1. Can we actually ‘control’ water??

2. Flood Control 1) Limit development- Just don’t live in a flood plain (Los Corales & Mississippi River) 2) Artificial Levees- Mounds of dirt to divert flow of water (California, New Orleans) 3) Dams- Dirt, Metal, or Concrete structures that block water flow

3. Dam it Up!! Dams in NC have three main uses: -Flood control (lake level can vary widely) Managed by Army Corps of Engineers -Power production (fairly consistent lake level) Managed by private electricity companies Water supply/storage (municipal water use) Becoming more important due to population growth Recreation???? Added benefit

4. Flood Control Two main types of floods Flash flood- fast moving, mostly destructive Seasonal- slow moving, can be destructive Also beneficial by deposition of fertile soils WaterWatch -Does Providence High need flood control??

5. Use it up… Freshwater sources: 1) Surface water: Lakes and rivers 2) ground water: Wells Water table: level at which underground rock layers are holding water goes down with well usage in cone of depression Subsidence-land sinks as water table is pumped out and soil layers are compressed

6. Ground water -Unconfined aquifer- no barriers between soil layer and the ground -Confined aquifer- sandwiched between two impermeable layers like clay or shale Polluted by chemical spills, landfill leaking, and Salt-water intrusion: as aquifers along coast are drawn down saltwater flows into the gaps (taste of water??)