Week 2: Sources and Use of Water Flashcards
How much of the earth’s fresh water is held in polar ice and groundwater?
98%
How much of the earth’s fresh water has been estimated to be available for consumption?
0.1%
List several types of Fresh Water
- Lakes
- Rivers
- stored ice
- snow
- runoff
What is a major environmental impact of desalination?
The average desalination plant produces 1.5 times more brine than desalinated water
What is one of the most common desalination processes?
Reverse Osmosis
List four ways recycled water can be used
- public parks
- golf course irrigation
- toilet flushing
- concrete mixing
What are the three Metro Vancouver water supply sources?
- Capilano
- Seymour
- Coquitlam
What is the capacity of the Seymour Capilano Filtration Plant?
1.8 billion liters/day
What is a major problem with Canada’s continental watersheds?
Approximately 60% of them drain north
What were some of the solutions to Vancouver’s longterm water supply discussed in class?
- Fraser River
- increasing reservoir capacity
- shipping water from further away
What are the five main water users in Canada?
- thermal power generation
- manufacturing
- municipal
- agricultural
- mining
What are the top five uses of water in the home?
- showers and baths
- toilet flushing
- laundry
- kitchen and drinking
- cleaning
What is the average water consumption in Vancouver?
~350 liters/day
What was the cause of the Cape Town Water Crisis?
Severe drought several years in a row depleted their reservoirs without replenishing them
What was the water restriction Cape Town had to implement for their water crisis?
50 liters/day per person
What was Cape Town trying to avoid by utilizing water restrictions?
Day Zero - water shut off and residents line up for water rations
List four factors affecting water use
- population
- cost
- geographic location
- economic status of community
List the key steps of water treatment
- raw water supply
- flocculation
- settling tank
- filter
- chlorination/UV
- potable water distribution
List the keys steps of wastewater treatment
-Pumping station intake
Primary
- grit chamber
- primary settling
Secondary
- biological treatment
- final settling
-surfacewater discharge
What are some of the steps used to estimate future demand at a water treatment plant?
- historical water use
- system data
- climate data
- current water use patterns
- projected demographic and climate change
What is the difference between Infiltration and Inflow?
Infiltration:
Water is absorbed into the ground and can infiltrate pipes below ground. Also may happen with high groundwater table
Inflow:
From surface-collected water entering sewers
What is the peaking factor?
A multiplier used to account for times when flow into wastewater system is higher than average daily flow
