Topic 5 - Water EQ3

Question 1

Explain the UN findings on water scarcity?

Answer 1

• effects ever continent - around 1.2 billion people live in areas of physical scarcity, while 1.6 billion face economic water shortage
• both a natural and a human-made phenomenon - enough freshwater however it is evenly distributed and too much is wasted and polluted

Question 2

Define water scarcity?

Answer 2

An imbalance between demand and supply, classified as physical scarcity (insufficient water to meet demand) or economic scarcity (people can’t afford water though its available)

Question 3

Define water stress, what may cause water stress?

Answer 3

If a country’s water consumption exceeds 10% of its renewable freshwater supply, including difficulties in obtaining new quantities of water, as well as poor water quality restricting usage

• together these terms add up to water insecurity - leading to a need for physical, political or economic solutions

Question 4

Explain why there may be an increase in water pollution?

Answer 4

• Warmer waters (from climate change) encourage the growth of bacteria and other organisms that are harmful to human health
• The quality of water may be affected by sedimentation, nutrient enrichment, dissolved organic carbon, pathogens, pesticides and salt, with possible negative impacts on ecosystems and human health

Question 5

Explain the effect of sea levels rising on freshwater supplies, why is this happening?

Answer 5

Sea level rise and localised abstraction of groundwater are increasing the risks of saltwater intrusion into coastal areas - extensive groundwater pumping from fresh water wells lowers the water table and allows saltwater to move into soils and aquifers

• thermal expansion of sea + melting ice sheets and glaciers allows saltwater to intrude further inland

Question 6

Explain the reason behind increasing demand for freshwater resources?

Answer 6

Population growth, urbanisation and industrialisation along with increases in production and consumption have increased demands for freshwater resources (agriculture uses 70% globally)

• strong income growth and a growing middle class has led to sharp and unstable increases in water use, especially in regions where supplies are already vulnerable and where there is a lack of management / regulation

Question 7

Explain the significance of water regarding agriculture, human factor?

Answer 7

Agriculture is the human activity with the largest water use (70% globally and 90% in developing countries)

• millions of farmers rely on groundwater to sustain their livelihoods and ensure food security - however levels are declining in some of the worlds most intensive farming areas (eg Beijing)

Question 8

Explain 2 factors affecting water availability?

Answer 8

• Pollution and contamination - due to intensive agriculture (use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides), industrial production (waste and chemicals) or untreated sewage (contains harmful bacteria)
• many cities in developing countries do not have the sufficient infrastructure in place to collect and treat sewage - estimated that in developing counties 90% of all waste water is discharged directly into rivers, lakes and oceans

Question 9

Explain how expansion of commercial agricultural has affected water?

Answer 9

Has led to increases in nitrate and phosphate fertiliser applications, causing eutrophication of freshwater ecosystems and significant environment and health risk

Question 10

Explain the physical factor topography and distance and how it affects water insecurity?

Answer 10

High relief promotes increased precipitation and rapid run-off, but may also provides greater opportunities for surface water storage in natural lakes and artificial reservoirs, especially where it is combined with impermeable geology

Question 11

Explain the physical factor determining water insecurity refer to climate?

Answer 11

Climate determines the global distribution of water supply - precipitation varies globally as a result of atmospheric pressure systems with low-pressure zone of mid-latitudes and equatorial regions having the highest totals and therefore being water secure

• short term climate change (ENSO) are exacerbating the water security situation

Question 12

Explain how the physical factor geology controls the distribution of aquifers?

Answer 12

Permeable chalk and porous sandstones can store vast quantities of water underground, which is valuable as it is not susceptible to evaporation loss

• water supply can be access by wells or springs - giving an even supply throughout the year

Question 13

Explain how steep relief affects water security - physical factors?

Answer 13

• Steep relief locations have more relief rain and also more run-off and surface storage in lakes/reservoirs, especially in mountainous impermeable geology - may reduce insecurity

Question 14

Explain how physical factors like rivers affect water insecurity?

Answer 14

Worlds major rivers systems store large quantities of water and transfer it across continents, disruptions to these can cause droughts eg those in Brazil 2005 and 10 which covered and area twice the size of California, resulted in flows in the river at an all time low

• eg the Amazon has an annual discharge of 175,000 cubic m/s - transports a huge amount of water

Question 15

Explain how saltwater encroachment can occur?

