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82 Cards in this Set

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Describe and understand variousprocesses in the water cycle.

- All fresh h20 comes out of the cycle somewhere


- both quantitative and qualitative issues



Describe and evaluate the options for making water supplies go farther.

*Inter basin Water transfer: Columbia and Snake to Cali. Snake to Oil shale beds.


*Icebergs in AK


*Use less


*Desalination plants: Israel, Arabian Peninsula


*Ogallala Aquifer- replace with h20 from great lakes



Describe water use in Idaho.

-Groundwater


-97% for ag


-5.76 Mill gall/year/person


-47x more H20 used in AG than residential use


-6th largest use: 15B gal/day 11,100 gal/pers/day


-19% groundH20 (95% drink h20), 81% Surface


-86% AG/13B gal/day --4M acts of farmland


-

Surface water / shortages

-No more than 30% of a rivers average flow diverted w/out shortfall every 20 years

-some are 100% appropriated


-LA overpopulated so Owens River-built aqueduct for LA -Colorado River, Feather River

Mounting water deficits

-Humans are using surface and ground h20 at faster rates



-in many areas is being used faster than can be replenished

Failing Water tables

in billion cubic meters/year

india 104, China 30, USA 13.6, North Africa 10, Saudia Arabia 6, GLOBAL: 163.6

Ecological effects of surface h2o shortage

-impact aquatic life: fish


-wildlife depends on riparian areas


-Salmon


-Salt buildup from return flows in the desert SW



Mono Lake

-Lost inflow of fresh h20 to LA water. Got too saline to support native aquatic ecosystems. LA can't take water anymore... ecosystem

recovering

Sources and uses of Fresh H20

Consumptive: H2o diverted is lost for future use


* irrigation for ag




Non-consumptive: h2o remains available for the same or other uses if quality is adequate-or can be treated. (-power production, -industrial use,


-residential use)

Quantitative (water cycle)

-Is there enough h20 to meet our needs?




-Impacts of diverting H20?

Qualitative (water cycle)

Is h2o pure enough for us to use?

Sources of fresh H2o

Rivers, lakes, groundwater (becoming more important)

Idaho primarily uses ___ for h20

Ground water

h20 Quantity
-Critically short in many areas in the world

-80% used for ag


-Human need: 260K gall per year/person


-26 countries short (egypt, jordan, belgium, singapore) more every year





Groundwater: falling h20 tables and depletion

-Areas in USA 75x more groundwater used than surface

-When withdrawal exceeds exchange: h20 table drops, eventually groundwater can be depleted.


-increased withdrawals for cities and irrigation


-

Safe Drinking Water Act of1974.

-passed to protect drinking h20


-administered by EPA


-Major amendments in 1986 and 1996

Groundwater: falling h20 tables and depletion cont'd

-Ogallala aquifer (great plains) h20 table falling at 40+ in/year

-3.5 mill acres will switch from irrigated to


dryland farming


-Mexico City- depends on groundwater.


dropping @ 76 in/year...22 mill people what will happen?

Diminishing surface water

-Affected by falling h20 tables

-Streams, rivers, and lakes fed by groundwater

Land subsidence (ground sinks)

-groundwater creates cavities in bedrock

- San Joaquin Valley, CA


- Texas coast near Houston

Sinkholes

-Major sinkhole in the US every three days


-Florida


-Alabama

Saltwater Intrusion

Coastal Areas

Water table depleted, salt h20 intrudes and contaminates supply

The Aral Sea: Basically Dead:


-Too much salt


-Too little biological life


-no longer a resource for the surrounding population

-4th largest lake @ 26k mi2, now 11th about 10k

-60% decline since 1960, maybe 4k mi2 by 2025


-diversion of feeding rivers: Amu and Syr Daryas


-13 miles3 to 1.5/year


-20 fish species extinct, salt all over, no fishing


-No climate effect harsh summers and winters


-Adverse health effects of salt: throat cancer, respiratory disease, eye disease

Dams in the 3rd world

-potential wars over dams

-Resettlement of millions of people.



Pros and cons of dams

PRO: Power generation, emission reduction, crop irrigation, drinking water, flood control, shipping recreation

CON: Habitat alteration, fishery decline, population displacement, sediment capture, disruption of flooding, risk of failure, lost recreational opportunities

Using less H20

-h20 conservation

-recycling


-Comp btwn urban, ag, and wildlife use



Irrigation

-7x more h20 used in AG than for residential


-60% of h2o lost by: evaporation, percolation, runoff


Newer systems: Flood -> Sprinkler, Sprinkler-> Drip Irrigation


-increased cost will ensure water conservation.

Municipal systems

-Consume over 100 gals/person/day


- toilets 3-5 gal, showers 2-7gal per 5 min, laundry 25-50 gal, watering lawns, filling pools, washing dishes 8-15 gal per load.

