My task for this project is to research water uses, while Lauren and Gabe research other issues that pertain to water in the environment. Here are some of the new information I have learned.
- Throughout history cities have been built around bodies of water; they are a way of transporting goods.
- "Irrigation consumes a significant portion of both surface and underground water supplies"(The Environmental Literacy Council, 2002).
- Another important uses of water are agricultural uses, household and personal uses, energy sources,
- "The municipal sector is the only segment in which water consumption continues to rise in the United States, tripling between 1950 and 2000. Both surface and ground water is used to supply drinking water, with ground water being an extremely important source for those that do not have access through public supplies (i.e., self-supply sourcing via wells, etc). Water is also drawn for other community uses, including firefighting, public buildings, and area parks, pools, and gardens." (The Environmental Literacy Council, 2002).
Domestic Uses:
This includes everything you do in your household that has water involved. From drinking the tap water, to giving your pets a bath.
"Water generally gets to our homes in one of two ways. Either it is delivered by a city/county water department (or maybe from a private company), or people supply their own water, normally from a well." (USGS Domestic Water Use, 2000).
Water is used for several purposes and is one of the most valuable natural resources.
ReplyDelete1. Household purposes; from brushing your teeth, to flushing the toilet, water is involved. Americans use on average over 100 gallons of water per day. - "The municipal (city/household) sector is the only segment in which water consumption continues to rise in the United States, tripling between 1950 and 2000. Both surface and ground water is used to supply drinking water, with ground water being an extremely important source for those that do not have access through public supplies (i.e., self-supply sourcing via wells, etc). Water is also drawn for other community uses, including firefighting, public buildings, and area parks, pools, and gardens." (The Environmental Literacy Council, 2002). For the most part water gets to our homes in generally two ways, its either “delivered by a city/county water department or people supply their own water, normally through a well” (USGS Domestic Water Use, 2000). The distribution of the water from the city is known as public-supple water use. 13% of total fresh water gets withdrawn by the city, and is transferred to homes and business. (USGS, Water Science for Schools) http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/wups.html
From this 13% of water that enters our home, or industrys use the water, 90% of this water is returned to the environment. (USGS, Water Science for kids. Irrigation water use)
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2. Irrigation usage: A large percent of total water usage is put into irrigation to help grow our food. Both surface and ground water is used for irrigation, which help the farmers supply the plants the water they need for nutrients in order to keep up with the demand for food. “Almost 60 percent of all the world's freshwater withdrawals go towards irrigation uses” (USGS, water science for school). http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/wuir.html Of this 60%, about half of the water is reusable. The other half is “lost by evaporation, and transpiration” (USGS, Irrigation of water).
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3.Water is also used as an energy source, known as Hydropower. Hydropower is a renewable energy source that accounts for “7% of total U.S. electricity generation and 35% of generation from renewable in 2009” (U.S Energy Information Administration). http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=hydropower_home-basics
4.Water is also used for other things such as: feeding livestock, mining, and wastewater treatment. However, the water used for activities such as these is at a much smaller percentage than the top 3 uses.