The Amazing Cycle of Water

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The Amazing Cycle of Water•Theseashold97%oftheworld’s

water and are salty. •2%isfrozeninthepolarice-caps.•1%isfreshwaterandprovidesall

the water we use.• Thisincludesallthewaterinlakes,rivers,atmosphereandunderground.

The Water Cycle

•Thereisaneverendingsupplyofwaterthroughanaturalprocesscalledthewater cycle.

•Justlikeabicyclewheel,thewatercycle has no beginning and no end. It has been the same since time began.

•Thankstothewatercycle,waterdoesn’tgetusedup–itsimplygoesround and round!

•Thiswaterorhydrologicalcyclehas to be used sensibly by humans to meet our needs.

SupplyandDemand

Therisein(a)population, (b) the building of new towns and industryand(c)leisureactivities,mean a greater need for water.Weeachuseapproximately155litresofcleantreatedwatereveryday for washing, cooking, drinking, watering the garden, etc. Currently NorthernIrelandWatersuppliesaround 560 million litres of water each day.

Use Water Wisely

The treatment, distribution and disposalofwaterareexpensiveandeffecttheenvironment.Therefore, we all need to use water wisely.Useoneofourwaterauditleaflets toworkouthowyourusagecomparestotheaverage.Youwillbesurprisedat how much water you actually use.

Cloud Storage / RainWhen clouds blow across thelandandthetemperaturedrops,vapourformsintodroplets,whichfallbackon the land as rain, snow or hail. Rain :•findsitswaytostreams,lakesandrivers,or

•canpassthroughporousground such as chalk to form aquifers, or

•canbetrappedinman-madereservoirs.

ReservoirThereservoirs,rivers,lakesand aquifers are the sources of water we use at home and at work.

Water Treatment WorksNorthern Ireland Water enters this natural cycle and makes sure that the water we use is clean and safe. This is done at a Water Treatment Works,

whereitisfilteredandbacteriaisremoved.Thewateristhensuppliedthroughanetworkofpipestohomes,schools, factories and to all other users.

Wastewater Treatment Works

Used water from our baths, washing machines, sinks, toilets and rain that runs into the sewers, is called wastewater orsewage.Beforeitisputback into the sea is has to becleaned,thishappensataWastewater Treatment Works.

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EvaporationWhen the sun shines on the seas,riversandlakesitturnssome of the water into water vapour(gas)thisiscalledevaporation.This gas rises to the sky; it cools again to forms clouds and turns to rain.

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