Municipal Alternatives

XERISCAPING- Landscaping with drought resistant plant.


-grey water for irrigation


-low flush toilets


-Water lawns on certain days (Denver)


-Water rates increased in summer in Moscow

Water shifts and potential Wars


Ag -> Urban

Describe water use in Idaho.

-Trout farming: 2nd largest use, 8%, 1.2B gal/day


-Comm/Dom Use: 2.5%, 311 gal/pers/day/home


-Industrial Mining: .5%


-Rec/Tourism: non consumptive $1B to economy


-Hydropower: non consume, 6th in hydropower


-Competing interests: fish, ESA (snails), pop growth

Groundwater Problems in Idaho

-depleting in some area


-GroundH20 governed under Appropriation


Doctrine: priority to oldest wells. Newer wells curtailed in times of shortage.


-IDWR issues permits for new wells: considers other wells, ground water use, aquifer recharge


-Idaho is better off than all western states

IDWR

Idaho Department of Water Resources

Groundwater mining problem in Southern Idaho

-13 problem areas (8- CGWA, 5 GWMA)


-CGWA: declining that threatens supply for existing users. No new well permits issued


-GWMA: declining h20

Drinking Water

Can be used safely for:


-Drinking


-Cooking


-Washing

History of drinking H20: 3 periods

Ancient: pre-1880


Progressive: 1880-1960


Contradictive: 1960-present



History of drinking H20: Ancient

Treated by: sedimentation, filtration, coagulation (removal of surface debris), disenfection (winemaking)

Mesopotamia: Public Sanitation Laws (200 BC - 400 AD)

-Cisterns and wells had to be kept clean


-25m distance from: cemeteries, tanneries, and slaughterhouses.


-Rome: 9 aqueducts: reposoirs and fountains. Water quality poor by today


-Dark ages: h20 sources not protected, illness = sin, plaques

Progressive period 1880-1960,


2 MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS

-Gov't has moral responsibility to protect citizens


-microbiology and organic chemistry

Progressive period 1880-1960

human waste=bacteria in h20=diseases


-caused cities to take sanitary measures


-By 1900 England has decent drinking H20


-1887 Lawrence, MA 1st H20 filter system: reduced typhoid deaths by 79% and others by 20%


-

Contradictive Period (1960-Present)

-specific organic and inorganic chemicals


-initial standards issued by surgeon general.

Goals of the SWDA of 1974

-Ensure high quality h20 @ the tap.


-gov't oversight of both ground and surface h20


-provide funding for state h20 systems


-provide for monitoring programs



SWDA important Definitions:


Community Water System (CWS)

A public water system that at least 15 connections to year round residents OR at lest 25 year round residents. *cities *rural subdivisions



SWDA important Definitions:


Maximum Containment Levels (MCL)

Mam allowable concentration of a contaminant in drinking H20.


-Primary mcl: Are health related and mandatory.


-Secondary mcl: aesthetic, recommended, but not mandatory.


- If CWS regs protect h20 quality, if private well no regs.


-EPA Reg categories: primary and secondary

Primary Drinking Water Standards:


5 categories (O, IM, TRa)

1. Organic Chemicals


2. Inorganic Chemicals


3. Microorganisms


4. Turbidity


5. Radio Nuclides

1. Organic Chemicals

SOCs- synthetic organic chemicals:Aldicarb, chlordane, carbon tetrachloride


VOCs- volatile organic chemicals: Benzene,


trichloroethylene (TCE), vinyl chloride


THMs: chloroform, bromoform, bromodichloromethane

2. Inorganic Chemicals

-Huge number of chemicals


-Sources: natural, environmental, humans


-Nitrate (mcl of 10ppm NO3-N nitrate nitrogen), 20 ppm may be unsafe for infants., lead, asbestos, arsenic, mercury, cadmium.


- EPA takes research # for infants and divides 2

3. Microorganisms

Waterborne disease from microbes: typhoid, cholera, hepatitis


-Bacteria are most common contaminants (test for coliform=fecal contamination test)


-Protozoa: guardia, cryptosporidium


-Viruses



4. Turbidity- measure of suspended matter in h20


CAUSES:

Clay


Silt


Organic particulates


Plankton


Some microscopic organisms

5. Radio Nuclides:


Serious problem.


Natural and human sources

Natural: underground rock, geologic formations


-Uranium, Radium, Radon


HUMAN: 200+ known:


-H2o in nuclear power plants


-Nuke weapon facilities


-radioactive disposal sites


-Docks for nuke ships

Secondary Drinking Water Standards:


Aesthetic, unenforceable

Water PH


Chloride


Color


Taste


Odor

Bottled Water

Regulated by FDA (drinking by EPA)


Artesian, groundwater, spring water, well water


- H20 from an underground aquifer may or may not be treated.


