Copyright © 2013 by Great River Technologies 1 POGIL 3.1.1: Water Resources -- Impacts Review ___________________________________________ **Read Chapter 3.1.1 of the E-text and then complete this part of the POGIL worksheet. **Please fill out worksheet in a different font or text color (green or blue) so it is easy to distinguish your answer from the questions. EQ1. How many people lack access to safe drinking water? At present, 1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water EQ2. How many people lack access to adequate sanitation? 2.6 billion lack access to adequate sanitation IQ3. What is adequate sanitation? Refers to having services and facilities to safely dispose of human waste (urine and feces). Inadequate sanitation can cause disease (diarrheal). Adequate sanitation has direct health benefits. AQ4. Defecation fields are common in the developing world. How would disposing of human waste in this way impact ecosystem services? A big field full of poo is not so good for ecosystem services! Runoff, contamination of drinking water, loss of plants and animal species. A poop field could have big impacts on regulatory services (erosion , nutrient regulation etc) and impact food supplies, and cultural services. AQ5. How is water security linked to food security? Food cannot be grown without adequate water resources. If water is lost, then food will also be at risk. AQ6. In a grammatically correct sentence(s), describe how water insecurity is linked to global security. This one is up to you!Copyright © 2013 by Great River Technologies 2 Changes in precipitation regimes, melting glaciers, and water supply READ THIS: Water supplies in the western U.S. and many places in the world have historically been dependent on precipitation falling as snow in the winter that is stored as snow pack in higher elevations. The volume of water stored in snow (a.k.a. snow-water equivalent) is much greater than reservoir capacity, making snowpack an important ecosystem service for water storage. In addition to loss of snowpack, large continental glaciers are also melting. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), [w]idespread mass losses from glaciers and reductions in snow cover over recent decades are projected to accelerate throughout the 21st century, reducing water availability, hydropower potential, and changing seasonality of flows in regions supplied by meltwater from major mountain ranges.” The Andes, Eastern Himalaya, and Hindu-Kush are experiencing rapid melting. More than one billion people live in these areas and are dependent on glacial meltwater for a significant portion of their freshwater supply. Loss of glaciers and yearly snowpack will increase the likelihood of water and food insecurity. EQ7. What areas of the world are expected to experience reductions in runoff in excess of 20%? See blue circles on image above. IQ8. Which of these areas have high population concentrations? See arrows. IQ9. With less total water available for people in the Western U.S., what are three things that can be done to support domestic and agricultural water demand in the future? Regulation on water resources, reservoirs, aquifer protection and sanitation, and wastewater treatment, conservation, xeriscaping etc. From E-text: Solving problems using engineering and infrastructure will referred to as the “hard path” to solutions because it involves physical structures designed to increase supply or quality. A “soft path” would include restoration, conservation, and changes in behavior. AQ10. How many people are impacted by the loss of continental glaciers in terms of their water supply? From the E-text “) Eastern Himalayas, and Hindu-Kush are experiencing rapid melting. More than 1 billion people live in these areas and are dependent on glacial meltwater for a significant portion of their freshwater supply. Loss of glaciers and yearly snowpack will increase the likelihood of water and food insecurity.” Case Study: Threats to Global Water Supply--Himalaya Mountains Watch the video “On Thin Ice” (57 min) and answer the following questions. http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/516/ EQ11. How many people does the Ganges River support? Over 400 million people.Copyright © 2013 by Great River Technologies 3 EQ12. What kinds of provisioning services does the Ganges River support? Fish, water for irrigation and other domestic uses EQ13. How does the Ganges support cultural services in India? The ganges is an intricate part of the culture and the Hindu religion. The ganges is “the mother” river. IQ14. What kinds of things are people in India doing to deal with the loss of glacial melt? Planting trees! Reforestation, to help slow the glacial melt. Building alternative energy supply. Move away from fossil fuel economy, and sustainable farming practices that reduces water use. AQ15. Why will the loss of Himalayan glaciers impact global food prices? If the glaciers melt, then the river will not have an adequate water supply, reducing or eliminating water resources for irrigation. This will impact the amount of food that can be grown, increasing food prices. This will also decrease food security of this region, requiring that more food be imported. The impacts of reservoirs READ THIS: Storage and withdrawals -- Dams and the reservoirs behind them are useful for mitigating the discrepancy between the time when water arrives in a system (often cooler wetter seasons) and the time when it is needed (often warmer, dryer seasons). The utilization of water for agriculture, industry and municipalities has the potential to reduce river flows due to consumption. River flows are also impacted by hydroelectric power that matches releases of water with high periods of high electrical demand. The age of dam building in the U.S. West Videos of interest for this section: - Cadillac Desert (dam building on the Colorado River)—available on YouTube in six segments; about 60 minutes total) o Segment 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mis-CU9oZO0 o Segment 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCsuLbjkX8Q&feature=related o Segment 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbdtiqO_3Mc&feature=related o Segment 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMlGvD-tS38&feature=related o Segment 5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3JBQMUKPPY&feature=related o