Water Resources

So… Water,Water,Water  Average family uses 329 liters/day  75 liters/day is lost due to dripping faucets  We rank 2 nd in the world for water consumption, behind the United States  In total Canadians use 180 billion litres of water a day

Where does water come from?  The water we drink everyday is accessed by using an aquifer  Run-off water  Groundwater  Hydrologic Cycle

Water Facts  Oceans cover 71% of Earth’s surface  Ocean’s contain 96.5% of Earth’s water  Almost 70% of the world’s fresh water is frozen in glaciers, permafrost, snow and ice  Lakes and rivers contain about.25% of the world’s fresh water

Water Facts  Canada has about percent of the world’s fresh water  30% of all fresh water is underground  At least 70% of the world’s fresh water is used for agriculture  Most of the water used for agriculture can not be used again

Hydrologic Cycle

An ideal water cycle:  Once rain falls on the earth it goes to one of four places:  Soaks into ground surfaces and becomes part of ground water, which feed streams and wetlands and supplies much of our drinking water  It remains in lakes or top soils and eventually evaporates  It is absorbed by vegetation and then transpires from the plant tissues  It forms streams and rovers that eventually empty to the sea That is an IDEAL water cycle, however there are interruptions….

Water Pollution  There are 3 main types of water pollution:  1.) Physical pollution-most obvious, forms of pollution in which we can see  Can you name some types?

2.) Biological Contamination  Refers to bacteria and viruses that enter lakes and rivers from various sources. The largest sources is from sewage from cities and towns.  Most sewage is treated, but in some cases raw sewage enters our lakes and rivers without treatment (20% of Canadian cities put their raw sewage into lakes and rivers without treatment)

Chemical Pollution  Most dangerous form. Chemical waste is often colorless odorless and tasteless in our water, so we may not even know that it is there.  Sources include: herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, human waste and animal manure.  They are washed from farmers fields into rivers and lakes and get into our food supply.  Ex. When consuming fish, we also consume chemicals. These chemicals build up in our systems over time and lead to disease.

“Save My Lake”  Video: reofthings/video.html?ID=  Preview: atureofthings/video.html?ID=

Assignment  For your next assignment you will be working with a partner on a presentation that will help promote awareness of either water pollution or water conservation.  You must keep track of your sources and document them in your presentation.

Assignment  Your finished product will be out of 30 marks distributed as follows:  Content /10  Organization /5  Presentation /10  Originality /5