Volume 3 Issue 2
Water Systems
Water exists on Earth in 3 states - Liquid, solid, and gas. It is constantly changing between these 3 states.
About 70% of the planet is covered in water. Most of this is salt water.
Fresh water exists on the Earth’s surface, under its surface, and in its atmosphere
A watershed is an area of land in which all water present (lakes, rivers, wetlands, and underground sources) eventually drains in to one main large water body.
Salinity refers to how much salt is dissolved in water. Fresh water also contains dissolved salts, but in amounts of less than 1%
Oceans are massive bodies of water with an average depth of 3.2km. They are often called the planets reservoirs. Surface fresh water comes in the form of lakes, rivers, streams, ponds and wetlands.
Groundwater zone - an underground area where water fills all the air spaces in the solid and in tiny cracks in the rock.
Water table - The upper area of the ground water zone.
Aquifer - an underground freshwater reservoir
Rural homes dig wells down into aquifers.
A watershed is an area of land where all the water eventually drains into one main body.
Solid water - The freezing temp. for ocean water is -1.8C. All ocean ice becomes solid fresh water.
It is estimated that glaciers and ice sheets contain more than 40 million km³
A glacier is a mass of ice and overlying snow that moves slowly down a mountain slope under the influence of gravity.
An ice sheet is a particularly large glacier that covers that land. Only 2 of these exist on
Earth - Greenland and Antarctica
The term polar ice cap is sometimes used to refer to big ice masses at the poles. It has nothing to do with Tim Hortons.
The water cycle continues indefinately (never ending). Please study the illustration on page 285 of the water cycle. Notice the difference between last years water cycle and this year’s. Hopefully, you will notice that it includes groundwater aquifers.

Water has a higher heat capacity than land or air, As a result, it heats up more slowly than land or air does, but stays warm longer.
Oceans and large lakes have a moderating effect on that air temperature of coastal areas keeping these areas warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than inland areas.
The interaction of large water surfaces and the atmosphere above can produce several storms.
Heat capacity refers to the ability of a material to absorb heat.
A microclimate is an area with a small, localized climate variation that differs than the larger climate around it.
Because of the greater proportion of the water surface south of the equator, the moderating effect on that hemisphere’s climate in notably greater than the northern hemisphere.
Dramatic weather events can occur (such as hurricanes) when air moves across large bodies of water and picks up heat and moisture.
The global climate has undergone natural periods of cooling and warming since the
Earth formed.
When temperatures and precipitation amounts change significantly over time, glaciers, and ice sheets are affected, increasing, or decreasing in size.
Changes in the size of glaciers and ice sheets influence local and global weather patterns.
Glaciers frequently go through short periods of shrinking or growing. These changes are caused by normal seasonal variations in weather.
The greenhouse effect, which is the trapping of heat in the Earth’s atmosphere is causing a rise in the Earth’s temperature. This is causing many glaciers to shrink.
WHen a glacier melts it drains fresh water into streams, rivers and lakes. Eventually this water makes it’s way to the oceans. This causes a decrease in the overall salinity of the oceans.
When a glacier is completely gone, then the amount of water flowing into the aforementioned streams, lakes, and rivers, is only supplied by precipitation.
Natural occurrences such as flooding, drought, and earthquakes can cause changes in the height of the water table.
Overuse of wells has the potential to alter groundwater supplies permanently.
How much water we take from our environment and how we alter it before disposing of it can affect both the supply and the quality of water.

