Water Flashcards
When was the Brazil drought?
2015
Impacts of the Brazil drought?
Water supplies cut off for 3 days a week
No HEP production
Water rationing for 4 million people
Reservoirs at 1% capacity
Wildfires
Increased groundwater abstraction
When was the Cumbria flooding?
2015
What caused the Cumbria flooding?
Storm Desmond
Orographic rainfall
Precedent saturated conditons
Changing land use - reduced lag times
Mismanagement of rivers - straightening and dredged rivers mean rainwater met floodplains faster (hard engineering)
Impacts of the Cumbria flooding
£6 billion insurance claim
Livestock lost
5200 homes flooded
Schools and hospitals closed
Landslides
When was the Pantanal wetlands drought?
2011
What factors worsened the Pantanal wetlands drought
Unsustainable farming
HEP
Deforestation
Impacts of the Pantanal wetlands drought
Wildfires
Loss of vegetation
Fragile biome
South-North Water Transfer Project
Cost $70 billion
Reduce the risk of water shortages and boost economic development
Reduce the abstraction of groundwater
345,000 people will have to relocate
When was the Pakistan Floods?
2022
Impacts of the Pakistan floods
2 million acres of crops ruined
800,000 livestock died
Indus River overflowed
Due to 75% more rain in the monsoon season
When was the Horn of Africa drought?
2011
What caused the Horn of Africa drought?
La Niña interrupted rain seasons twice
Impacts of the Horn of Africa drought
260,000 deaths in Somalia
Threatened the livelihood of 9.5 million
Desertification and degradation of land
Global water statistics
25% lack access to safe water
70% of water is used by agriculture
60% of world’s supplies in 10 countries
20% of all freshwater is used for energy production
1/3 of China’s rivers are polluted
20% of Amazon rainforest destroyed in last 50 years
1/5 land under full irrigation
1 degree increase could increase runoff by 40%
Mega dam example
Three Gorges Dam, China
Why was the Three Gorges Dam built?
Control flooding
Improve water supply by regulating water flow
Generate HEP
Pros of the Three Gorges Dam
Enables surplus water to build up and be diverted to Northern China via the South-North water transfer project
Electricity generated is vital for China’s growth
Cons of the Three Gorges Dam
1.3 million people were relocated
Water quality is low due to industrial pollution, farm waste and sewage
Decomposing vegetation produces methane in the reservoir
Controversial and expensive
Desalination in Israel
Provides 70% of their domestic water
Reliable and predictable supply of water
600 tonnes of potable water per hour
Cons of desalination in Israel
Each plant requires its own power station
Adds to CO emissions
Produces vast amounts of salt which harms ecosystems
Deforestation in Amazonia
20% of the forest has been destroyed
Used for cattle ranching, biofuels and logging
Carbon sink
Large impact on the water cycle
Water conflicts over the River Nile
300 million live within the Nile Basin
Some countries exploit the supply
Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
Egypt is reliant on the Nile for 95% of its water needs
Nile Base Initative
Transboundary river in India and Pakistan
Indus Waters Treaty 1960
Upheld in spite of the countries going to war twice since its signing
