water cycle management

Question 1

What is low impact development ?

Answer 1

Techniques that manage stormwater by facilitating the natural movement of water through an environment e.g infiltration → filtering and storing of water acts to decrease volume of storm water which is a big issue

Question 2

What are the primary goals of low impact development?

Answer 2

• Manage and treat stormwater
• Protect natural systems and processes
• Incorporate natural features as design features in development plan
• Re-evaluate costs of building techniques
• Preserve open space and minimise land disturbance

Question 3

Rain barrels

Answer 3

Low cost collection devices that connect roof runoff to be used for later use.

Question 4

Rain garden

Answer 4

Shrub gardens with both water and drought tolerant plants that collect rainwater where it can infiltrate into the ground → hold water after a storm

Question 5

Buffer

Answer 5

Natural or landscaped areas used to separate a body of water from an area of land use to prevent sediment and other sediments from reaching the water.

Question 6

Permeable pavements

Answer 6

Surface materials that allow water through which allows runoff to infiltrate decreasing speed of lag time

Question 7

Green roofs

Answer 7

Engineered systems of soil and plants that absorb and filter rain

Question 8

Evaluate the simple strategies for water cycle management

Answer 8

+ Can preserve features important to town character → not intrusive

+ Reduces cost of infrastructure maintenance

+ Can be apple to residential new property developments

+ Can be deployed on local individual scale in backyards cost effective

• May be hard to implement on a larger more national or international scale

Question 9

Narrow roads

Answer 9

Reduced runoff by decreasing the paved area → increase infiltration and decrease volume of water in the sewer system.

Question 10

Water allocation in ACs

Answer 10

• Turn off tap when brushing teeth
• Only use fully loaded dishwashers / washing machines
• Collect rainwater in water butts
• Water meters - gives a financial incentive to save water thus increasing water efficiency

Question 11

Water collection in LIDCs

Answer 11

In India focus is on Recycling water to supply ^ population
Treating sewage to make drinkable water
In new housing developments is compulsory to use recycled water

Question 12

Water allocaton within agriculture techniques

Answer 12

• Overhead irrigation sprinklers → give a more equal distribution but in extremely humid conditions water may evaporate before it reaches the ground
• Drip irrigation is most expensive yet most efficient →as delivers water straight to plant roots with minimal loses

Question 13

Drainage basin management

Answer 13

Project in North Yorkshire to catchment management approach to incorporating natural measures and traditional flood storage.

• Planting farm woodland - land use for farming to lead to increased runoff through compactmant of soil but the woodland would increase soil infiltration and water evaporation
• Blocking moorland drains - controlling erosion - three drains were blocked which reduced the amount of runoff to prevent flooding risk as rapidly
• Establishing no-burn buffer zones - heather burning can exacerbate run off reducing roughness of soil so this decreases the surface runoff

Question 14

Forrestry techniques

Answer 14

Making space for Water 2005 - promote a whole-catchment approach to flood alleviation
* Strategy identifies sustainable development should be firmly rooted in all flood and coastal erosion risk management
* Flood plain woodland would enhance storage and slow down runoff
* Reduces the risk of losing as more infiltration and interception

ARPA objectives
Establish 283k km2 of protected areas for conservation routes
Transform of existing but neglective parks to effective management standard