WATER
Project
Objectives
We have a CHALLENGE:
Water in necessary quantity and
quality .
Strenghten habits of citizens.
Use water wisely.
At the moment...
In the world more than 1
milliard people lack access
to clean water and over 1,7
milliard lack access to network
for wastewater.
UNESCO warns
that in 15 or 20
years, lack of
water will be the
main ecological
and political
problem of
humanity
Ecological value
Water is essential to the all biological processes.
Ecological value
Desert of
Sonora
(México)
Tropical
rainforest
Desert of
Sahara
Ecological value
SOLID
GAS
LIQUID
Ecological value
The origin of life and water as its supporter
The first living being appeared in the
primeval ocean hundreds of millions of years
ago.
From it came the first
stem cell that gave life to
all living beings that
populate the planet today.
Ecological value
Home for many creatures
Ocean, rivers and lakes, their natural environment.
Condition for life of animals and plant species.
Food chains in the aquatic environment.
Ecological value
Fundamental component of the body of living
beings.
Water is the main and indispensable component of
the human body.
We need about 2 liters of water
per day to function normally.
Ecological value
•Fundamental component
of the body of living
beings.
•Forms the aqueous
environment where all the
metabolic processes that
take place in our body
develops.
Ecological value
Solar
energy
and water
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
CO2+ H2O + solar energy
Basic
components
of plant
tissues
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
A single large tree can evaporate around 250 l of
water at the
atmosphere every day.
Ecological value
Water and food
DRINKS:
Over 60% of the liquid we consume.
The REST comes from food.
Vegetables and fruit provide 20% of daily water.
10% comes from dairy products.
8% of carbohydrates (bread and cereals).
The remaining 2% of meat, fish, eggs, etc..
Water distribution on Earth
The majority of
the water is
liquid and in
the oceans.
Only 0.26% is
fresh water
available for
human
consumption.
Ecological value
URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND POLLUTION
CONSEQUENCES
PREVENTION
Water demand.
Presion on aquatic recourses.
Public Health problems.
Reduce consumption and
minimize pollution.
Ecological value
GLOBAL WARMING
Loss of water resources.
Reduction of rainfall.
Degradation of species and ecosystems.
Solutions
Avoid intervention of human in the
water cycle.
Ecological value
WATER CYCLE
The water is not created nor destroyed
The water we
use today is
the same what
was used
millions of
years ago.
The human activity is seriously altering
this cycle!
Saving and sustainable use of water
If we take a shower
instead of bath
We save 150 l
every time
Saving and sustainable use of water
Where can we save water?
Kitchen
Taps
Toilets
Electrical appliances
Our daily habits
Shower
Desing of our houses
Gardens and
plants
Saving and sustainable use of water
• Washing fruits and vegetables in a bowl save 10 liters of
water.
• If you wash dishes by hand, do not do it with the tap
running
• Use dishwasher just fully charged. The same goes for
the washing machine.
• Sprays to put on top of the tap saves a lot of water.
Saving and sustainable use of water
• If we properly adjust spirnklers and concentrate water
on the green areas.
• If we use native plants that need little water.
• If we try to water early in the morning or at dusk. When
watered in the hours of sunshine, 30% of the water
evaporates.
• We can fill buckets with cold water while waiting for the
hot water to come out of the shower and use it.
Saving and sustainable use of water
• If you defrost food at room temperature, never under the tap. Save
15 liters.
• We should avoid harsh cleaning products..
• If we're flushing the toilet only when necessary, we save thee 6 - 8
liters of water in the tank.
• When you have left-over oil (from frying, cans of tuna, etc.) . we
should not pour it down neither the sink nor toilet.
• Greeen points
Diagnosis of the Ecological State of a
river’s section
SAMPLING
• Observe and describe the river.
• Study of pressures:
• Human activities that alter the structure and functioning
of water masses.
– Organized on not organized dumps, agriculture, farming..
– Airports, roads, urban areas, mining areas, recreational areas.
– Hydroelectric plant, water harvesting, diversion canals, dam,
margin covering.
– Dredging of the channel, Changes on the riverbank, power lines,
etc ....
SAMPLING
• Physicochemical parameters of water.
• Obtaining water samples
– Turbidity
– Temperature.
– Dissolved oxygen: allows the respiration of living
organisms (fish, plants, invertebrates and aerobic
bacteria), and the decomposition of organic matter
when died (oxidizing capacity of oxygen, bacteria and
fungi that need oxygen to degrade the organic
matter.)
SAMPLING
– Level of oxygen saturation :
below 40% - the river
is in poor condition, above 110% (over-saturation) reflects an
excessive growth of algae (eutrophication).