Answer 15

Sea level rise (from thermal expansion a result of warming temperatures) and increased severe weather systems can result in saltwater intrusion into many coastal regions - this paired with extensive groundwater abstraction and a lower water tables can result in saltwater penetrating soils and aquifers

• storm surges can lead to flooding of low-lying land and erosion

Question 16

Explain the affect of industrialisation on water security?

Answer 16

OECD predicted global water demand from manufacturing would increase by 400% from 2000 to 2050 (greatest in any sector) - most of this increase will be in emerging economies and developing countries

• in these regions where water use is not well regulated, pollution could increase dramatically leading to contamination of ground water and rivers

Question 17

Explain 4 factors the inefficient use of water for crop production is causing?

Answer 17

• depleting aquifers and reducing river flow
• degrading wildlife habitats
• increasing pesticide and fertiliser pollution (seeping into groundwater)
• causing increased salinity (20% of worlds irrigated land suffers from salinity)

Question 18

Explain how the human factor over abstraction is causing water insecurity?

Answer 18

When too much water is removed ground groundwater the supplies diminish - estimated 20% of of the worlds aquifers are over-exploited

Question 19

Explain two types of common pollution affecting water security?

Answer 19

• untreated sewage disposal (especially in developing counties) causes water-borne diseases such as typhoid and cholera - in India only 20% of sewage is treated before entering rivers - by 2020 WHO estimate 135 million people could die unnecessarily from these water-born diseases
• chemical fertilisers uses increasingly by farmers contaminate groundwater and rivers - causing eutrophication in lakes and rivers, leading to the formation of dead zones in coastal water

Question 20

Explain how the increases in the energy industry is a threat for water security?

Answer 20

Energy industry requires increasing amounts of water for new energy developments such as biofuels and fracking
- power plants use lots of water to generate steam to turn turbines

Question 21

Explain the reason for rising demand for water, give figures/evidence?

Answer 21

United Nations world water development projected an increase in global water demand of 55% by 2050 - mainly due to a growing demand from secondary industries ,thermal electricity generation and domestic use, all of which are linked to increasing urbanisation in developing countries

• UN projects a 40% global water deficit by 2030 if nothing is done

Question 22

Explain what physical scarcity is?

Answer 22

occurs not enough water to meet all demands, including environmental flows. Arid regions are most often associated with physical water scarcity, but water scarcity also appears where water is apparently abundant, when water resources are overcommitted to various users owing to overdevelopment of hydraulic infrastructure, most commonly for irrigation purposes

Question 23

Explain what economic scarcity is?

Answer 23

Shortfall in available water is related to shortfalls in Human Resources such as capital, technology and sound governance - assumption is that the water potential is there, but it waits to be exploited

Question 24

Explain why there is increasing global demand for water?

Answer 24

World population is growing by 80 mil a year, and is expected to be 9.1 bn by 2050 - the demand for water is rising twice as fast as population growth and the increasing population living in urban areas (6.3bn by 2050) means there will be extreme stress in these high density areas for water, developing regions will not be able to cope due to insufficient infrastructure or water available

Question 25

Explain how transport can affect water price?

Answer 25

Transporting water from source to consumption - in California expensive pipes transport from mountain reservoirs to coastal cities

• may not have infrastructure in place in slum regions

Question 26

Explain how significant urban growth is increasing the price of water?

Answer 26

Colonial governments installed limited infrastructure for water supplies - massive urban growth has now outgrown this limited infrastructure

Question 27

Explain how privatisation has affected water prices?

Answer 27

In many countries the water supply has been passed onto private sector companies Profits have risen for companies and in many cases supply has fallen and costs for consumers risen

• water is more expensive

Question 28

Explain how poverty affects water prices?

Answer 28

Poverty and insufficient water infrastructure
in squatter settlements e.g. Accra in Ghana.
Poor residents must rely on water tankers
and bottled water

• In Manilla these are 4x
  more expensive than piped water

Question 29

Explain how water in developing countries affects water prices?

Answer 29

In developing countries water is often
free, but not treated. Women and
children in African villages have to walk
up to 10km to collect water – losing a
whole day’s learning and earning

Question 30

Explain how water prices varies from country to country (focus on developed countries) - give evidence?

Answer 30

Even in some Developed countries water costs varies. In Canada charges to consumers are 80% less than in Germany. Ireland only started charging in 2016. Until then they paid 75% less than in the UK. Denmark has the most expensive water in the world - By 2015, many major cities were taking back their water from private companies

Question 31

Explain how manufacturing and agriculture will increase global demand for water?

