ENSC 2001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Surface Runoff, Water Table, Persistent Organic Pollutant

• School: Carleton University
• Department: Environmental Science
• Course: ENSC 2001
• Professor: Quentin Gall

Document Summary

Global movement of water between different water storage compartments. Distribution in space and over time a problem. Humans are essentially competing for that 1% of water that is available. Table 12. 1 the worlds water supply (pg 346) Water exists in reservoirs as solid, liquid and gaseous form in the atmosphere over a period time. Water has different residents, and it is not always immediately available to use, not always in the right form, or suitable for consumption. Water can spend thousands of years in the oceanic reservoir. Average residence time for water in the atmosphere is 9 days. Avg residence time for water in rivers and streams is 2 weeks. Groundwater shallow to depth of 0. 8km, average residence time 1000 years. 2. 15% of water is located in ice caps & glaciers. Potable water: free of suspended matter, abiotic and generally mineral free. Use of potable water: 70% agriculture, 20% industry, 10% domestic use & drinking & recreation.