Temperature
ºC
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
28
30
Oxygen saturation
0 PPM
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4 PPM
29
31
32
34
35
37
39
41
42
44
48
48
49
51
53
8PPM
58
61
64
68
71
74
78
81
84
88
92
95
99
102
106
SAMPLING
-pH
pH between 6.0 and 8.0 :Most aquatic plants and animals.
If the pH of the water is out of the limits to which living things are
adapted, they may die, stop breeding or migrate.
An acidic pH can also cause the toxic compounds to be more
harmful
Results
Less than 5.5-very acidic, life almost impossible
5.5-5.9-Fair
6.0-6.4-Good
6.5-7.5-Excellent
8.1-8.5-Fair
More than 8.6-very alkali, life almost impossible.
SAMPLING
-Nitrates
NO3-, Toxic Waste.
It is a nutrient for plants and can cause excessive growth of
phytoplankton.
It is very toxic to humans.
Results
No pollution-4ppm or less
Not drinkable – more than 40ppm
SAMPLING
- Hardness
Quantity of calcium (important for forming the cell walls of plants) and
magnesium (an essential nutrient for aquatic life and component of
chlorophyll). Their presence is often natural and come from the river
bed and surrounding materials.
Results
Soft Water 0-75
Water moderately hard 75-150
Hard Water 150-300
Very hard water> 300
SAMPLING
- Biological indicators
Study of aquatic macroinvertebrates
Inform us on quality of water.
By:
- Different tolerance to pollution levels.
- Living in the area before a contamination case, but not after.
- Their life span is approximately one year.
SAMPLING
Study of aquatic macroinvertebrates
•Select a sampling area.
•Look at the surface.
•Collect the samples.
•Separation of macroinvertebrates.
•Identify species using the key.
•Calculation of the index.
SAMPLING
Presence and punctuation
Individuals
Mayflies
Stoneflies
Caddisfly larvas
Dragonflies,
damselflies
Whirligig
Beetle,
distichous
Flies,
Mosquitos,
Chironomidae
Water
scorpions,
backswimmers,
pond skaters
Leeches
Water worms
Prawns, Crayfish
Snails, clams
Final score:
Taxon
Ephemeroptera
Plecoptera
Trichoptera
Odonata
Score
8
10
8
8
Coleoptera
4
Diptera
2
Heteroptera
5
Hirudin
Oligochaeta
Crustaceans
Molluscs
4
2
5
5
M1
M2
M3
M4
M5
M6
SAMPLING
Evaluation of water quality by aquatic
macroinvertebrates index
Final score
More than 50
31-50
16-30
6-15
Less than 6
Water quality
Very good
Good
Moderate
Low
Bad
SAMPLING
STUDY OF VEGETATION IN RIVER BANK
1 River ecosystem.
2 Functions of the vegetation on the rocks, their
function.
3 Identification of species: (native trees, native bushes,
native aquatic plants, alien species).
4 Structure of the river bank (Calculation of index and
final evaluation).
SAMPLING
Composition and structure
CONTINUATION IN
LENGHTH AND
WIDTH
Optimal
In >75% of the lenght of the
bank there are trees or tree-like
vegetation. Good width, all the
layers of vegetation connected.
Good
In 50 - 75 % of the lenght of
the bank there are trees or treelike vegetation. Good width, at
least two layers of vegetation.
Regular
In 25 - 50% of the lenght of the
bank there are vegetationof
trees or bushes. Width modest,
at least one layer or vegetation.
Bad
In <25% of the lenght of the
bank there are vegetation of
trees or bushes. Just acuatic
vegetation or trees isolated by
brambles or grass.
Optimal
More thn 2.5m high
forest, native
species and
undergrowth with
hardly any brambles
Good
More than 2,5 m
high forest, some
alien species,
undergrowth with
<30% of brambles.
Average
Woodland or bushes,
several alien species,,
more than 30%
brambles or grass
Bad
Dominating
vegetation- bushes or
brambles. Productive
plantations of alien
species.
8
7
6
4
7
6
5
3
6
5
4
2
4
3
2
1
SAMPLING
Performance: natural regeneration
Points are added
to the previous
value
Final ranking
Optimal
Good
There are spots There are spots
with young
with young
plants of trees
plants of trees
and bushes
and bushes,
natural
regeneration
slghtly
endangared by
grazing.
2
1
Regular
Bad
Low proportion
of young
individual,
threatened by
grazing.
No natural
regeneration or
it is severely
affected by
grazing
0.5
0
SAMPLING
State of banks vegetation
Optimal
Good
Regular
Bad
More than 8 points
More than 6 points to 8
including
More than 4 points to 6
including
Less than 4 points
Final calculation (example)
Structure of vegetation
Naturale regeneration
Toral score
State of banks vegetation
6
1
7
Good
FIN