Chapter 6 Water Resources

Elemental Geosystems 5e

Robert W. ChristophersonCharles E. Thomsen

1995 Water Data

And while we can't say definitively that the current Chinese drought is a direct consequence of rising temperatures, the correlation between China's changing diet, rapid economic growth, and surging emissions of greenhouse gases is hard to miss. The faster China grows and the more high-protein pork and beef and chicken the Chinese eat, the worse it's going to get.Never mind the rest of the world -- how the drama plays out in China might be all we need to watch to see whether the globe as a whole can successfully confront the challenge of balancing economic growth with access to affordable food and water and energy while ensuring that climate disruptions don't completely upset the apple cart.

http://www.salon.com/news/global_warming/index.html?story=/tech/htww/2011/02/09/armageddon_again

Lightning

Figure 5.37

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis

http://www.wfas.us/content/view/17/32/

http://www.hewsweb.org/epweb/mapsrepository/maps/01212_20060728_GBW_A4_ODAP_DROUGHT_MAP_JULY_06.pdf

http://www.emc.ncep.noaa.gov/mmb/gcp/h2o/index.htmllast updates 2008

http://www.emc.ncep.noaa.gov/mmb/gcp/h2o/last updates 2008

Hoover Dam, NV-AZ

Water ResourcesHydrologic Cycle  

Soil-Water-Budget Concept  

Groundwater Resources—water mining 

Water Supply  

Hydrologic Cycle Model

Figure 6.1

Soil-Water-Budget ConceptThe Soil-Water Balance Equation  

Precipitation (PRECIP) inputActual evapotranspiration (ACTET)Determining POTETDeficitSurplusSoil-moisture storage

DroughtThree Examples of Water BalancesWater Budget and Water Resources  

The Soil-Water Balance Equation

Figure 6.2

Surface Water  

Figure 6.2

Precipitation in North America

Figure 6.4

•The Colorado River Compact of 1922 - basin divided into an upper and lower half, with each basin having the right to develop and use 7.5 million acre-feet (maf) of river water annually.

•The Boulder Canyon Project Act of 1928 - apportioned lower basin's 7.5 maf among Arizona (2.8 maf), California (4.4 maf) and Nevada (0.3 maf)

•The Mexican Water Treaty of 1944 - Committed 1.5 maf of the river's annual flow to Mexico.

•Minute 242 of the U.S.-Mexico International Boundary and Water Commission of 1973 - Required U.S. to take actions to reduce the salinity of water being delivered to Mexico.

•The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 - Authorized desalting and salinity control projects, including the Yuma Desalting Plant, to improve Colorado River quality. (Only operated 9 months in early 1990’s)

•http://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/pao/lawofrvr.html

Tigris and Euphrates

Before Turkey began building large dams on the Euphrates, average annual flow at Turkish-Syrian border about 30 x 109 m³. A further 1.8 x 109 m³ added in Syria from Khabour River.

On several occasions in recent years, low water levels in Lake Assad reservoir, behind Tabqa dam, restricted the hydro-power output (with installed capacity of 800 MW) and irrigation development.

Before 1970 when Turkey and Syria built a series of large dams on the Euphrates River, Iraq used to receive 33 x 109 m³ of river water per year at Hit, 200 km downstream from the Syrian border.

By the end of the 1980s, the discharge decreased to as little as 8 x 109 m³ per year at Hit.

By 1989, 80% of the natural run-off of the Euphrates River had been developed by adding a third (largest) dam, the Ataturk.

Ground water mining

Day 2Fog:

Incoming air mass?

Characteristics of region coming into?

Advection Fog (wind brings moist air over cool surface)

Figure 5.20

Evaporation Fog (cold wind blows over warm water)

Figure 5.21

Valley Fog (cooler dense air settles)

Figure 5.25 Figure 5.22

Radiation Fog (night cooling)

Figure 5.23

Look also at snow

1960’s: -394 m, 950 km²

2012: -423 m, 637 km²

The proposed conveyance would pump seawater 230 m uphill from the Red Sea's Gulf of Aqaba through the Arabah (Arava) valley in Jordan, then flow down by gravity through multiple pipelines to the Dead Sea, followed by a drop through a penstock to the level of the Dead Sea near its shore and an open Canal to the Sea itself, which lies about 420 m below sea level.

The project will consist of about 225 km of seawater and brine conveyance pipelines parallel to the Arabah valley in Jordan. It would also consist of about 178 km of freshwater conveyance pipelines to Amman. It includes water desalination plants and a hydropower plants.

Ultimate phase it would provide 850 million cubic m of freshwater per year. It would require electric generating capacity from the Jordanian grid and would provide electricity through hydropower, making the project a large net energy user.

The net energy demand would have to be satisfied through power projects whose costs is not included in the project costs. Jordan plans to build a nuclear reactor which may supply these power needs.

Project cost estimates vary from $2B to >$10B. The first phase of the Jordan Red Sea Project is expected to cost US$2.5 billion.

Potential Evapotranspiration

Figure 6.6

Types of Soil Moisture

Figure 6.7

Soil-moisture Availability

Figure 6.8

Sample Water Budget

Figure 6.10

Sample Water Budgets

Figure 6.11

Annual River Runoff

Figure 6.12

Hurricane Camille and

Water Budgets

Figure FS 6.1.2

Groundwater Resources  Groundwater Profile and Movement  

Groundwater Utilization 

Pollution of Groundwater Resource

Groundwater Potential

Figure 6.13

Groundwater Characteristics

Figure 6.14

Groundwater Characteristics

Figure 6.14

Groundwater and Streamflow

Figure 6.16

High Plains Aquifer

Figure FS 6.2.1

U.S. Water Budget

Figure 6.17

Water Withdrawal by Sector

Figure 6.18

Global Water Scarcity

Figure 6.20

End of Chapter 6

Elemental Geosystems 5e

Robert W. ChristophersonCharles E. Thomsen

Lysimeter

Figure 6.5

Our Water Supply Water Supply in the United States  

Instream, Nonconsumptive, and Consumptive Uses  

Desalination

Future Considerations