand

Question 3

What is meant by water surplus

Answer 3

Supply of water is higher than demand

Question 4

Which areas of the world have a water deficit?

Answer 4

Drier areas such as Australia, Northern Africa (Sahara) and Southern Africa, The Middle East.

Question 5

Which areas of the world have a water surplus?

Answer 5

Typically, equatorial locations such as the Amazon, Brazil.
Mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere such as Europe and North America.

Question 6

What is water security?

Answer 6

When a country has a water surplus. They have a higher supply of water than they demand.

Question 7

What is meant by water insecurity?

Answer 7

When a country has a water deficit. Their demand is higher than their supply of water.

Question 8

What is ‘water stress’?

Answer 8

A
When an area does not have

Access water
Access clean, safe water
The natural flows of water to sustain rivers etc

Question 9

How is water security linked to well-being?

Answer 9

Water aids crop production which secures a source of food and income
Not having to travel daily for water enables children to go to school
Improves the quality of life

Question 10

Why is water consumption increasing?

Answer 10

Water aids crop production which secures a source of food and income
Not having to travel daily for water enables children to go to school
Improves the quality of life

Question 11

Identify the 6 factors that affect water availability

Answer 11

A
-Climate - rainfall patterns
Poverty - some places have to share water sources
-Poor infrastructure - limited pipes to bring water to communities
-Pollution - some water is highly contaminated with industrial pollution
-Geology - the rock type in an area dictates how much water is stored underground
-Over abstraction - water is removed from the ground quicker than it replenishes which reduces the water table

Question 12

List the impacts of water insecurity

Answer 12

Waterborne diseases
Water pollution
Lowering food production
Changing industrial output
Conflict

Question 13

What are waterborne diseases?

Answer 13

A
Diseases that affect people who drink contaminated water. e.g. cholera, dysent

Question 14

How does water insecurity lead to waterborne diseases?

Answer 14

Drinking from unsafe water supplies in places that do not have infrastructure e.g. pipes. This increases the likelihood of disease

Question 15

How does water insecurity lead to lower food productivity?

Answer 15

A
Food production requires water. Agricultural practices suffer if there is not an adequate amount of water to tend to crops. As a result, lower supply increases food prices.

Question 16

How does water insecurity lead to lower industrial output?

Answer 16

A
Industry requires large amounts of water to be productive. Many factories around the world close in times of water shortage. This reduces productivity and a loss of profits

Question 17

How does water insecurity lead to conflict?

Answer 17

A
Many people rely on rivers for a supply of water - building dams in a shared river e.g. the Nile, can restrict flow and cause conflict
Some industries do not regulate their waste which means water pollution can occur, affecting some communities source of drinking water.

Question 18

List 4 strategies that can be used to increase water supply?

Answer 18

Diverting supplies and increasing storage
Building dams and reservoirs
Water transfers
Desalination

Question 19

How does diverting supplies and increasing water storage increase water supply?

Answer 19

To prevent water lost through evaporation, some water can be diverted and stored underground for times of need.

Question 20

What is a dam?

Answer 20

A barrier built in a river used to control the flow of water at any given time

Question 21

How do dams and reservoirs increase water supply?

Answer 21

A
Dams can be closed during times of plentiful water, allowing water to be stored and released during times of deficit. This enables sufficient supply of water downstream and prevents loss of water through flooding.

Question 21

What is a reservoir?

Answer 21

A
An artificially made body of water, usually found behind a dam.

Question 22

What is a ‘water transfer’?

Answer 22

Moving water from an area of surplus to an area of deficit through a network of pipes

Question 23

Q
How do water transfer schemes increase water supply?

Answer 23

A
Moving water from one basin to another, shares out water to avoid an area of deficit becoming seriously impacted by a water scarcity.

Question 24

How does desalination increase water supply?

Answer 24

A
Removing salt from sea water can solve serious water stress by creating freshwater for human use.

Question 25

What are the problems with desalination?

Answer 25

It is expensive It requires a lot of energy
Water has to be transported inland which costs and causes emissions
LICs may not be able to afford to do this

Question 26

What is desalination?

Answer 26

Removing salt from sea water.

Question 27

Briefly describe China’s water transfer scheme

Answer 27

It transfer water from the South (which receives more rainfall) to the North (which is drier). It has three planned routes that can channel water each year

Question 28

What are the advantages of China’s water transfer scheme?

Answer 28

+ Relieved water shortages in the North
+ More even industrial development as industry can set up in the North
+ It has opened up more potential farmland as there is more available water for irrigation

Question 29

What are the disadvantages of China’s water transfer scheme?

Answer 29

• Constructing the scheme often floods land
• Water is not equally shared
• it is very expensive so is therefore used mainly by the urban rich
• Puts stress on water sources in the South

Question 30

What is ‘sustainability’?

Answer 30

A
Meeting the needs of the current population without compromising the ability for future generations to meet their own needs

Question 31

Q
Name some strategies used to achieve sustainable water supplies

Answer 31

Conserving water
Groundwater management
Recycling water
Using ‘grey’ water

Question 32

What is ‘water conservation’?

Answer 32

Reducing the consumption of water.

Question 33

What individual actions can be taken to conserve water?

Answer 33

Turn off tap when brushing teeth
Install dual flush toilets
Collect rainwater to water plants
Only use a washing machine on full load

Question 34

Identify some strategies that can be used to conserve water

Answer 34

Fixing leaking pipes
Switching from normal irrigation to drip irrigation
Using efficient domestic appliances e.g. washing machines
Dual flush toilets - use less water to flush
Educate people on reducing water use in the home

Question 35

What is ‘groundwater management’?

Answer 35

A
Groundwater is the water that infiltrates into the soil when it rains. Managing this means ensuring that it is free from pollution and not too much is taken.

Question 36

How does groundwater management lead to a sustainable water supply?

Answer 36

Monitoring water levels to reduce amount extracted
Ensuring groundwater does not become polluted
Establishing rules and legislation that protects shared water sources

Question 37

How does recycling water lead to a sustainable water supply?

Answer 37

It reduces energy needed to provide clean water when recycled water is fit for purpose.
Saves water being extracted from groundwater stores

Question 38

What is recycled water used for?

Answer 38

Irrigating crops
Industrial use
Flushing toilets

Question 39

What is ‘grey’ water?

Answer 39

A
Recycled water that isn’t treated and can be used immediately. It is water from baths, showers and washing machines

Question 40

What is ‘grey’ water used for?

Answer 40

Water crops
Irrigation

Question 41

How can using grey water lead to a sustainable water supply?

Answer 41

Cheap to use
Easy to access
Reduces energy needed to treat water

Question 42

Why does Kenya need to increase its sustainable water supplies?

Answer 42

A
It is a dry country, with limited yearly rainfall. Most water in river evaporates quickly. It is a LIC that requires water for farming It is vulnerable to water stress They struggle to store water for during the dry season

Question 43

What is Kenya doing to increase its sustainable water supplies?

Answer 43

Building sand dams

Question 44

Explain how a sand dam works

Answer 44

1During the dry season, a chunk of river bed is dug up, exposing the bedrock underneath
2A stone dam is built, separating the original river bed and the dug out river bed
In the wet season, the river will deposit sediment behind the dam
3Finer particles of sand are dropped in the dug out river bed
4Water is held within the sand, providing a store of water for the dry season

Question 45

What are the advantages of the sand dam for places like Kenya?

Answer 45

+ it provides easily accessible water during a dry season
+ it doesn’t require complex machines to be set up
+ local people are able to fix and maintain the system
+ the dam can be modified to suit the changing water levels