Water Management Flashcards
What is making water management more important?
Rising demand and more complex issues like climate change
What are the 2 ways to deal with supply? (Water)
1) techno-fix (innovations)
2) attitudinal fix (behavioural)
What is hard engineering?
Using artificial structure to modify water supply
What are the three main types of hard engineering for water supply?
1) water transfer schemes (moving water form one place to another) - California
2) mega dams
3) desalinisation
What is desalination?
Making sea water safe to drink
What % of the world is water?
70%
What processes does desalination use?
Reverse osmosis
High to low concentration
What is the waste product of reverse osmosis?
Brine (salty water mixture)
When released can cause hyper salinisation
What is the population of Singapore?
4.2 million people
Where is Singapore located?
South of Malaysia
In south east Asia
What type of area country is Singapore?
city state (very little space)
Why is being a city state difficult for Singapore?
High population density
Very difficult to store water
Where did Singapore used to import its water from?
Malaysia making Singapore very water insecure
Why did Singapore stop importing water form Malaysia?
Prices were becoming more expensive
Malaysia also threatened to turn off supply
What do they call grey/ recycled water in Singapore?
New water
Why have they changed the name of grey water in Singapore?
In order to change peoples attitude on drinking used toilet water
What % of Singapore’s water usage is New water?
30%
What will Singapore be doing to their harbour?
Will be turned into a fresh water reservoir
What are the 4 taps in Singapore?
Imported water
Recycled water
Desalinated water
Catchment water
How much of Singapore’s water is imported from Malaysia?
1/2
How much is desalinated water part of Singapore’s usage?
10% of needs mostly industry as people prefer taste of other options
How much pure water do they get from sea water in Singapore?
40% pure water
60% pure brine
How much rain does Singapore get a year? (cm)
250cm
What type of rain does Singapore receive?
Monsoon
Where are Singapore building a dam?
In the Singapore river
Will take 2 years to flush out all seawater and create a freshwater store
Will be sued for drinking and recreational activities
What hard engineering adaptation are they doing in china?
Water transfers and mega dams
What is the name of the transfers scheme in china?
South to north
Why is water being transferred from the south to the north of china?
80% of water is in the south
How much water does Beijing receive per person per year?
100 cubic meters (water scarcity)
What % of river water have poor water quality? (China)
60%
How much has the water dropped under Beijing?
300m
How much freshwater can the water transfer scheme move per year?
25 billion m*3
what river will water be transferred form in china?
Yangtze from two routes east and central
How far will the china water scheme canals be?
Cover 1000km in distance
What are the economic concerns with the south to north water transfers scheme?
Very expensive- US$ 80 billion
High maintenance and water costs
Too expensive for farmers so continue to exploit ground water
What are the social concerns of the south north transfer scheme?
300,000 people displaced during construction of central route
As level of Danjiangkous reservoir raised by 13m
What are the environmental concerns of the south north water transfer scheme?
Transfer of water doesn’t address underlying causes of water shortages in north: pollution, inefficient agriculture, industrial and urban use.
Diversion reduces flow that may affect downstream river ecosystems
What will a question about water supply want to know about? (In exam)
Water management
What should the motto be for water management in agriculture?
More crop per drop
What type of irrigation is worse and why?
Surface flood irrigation
Subject to evaporation
Do not target areas that need the most water
All areas of plant receive the same amount of water
What is hydroponics?
Producing food only using water
Why are hydroponics beneficial?
Crops grown inside in controlled conditions so evaporation is limited and transpiration vapour collected and used
What is an example of hydroponics in the uk?
Thanet earth- largest greenhouse complex in the uk
Where is Thanet earth?
Isle of Thanet, Kent
How big is Thanet earth?
90 hectares
How many greenhouses are at Thanet earth and how big are they?
7 greenhouses the size of 10 football fields each
Expected weekly yield from Thanet earth?
2.5 million tomatoes
0.5 million peppers
0.75 million cucumbers
What % of salad crop production for the UK comes form Thanet earth?
15%
What % water does Thanet earth use compared o traditional irrigation?
6%
When was the first harvest form Thanet earth?
In 2009
What is Singapore sky green?
Worlds first commercial vertical farm using hydroponics
When did Singapore sky green open?
2012
Why do they use vertical farming in Singapore?
As there is little space
What is a cheaper option compared to hydroponics?
Fog traps
Where are fog traps used?
Atacama desert Chile
How do fog traps work?
Put nets on hill side as the moisture form the ocean is blown out to sea it is caught on nets which turn the mist into water droplets
This goes downhill through many filters before reaching the crop
What crop is currently grown using fog traps?
Aloe Vera
What is a Smart irrigation system comprised of?
Its own server
Rain monitors which automatically adjust irrigation based on real time weather data
How efficient are modern drip irrigation systems?
80-90% water efficient
So only waste a max of 20%
How water efficient is open irrigation?
40–50%
So maximum of 60% of water is lost
What would it mean if something is 100% efficient?
There is no waste