The term recharge is used to describe how a watershed refills the supply following rain, or the spring melt.
Natural occurrences, such as droughts or earthquakes, or human activities, such as over use of wells can lead to a decrease in the water table. Other phenomenon such as flooding can increase the water table.
Farming and other industries can have an effects on the quality of the water supply.
When a factory releases used water back into the environment it is called discharge .
Some major examples of this are crop irrigation, pulp and paper mills, mining and some types of power generation (nuclear).
Water quality can be affected by physical , biological , or chemical contaminants.
We obtain the water we need from underground and aboveground sources.
Water that is removed from our water systems must be treated and tested before it is safe to drink.
Contaminants are contents that are harmful to humans, other animals, and the environment. There are 3 different categories of contaminants:
Biological : visible (zebra mussels) and microscopic (bacteria and viruses)
Chemical : dissolved substances that come from natural processes (dissolving limestone) or human activities (dissolved road salt)
Physical : all materials that do not dissolve in water (such as animal waste or plant debris)
Before the water reaches our little fountains at TPS it goes through a water treatment process. PLEASE STUDY FIGURE 11.13 on page 320.
It is also regularly tested for quality. Testing facilities examine water from sites that receive processed water (schools, hospitals). They look for biological chemical contaminants as well as radioactive matter.
How we dispose of our waste water affects the quality of our water systems.
Protecting our water systems is important to maintaining safe drinking water sources.
Water that we have used (toilet, showers etc.) is emptied down our drains. However, we treat the water before it is released back into the environment so that we are not poisoning little bunnies and chipmunks. There are a few methods that we use to treat water.
Septic - Figure 11.16 page 325. A tank holds wastewater --> bacteria begin to break down the waste --> lighter materials such as kitchen grease float to the surface --> the

liquid layer in between flows into pipes that lead out from the tank. This water contains organic matter and nutrients such as nitrogen --> The pipes that lead away from the tank are perforated. This allows the water to slowly seep into the soil. Once the water is in the soil more bacteria break down any more waste --> The water eventually returns to the water supply.
Wetland technology - Water-loving plants in wetlands can filter and purify water. SOme communities use h uman designed “wetland technology” to filter water.
Waste water treatment plant - FIGURE 11.18 pg. 327 PLEASE STUDY THE STAGES
Because it casts money to filter our water, it is often a good idea to prevent the contamination of the water in the first place; that is the cheapest method. However, humans activities inevitably dump stuff into the water supply. Some examples are: Run off from city streets, oil spills, run off from farmland air pollution, warm water discharge from power stations.
The yellow fish round program is a program that reminds the public of the connection between our storm drains and our water systems. Look at the little yellow fish hanging in the science room.
Management of our wastewater is done at all levels of Canadian government - federal, provincial, territorial and municipal.
Canadians are large consumers of water, on average, compared to people in other developed countries
Actions taken today to conserve water will protect our future supply
Individual actions add up, so what you do matters.
Canadians consume, on average, 335L/day per person. We consume, on average, 6 times more than the average Canadian did 100 years ago!
There are advantages to conserving water:
it allows our treatment plants to work efficiently and allows our groundwater sources to recharge
It puts less demand on our water distribution and collection systems.
It saves money
Ways to reduce water consumption
Use water efficient machines and devices (laundry, dishwashing
Have consumers billed for the amount of water that they use instead of a flat rate of payment.
Offer rebates to people that upgrade their home to improve their water efficiency.

People hold differing opinions about how human activities affects water systems
Media such as newspapers, television, radio, and the Internet often present information about water issues from a biased viewpoint
Thinking critically about water issues is necessary if we are to make good decisions about managing our water systems
A bias is an obvious opinion about an issue
If facts are presented about an issue in a fair and unbiased way, we say that the speaker is being impartial .
Removing and selling water from freshwater systems has become the topic of a national and international debate.
Another issue is the world’s largest hydroelectric dam project. The Three Gorges Dam displaced 1.5 million people, but provides renewable energy to that region.
In Ontario the issue of development by housing and agriculture that has altered wetlands, is an ongoing debate between environmental groups and developers.
Using our water systems in a sustainable way will enable us to protect our natural ecosystems and protect the quality and supply of water for future generations.
Science and technology offer solutions to many water-related problems, but the impact of any innovation on local and global water systems must always be assessed.
The technique of using living organisms to clean up contamination in land and water is called bioremediation. This is used by the petroleum industry to clean up oil spills.
Desalination is the process of removing salt from from water. One method is called reverse osmosis. (Salt water is pushed through a fine membrane that salt cannot fit through. This ensures that only fresh water comes out the other side) BUT, the waste water from a desalination plant has such a high concentration of salt that it can be toxic to saltwater organisms. Also, the waste water may contain chemicals that are also toxic to marine life (water creatures).
So, we can fix the problem of the lack of fresh water in some areas, but the solution may have adverse effects on the environment....these factors must be addressed before going ahead and using these types of technology.