-Fiji vs Cleveland water: Cleveland tasted better and less arsenic and heavy metals

Eutrophication

Process whereby a body of water becomes nutrient rich, supporting abundant growth of algae and/or other aquatic plants on the surface. Deep water becomes 02 depleted.

2 types of aquatic plants

benthic plants: roots under h2o




Phytoplankton: float

Benthic Plants

-rooted to the bottom


-Can be emerged or submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV)


-Thrive in nutrient poor water, nutrients from floor, can compete, SAVs need clarity for photosynthesis


-Euphotic Zone- adequate light can penetrate.


-clear up to 90ft, murky just inches!

Phytoplankton:


72k species

-near h2o surface


-tolerate and cause turbid water


-Absorb light for photosynthesis


- pea green scum water


- reach high density in nutrient rich h20


-low levels of nutrients limit growth


Oligotrophic Conditions

-nutrient poor, but O2 rich from top to bottom


-most untouched by man: limits phytop, benthics thrive to great depths and maintain 02 in the deep


-great envir for fish, shellfish, diverse ecosystem

Eutrophic Conditions

-nutrient enrichment=phytop bloom +turbidity


-Turbidity shades out benthics.


-interrupts food chain and loss of habitat/


-Sediments also = turbid.


-Dissolved O2 in deep lost bc benthics die


-excess of 02 on surface.

The Cycle

-Phytop bloom


-die


-settle on bottom


-decomposers consume 02 to break down dead


- little O2 left --> dead fish, etc.



organic matter additions to water

-Will deplete O2


-erosion


-raw sewage


-organic wastes

measure health of the system

-BOD: Biological Oxygen Demand=how much 02 to support life.


-Measures what 02 in needed to break substances down (decomposers)


-If BOD>dissolved 02 in H20 = 02 depletion



Natural vs. cultural eutrophication

-oligotrophic lakes get phytop blooms; 1,000s years, natl process


-If humans speed this process up it is called


cultural eutrophication

cultural eutrophication: Lake Erie

-Huge blooms


-Mycrocystis toxic to humans


-2014 toledo, OH shut down H20


-Algea removed by bulldozers

Combating Eutrophicaiton

1. Attacking symptoms: reactive


2. Control inputs: proactive

1. Attacking the symptoms:

Chemical treatments


-herbicides to suppress unwanted plants


*Aeration


-mech aeration add 02 and reduce fish kills


-works for small water bodies


*Harvesting algea:


-must filter


-small bodies

2. Controlling input

-decrease inputs of nutrients


-control sediments

Idaho examples:



*Middle Snake: Algea bllos = sediment and nutrients in our stagnant H20


*Lake CDA: enrichment form crop sediment and nutrients, sediments from forest land and construction sites along shore.


*boat discharge


*septic on shore


*lawns and gardens on shore



Controlling Eutrophication

1. ID nutrient and sediment causes: where from?


2. develop a control for each cource

Sources of nutrients:

AG: Erosion from cropland, leaching of fertilizers, runoff of animal feedlots/dairy barns, etc.


URBAN: Erosion from lawn and gardens, leaching of lawns ?

Sewage Effluents

-discharge from sewage plants


-detergents with phosphorus


-septic seepage



controlling nutrients and sediments

-keep extra nut and sed out of h20 systems


-BMPs best management practices


- keep ground covered no exposed soil.


-prevent erosion


Construct and mining sites:


-sediment traps


-basins

controlling nutrients and sediments cont'd

-Preserve wetlands


-banning phosphate detergents (north ID)


Advanced Sewage Treatment:


-tertiary treatment

Types of pollutants



1. Nutrients


2. Pathogens /disease


3. Toxic Chemicals


4. Sediments


5. Thermal Pollution

1. Nutrients

N,P: nitrogen and phosphorus


-causes eutrophicaiton


-causes hypoxia- nutrient enrichment of seawater

2. Pathogens /disease

-unsafe for swimming


-raw sewage discharges



3. Toxic Chemicals

-pesticides


-petroleum products


-toxic metals

4. Sediments

-clogs water bodies


-mining, forestry, AG


-9 Bill spent army COE for dredging

5. Thermal Pollution

affects fish


affects 02 levels

Nutrient pollution of salt water

hypoxia:


low dissolved 02 in deep h20 of continental shelf


-caused by nutrient polution (eutrophication)


-Gulf of Mex off Mississippi mouth


-exit farmland and flow down Miss


reduced fish catch bc low 02

H20 quality measurements

1. Biological


2. Chemical


3. Physical

1. Biological

-presence of fecal coliforms=indicates pathogens


-algae


-aquatic invertebrates


-fish



2. Chemical

-nutrient concentration


-PH


-dissolved 02 content

3. Physical

-turbidity


-color


-temperature