Hydrosphere Contents

3. Water As A Resource

Conclusion

Historically, civilisations have flourished and dwindled on the basis of their capability to exploit water resources, because they define limits to industrial, agricultural and population potential. While the total quantity of water world wide is adequate, its pattern of distribution does not match the pattern of demand. Major water resource engineering projects have accordingly been implemented. In order to be sustainable, they must holistically account for the natural forces of the hydrological cycle.

Questions and answers

1. What is at the heart of the world's water resource management problem?

question 1 answers

2.Give an example of an ancient water management development.

question 2 answers

3. Consider the global water storage locations. In which location does water have the shortest residence time? In which does it have the longest residence time?

question 3 answers

4. Data on resource availability is used by many authors to define the limits of world industrial and agricultural and population growth. What factors will increase the stress on water supply?

question 4 answers

5. Can you identify some major water engineering projects?

question 5 answers

Question 1 answer

Water is not evenly distributed or accessible to large sections of the global population. The total quantity of fresh water on Earth could satisfy all the needs of the human population if it were evenly distributed and accessible.

Question 2 answer

Answers could include; the aquaducts built by the ancient Romans, the Shatt el hai canal linking the Tigris and Euphrates, drainage works to control sheet flows to the Agora in Athens, and the irrigation works of the pre-eminent 'hydraulic' civilisations of Sumeria, amongst others.

Question 3 answer

Water retained as underground ice in the permafrost zone is the longest store - for 10,000 years; whereas, water as atmospheric moisture is stored for only 8 days.

Question 4 answer

Population growth will increase pressures on per capita supplies and water to supply industry and agriculture is restricted by matching supplies to demands at different places and times.

Question 5 answer

Examples may include the Suez Canal, the Aswan Dam or the Tennessee Valley authority integrated river basin development, amongst others.