Answer 31

Increasing economic growth, specifically manufacturing which will increase demand by 400% from 2000 to 2050 - this will be focused in developing and emerging countries

• agriculture accounts for 70% of worlds water demand (90% of developing countries demand) an increasing population will require more food (by 2050 there is a required 50% increase in agricultural production to feed 9 bn population)

Question 32

Explain how the ‘global middle class’ will change and may affect global demand for water?

Answer 32

The “global middle class” will increase from 1.8 billion in 2009 to 5 billion by 2030 - The bulk of this growth will come from Asia but also some from Africa

Question 33

Explain the main causes of physical scarcity of water?

Answer 33

Largely determined by climate (balance between precipitation inputs and evapotranspiration outputs) other factors like topography and geology can be more significant on a local scale

• climate change can lead to physical scarcity

Question 34

Explain the main causes of economic scarcity of water?

Answer 34

Associated with developing countries that lack capital, technology and good governance to fully exploit their supplies of blue water

Question 35

Explain how water privatisation with focus on Bolivia has impacted water prices - explain a consequence?

Answer 35

In 1999, Agua del Tunari took over the Bolivian city of Cochabamba’s water system - the company immediately raised the price of water supplies so that they cost 20% of the average income of the region

• many were not happy with this, resulted in protests for a few days, government eventually cancelled the contract

Question 36

Explain the five measure used to indicate levels of water insecurity for The Water Poverty Index (WPI) - explain them briefly?

Answer 36

1) resources - physical availability of surface and groundwater and its quality

2) access - accessibility of safe water for use both socially and industrially

3) capacity - effectiveness of water management

4) use - use of water for different purposes

5) environment - water management strategies to ensure ecological sustainability

Question 37

Explain the current statistics regarding water access - give 3 points?

Answer 37

• 15% of world still has unimproved water (untreated wells, springs, rivers or surface)
• The Millennium Development Goals (2000) aimed to halve the number of people without safe drinking water by 2015. By 2016, almost 800mill people still lacked treated water
• In 2015, the UN predicted a 55% increase in demand for water. A water gap (shortfall in supply) of 40% will exist by 2030 – most demand from BRIICS

Question 38

Explain a social and economic problem caused by lack of sufficient water infrastructure?

Answer 38

• every year 443 million school days are lost as a result of illness from drinking dirty water - resulting in less high level qualifications achieved
• women on average in less wealthy countries spend a total of 200 million hours, collecting water every day (could be working instead or attending school)

Question 39

Explain a problem regarding transboundary water?

Answer 39

Conflict may occur over transboundary water (where river, lake or aquifers crosses one or more political borders, either a border within a nations or an international border)

• approximately 40% of the worlds population lives within rivers or lake drainage basins that extend over two or more countries

Question 40

Explain a problem surrounding the river Nile mention the fact it is an transboundary river - case study?

Answer 40

The 6700km river Nile is the longest river in the world, it flows through several countries, meaning its water resources are shared by 11 countries (Uganda,Ethiopia,Sudan,Egypt…)

• much of the river and its tributaries flow through semi-arid (Sahel) and arid (Sahara) regions which increases its importance given the fact other water resources are scarce - important for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses, which are all increasing with rising population

Question 41

Explain the dependencey surrounding the river Nile, give the main regions which depend on it - case study?

Answer 41

much of the river and its tributaries flow through semi-arid (Sahel) and arid (Sahara) regions which increases its importance given the fact other water resources are scarce - important for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses, which are all increasing with rising population

• river is particularly important to Egypt (depends on the Nile for 95% of its water needs) and Sudan, where its the primary water source for these regions

Question 42

Explain the conflict and disagreement over the use of the Nile, why are they in a disagreement, what is the causes - case study?

Answer 42

• historic water allocation agreements, which favoured the downstream states of Egypt and Sudan, result of old colonial UK power which granted these allocations (did not permit any water allowance for other regions)
• Egypt also granted Veto power over construction projects on the Nile - which minimises interference of the rivers flow
• has resulted in conflicts with upstream countries which are increasing harvesting the water - Egypt remains adamant that they have full water rights and that they must be honoured

Question 43

Explain the importance and effect of the Nile basins initiative (NBI) and CFA - case study?

Answer 43

• 1999 - all river Nile countries except Eritrea signed the NBI in an effort to enhance cooperation over the use of the Nile water resources
• cooperative framework agreement (CFA) in 2010 was signed by many countries (not Sudan or Egypt) it aimed at sharing Nile water, however it raised strong opposition from Egypt and Sudan over fears it would reduce their water rights and allocations

Question 44

Explain the importance and effect of the grand Ethiopia renaissance dam on the blue Nile - case study?

