2Millenium Development Goals: Progress • 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (South Africa)– promised to halve the number of people without clean water and sanitation by 2015• 2003 World Water Summit (Kyoto, Japan)– same goal reiterated• 2004 UN Commission on Sustainable Development (New York)– found there had been no progress• “If the world continues at this snail’s pace, billions of people will remain without access to safe water or basic sanitation, with little prospect of escaping poverty.”– Ravi Narayanan, Water AidPearce, Keepers of the SpringWater for… revealing the mystery of language and awakening the soulWe walked down the path to the well-house, attracted by the fragrance of the honeysuckle with which it was covered. Some one was drawing water and my teacher placed my hand under the spout. As the cool stream gushed over one hand she spelled into the other the word water, first slowly, then rapidly. I stood still, my whole attention fixed upon the motions of her fingers. Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten — a thrill of returning thought; and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that "w-a-t-e-r" meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free!– Helen Keller, The Story of My Life (1903)http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Helen_KellerThe water issue today… and yesterdayOutside Magazine, Aug 2003http://outside.away.com/outside/toc/200308.htmlSports Illustrated, 12 March 2007http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/covers/issues/2007/0312.htmlUS News & World Report, 4 June 2007http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/070527/Time Magazine, 1 October 1965http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19651001,00.htmlTime Magazine, 22 September 1980http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19800922,00.htmlEarth systems are often studied as Hydrosphere, Atmosphere, Geosphere, Biosphere • Hydrosphere physical processes: Physical attributes and processes of the traditional global hydrologic or “water cycle”, including runoff, geomorphology, sediment processes, evapotranspiration, moisture transport, and precipitation. The global water cycle encompasses not only hydrologic processes over and under the land surfaces of the earth, but also in its oceans and atmosphere.•Hydrosphere biological and biogeochemical components: Includes aquatic and riparian organisms and their associated ecosystems and biodiversity. These organisms are also integral to the geochemical functioning of the global water system and not simply recipients of changes in the physico-chemical system. Hence we also include here the biogeochemistry of the global water system and water quality.Hydrologic CycleUSGSwater.usgs.gov/.../htdocs/ natural_processes_of_ground.htm3What about humans?• We left humans out of the Earth systems above (except in the biosphere):• Human intervention in the hydrologic cycle defines water resources• Corollary to the hydrologic cycle: Hydraulic cycle•The sum of water-related organizations, engineering works, and water use sectors. Society is not only a component of the global water system but also a significant agent of change within the system. Society is not only exposed to changes in water availability but also takes actions to mitigate or adapt to these changes.Hydraulic cycle•Source•Treatment• Distribution•Use• Collection•Treatment•DisposalChadwick and Moffett, 1998. Hydraulics in Civil and Environmental EngineeringWater SourceSurface WaterGroundwaterWater TreatmentWithdrawalDistributionWater UsePublic, Commercial,Industrial, InstitutionalWastewater TreatmentWastewaterCollectionDisposalFresh Water Withdrawal• Importance of agricultural use• Regional effects Fraction of annual renewable water resources withdrawn (%) Domestic Use (%) Industrial Use (%) Agricultural Use (%) World 8 8 23 69 Egypt 97 7 5 88 Libya 404 15 10 75 United States 19 12 46 42 Gleick, 1993 or online version at http://worldwater.orgEarth’s Water ResourcesEverything else (2.80%)Oceans (97.20%)HydrosphereAll water in the atmosphere, soil, rivers, lakes, and wetlands: 0.03% of total on Earth. Groundwater (0.62)Everything else (0.03)Glaciers (2.15)Non-Ocean Components4Earth’s Water Resources• All water in the atmosphere, soil, rivers, lakes, and wetlands: 0.03% of total on Earth. • 2/3 of freshwater in polar ice caps– Antarctic ice sheet: 80% of the world’s ice– Covers an area almost 1.5 times the U.S. – Sea level would rise about 300 feet if the ice melted• Groundwater represents 95% of availablefreshwaterThe Antarctic ice sheet average thickness is nearly 1 mile December 1997http://airsports.fai.org/may98/may9804.htmlGlacier RetreatRhone Glacier,Switzerland20011930Gary BraaschGlacier RetreatRhone Glacier,Switzerland2001Gary Braasch1859“shifting baseline syndrome”?Pauly, 1995 (fisheries)The Global Water System• Water movement constitutes the largest flow of any material through the biosphere.• The importance of fresh water, which strongly regulates productivity and supports ecosystems and biodiversity, is evident throughout the biosphere.• Fresh water is also critical to human society.– underpins global food production: irrigation, livestock, fisheries, and aquaculture– domestic, industrial, hydropower, and recreational water use is crucial to a large and growing population that aspires to long-term improvements in well-being• Providing basic sanitation and clean drinking water services remains a major public health challenge. – more than 1 billion people are without access to clean drinking water, 2.5 billion are without sanitation, and over 5,000 people, mostly children, die each day from water-related diarrheal diseasesVorosmarty et al., 2004. EOS, 85(48), pp. 509, 513-514Part II: Hydrology5Who uses groundwater?Ref 3.1, Alley, W.M., Reilly, T.E., and O.L. Franke, 1999, Sustainability of Ground-Water Resources. United States Geological Survey Circular 1186, USGS: Denver, CO. http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/circ/circ1186Why do people use groundwater?•Local springs• Not enough rainfall• Abundant supply• Water qualitySuwannee River State Park, FLPhoto by me.Aquifer: n. body of permeable rock able to hold or transmit water [Latin: aqua + fer]• Confined aquifer – Wedged between layers of relatively impermeable materials and consequently under pressure. •