GEOG 1070 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Nonpoint Source Pollution, Clean Water Act, Waterborne Diseases
30 Jul 2016
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Water used for food production, industry, transportation, domestic use. Water falls, flows over land (runoff), picks up sediments. Or, water falls, soaks into soil (infiltrate), and taken up by plants, or evaporate from the soil. In or to become groundwater, must soak in and stay in. Agricultural irrigation (uses 70% of water); extracts groundwater or diverts surface water. Industrial use (20% of water); diverted from groundwater; most returned to water, but has thermal and chemical pollution. Domestic use (10% of water: non-consumptive uses. Returns to the water system, but may be degraded. Problems with water use: human actions that impact water supply: Dam construction-traps water, controls flooding, generates electricity, diverts water for ag, outdoor recreation; causes loss of water downstream. Land cover change-removal of vegetation, increased runoff, so less water infiltrates to groundwater. Overdrawing groundwater-recharge rates are low, so not replaced; aquifers are drying, causing ag shortage. All these causing sinking land-removal of water below causes land to sink.