Answer 44

In 2011 Ethiopian prime minister announced construction of the dam - however it was met with an angry response form the Egyptian president, though recent discussions led to an agreement that is expected to resolve some of the issues

• 2015 Egypt Sudan and Ethiopia signed an agreement on the development of the dam, did not resolve the broader contentious issues of sharing the Nile water among all Nile countries

Question 45

Explain some of the different approaches to managing water supply, what do they include?

Answer 45

Effective water management is essential to minimise the risk of water insecurity and reduce the potential for conflict. It can involve technological fixes, human innovations to increase supply, or attitudinal fixes in which people change their behaviour to reduce demand through conservation strategies.

Question 46

Explain what the grand ethipoian renaissance dam is, give facts and figures?

Answer 46

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is a dam on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia that has been under construction since 2011, It is about 15 km (9 mi) east of the border with Sudan. The dam will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa when completed (7th largest in the world)

• Once completed, the reservoir will take from 5 to 15 years to fill with water.

Question 47

Explain Ethiopia’s views on the grand Ethiopian renaissance dam, what does Egypt want?

Answer 47

Ethiopia denies that the dam will have a negative impact on downstream water flows and contends that the dam will in fact increase water flows to Egypt by reducing evaporation on Lake Nasser

• It has accused Egypt of being unreasonable; Egypt is demanding to increase its share of the Nile’s water flow from 66% to 90%

Question 48

Explain hard-engineering schemes to manage water supply’s, give examples of some?

Answer 48

Hard-engineering schemes use artificial structures to increase water supply, including water transfer projects such as China’s South-North Water Transfer, mega dams such as Ethiopia’s Gilgal Gibe Dam, and desalination plants

Question 49

Explain sustainable water supply schemes to manage water supplies?

Answer 49

Usually less controversial than other schemes - as they aim to balance economic, social and environmental needs by working with local people to develop soft-engineering projects that work with natural processes to restore water supplies, often involve water conservation

Question 50

Explain what the Murray-darling basin (MDB) is, explain its importance?

Answer 50

A huge basin 4 times the size of the UK (1 million km^2) which is home to 2 million people - it contains two rivers the Murray and the darling and is hugely important agriculturally, as it provides 40% of the nations farm produce

• provides 75% of Australia’s water (85% of the countries irrigation water)

Question 51

Explain how the MDB is under threat?

Answer 51

Increasing and competing demands has resulted in a five-fold increase in water extraction since the 1920s - this is a problem due to Australia’s size, variations in ENSO cycles, annual, seasonal and local variations in rainfall (even between different parts of the basin at the same time) meaning some areas can experience surpluses while others are in deficits

Question 52

Explain 2 ‘key players’ in the Murray darling basin?

Answer 52

• Agriculture - takes the most water and increasingly demanding more - irrigation boosts profits, and crops that yield the best returns (vegetables, grapes and nuts) have been replacing sheep and beef
• urban - also have a stake in the MDB - residents in major cities

Question 53

Explain a plan for the Murray-darling basin (MDB)?

Answer 53

MDB includes 23 major river systems, their have been plans in place to use the MDBs waters fairly (in 2012 the new basin plan came into effect, which aimed to strike a balance between access to water for communities in the basin and adequate water for the environment)

• plan determines the amount of water that can be extracted for consumption both by the user (agriculture, industry ext.) and by state and federal governments, in a bid to minimise negative impacts on the natural environment

Question 54

Explain how and why farmers are loosing out over the plan for the Murray darling basin, give some evidence?

Answer 54

Farmers and rural communities in the MDB claim that too much water has been taken back from irrigated farmland for the river and its environment, to a point where whole districts have lost so much water that farmers can no longer grow food, resulting in the death of communities

• one area saw 500 farm jobs disappear between 2012 and 2014 - population also fell by 18%

Question 55

Explain ways in which the Australian government is working to preserve the water resources of the Murray darling basin (MDB)?

Answer 55

• developed a basin plan - with annual water usage from the rivers that is environmentally ecologically sustainable for the long term
• setting aside 6 billion to invest in infrastructure - including upgrading irrigation systems
• the plan (which becomes law in 2012) divides the basin into different surface water (rivers and lakes) and groundwater areas and sets goals for water usage by agriculture and communities in each area

Question 56

Explain economical the importance of the Murray darling basin (MDB)?

