ENVIRSC 1C03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Groundwater Recharge, Surface Runoff, Sponge
3 Sep 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Freshwater is a renewable resource on which ecosystems and all living beings depend on. However, it represents only a small fraction of water resources, most of which is locked in ice caps and therefore inaccessible. It is also estimated that most groundwater is deep beneath the surface and therefore can be only extracted with great difficulty. As a result, most of the freshwater we depend on is either at the surface or just beneath it (a very small percentage of the water resources) Freshwater resources across the globe are unevenly distributed where some countries have access to far more freshwater than others. This is often a factor of geography and is a limiting factor in many parts of the world. In the developing world, a lack of freshwater resources means a lack of access to clean drinking water and is a challenge for millions of people. Wetlands play a key role in the water cycle and renewed access to it.