Answer 56

produces wool, cotton, wheat, sheep, cattle, dairy produce, rice, oil-seed, wine, fruit, and vegetables. And three-quarters of Australia’s irrigated crops and pastures are grown in the basin. Thus, the rivers are vital to the Australian livelihood

Question 57

Explain why there is a water deficit in some areas of the Murray darling basin and how climate is affecting the region?

Answer 57

• 2006 to 2009, precipitation in the mountains in the eastern part of the drainage area (which supplies nearly 40% of the water to the rivers) was lower than at any historical time
• Other parts of the basin had a total rainfall deficit of about 1.5 meters below normal for the period 1996-2008
• Overall warmer temperatures led to higher evaporation rates which exacerbated the impact of the drought

Question 58

Explain in depth the effect of warmer temperatures on water in the Murray darling basin (MDB)?

Answer 58

Overall warmer temperatures have led to higher evaporation rates which have exacerbated the impact of the drought. For example, the 1 degrees warming in the basin area is roughly equivalent to a 10% increase in evaporation - reducing soil moisture levels and lowering the water table

Question 59

Explain why the Murray darling basin is in decline, give example of some of the environmental problems with the region?

Answer 59

On top of the drought, over-extraction of water as a result of past entitlement system has
combined with high salinity levels and overall poor water quality, the growth of blue-green algae, declining wildlife, and land degradation to provide a dismal outlook for the basin

Question 60

Explain why the Murray darling basin needs a plane?

Answer 60

To ensure that water is shared between all users, including the environment in a sustainable way - it does this by managing the basin as one system. Which enables the river system to continue to support communities and industries in the long term as they adapt to changes, including climate change

Question 61

Explain the three gorges dam approach to managing water supply’s, what are the benefits?

Answer 61

Mega hydrological dam in china which holds back 40km^3 of water - can acts as a store of freshwater or for producing clean renewable energy

• enables surplus water to build up and be diverted to northern china
• Control flooding on the Yangtze and regulate water flow

Question 62

Explain the negatives of the three gorges dam approach to managing water supply’s, give 5?

Answer 62

• 1.3 million people moved out their home
• controversial and expensive (31 billion)
• 632 km^2 of land flooded
• can cause flooding further down if it fails
• Methane from decomposing vegetation

Question 63

Explain the south/north transfer approach to managing water supply’s, what are the benefits?

Answer 63

Long term project (expected to take 50 years) to redistribute water via canals from regions of high water availability (south of china) to regions of low availability

• transfer 44.8 billion cubic meters of water per year
• Water conservation
• Improved irrigation and pollution treatment

Question 64

Explain the negatives of the south/north approach to managing water supply’s, give 3?

Answer 64

• very expensive - close to $100 billion
• significant ecological and environmental impacts (submerge 360 km^3 of land)
• Worsening water quality - yellow river already undrinkable and Yangtze River is severely polluted - could cause ecological disaster

Question 65

Explain Israel’s desalination approach to managing water supply’s, what are the benefits?

Answer 65

Desalination plants convert saltwater into freshwater (take in saltwater from the sea through pumps and filter them out using special membranes) - large plants and can supply up to 1.5 million people

• Reliable - huge supply of saltwater
• Can be sustainable - use solar energy
• Offers freshwater to regions which have a limited supply

Question 66

Explain the negatives of the Israel’s desalination approach to managing water supply’s, give 3?

Answer 66

• expensive to maintain and construct in the first place (advanced technology)
• can affect the surrounding sea - adds saltier water (increases saline levels)
• Can release Co2 - requires its own power plant

Question 67

Explain the smart irrigation approach to managing water supply’s, what are the benefits?

Answer 67

Method allowing water to drip slowly on plants roots as opposed to spraying water (which reduces wastage and evaporation)

• reduces water evaporations by increasing infiltration
• less water waste

Question 68

Explain the negatives of the smart irrigation approach to managing water supply’s, give 1?

Answer 68

• can be expensive, cheaper to use a spraying machine rather then implement lots of pipes

Question 69

Explain the water restoration approach to managing water supply’s, what are the benefits?

Answer 69

Water used with showers, taps and baths (grey water) is recycled and used for applications that do not require freshwater eg flushing a toilet or watering plants

• decreases the volume of fresh water wasted

Question 70

Explain the negatives of the water restoration approach to managing water supply’s, give 1?

Answer 70

• possibly hard to integrate into existing systems