Water Flashcards
All 32 cards in this deck
What is water deficit?
When water demand exceeds supply — not enough water to meet people's needs.
What is water insecurity?
Lack of water — no reliable, clean, accessible or affordable water supply.
What is water surplus?
When the supply of water is greater than the demand for it.
Give two reasons why global water consumption is rising.
Economic development (industry, higher living standards) and rising population.
How does economic development increase a country's water consumption?
Industrialisation and energy production use large amounts of water, and wealthier people buy appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers.
How does climate affect water availability?
Areas with low or seasonal rainfall and high temperatures (high evaporation) have less water available.
How does geology affect water availability?
Permeable rocks store groundwater in aquifers, while impermeable rocks mean water runs off and cannot be stored underground.
What is over-abstraction of water?
Taking water from rivers or aquifers faster than it can be replenished, lowering the water table.
How does limited infrastructure reduce water supply?
Lack of pipes means water doesn't reach people, poor-quality pipes let water become contaminated, and rapid urbanisation outpaces the supply and sewerage network.
True or false? Poverty can cause water insecurity even where rainfall is plentiful.
True. A low GNI means a country cannot fund water supply infrastructure, especially in remote rural areas.
Give two impacts of water insecurity.
Any two: disease (e.g. cholera), reduced food production, reduced industrial output, potential conflict over supply.
What is a waterborne disease?
A disease spread by drinking or using contaminated water, e.g. cholera or typhoid.
How does water insecurity reduce food production?
Without reliable water for irrigation, farmers struggle to grow crops, so yields fall and food prices rise.
Why can water insecurity lead to conflict?
Where countries share a river, one country extracting unfair amounts or damming it reduces supply downstream, causing disagreement.
Give one economic impact of water insecurity.
Water shortages cut industrial output, causing job losses, lower wages and slower economic development.
What is desalination?
Removing salt from seawater to produce fresh drinking water.
Give one disadvantage of desalination.
It is very expensive and energy intensive, usually relying on fossil fuels, so it is mainly restricted to wealthy nations.
How do dams and reservoirs increase water supply?
A dam traps river water in a reservoir, storing it so supply can be released steadily all year.
What is a water transfer scheme?
Moving water by pipeline or canal from an area of water surplus to an area of water deficit.
Give two advantages of a large-scale water transfer scheme.
Any two: more water for agriculture and industry, more domestic water, cleaner water with health benefits, employment opportunities.
Give two disadvantages of a large-scale water transfer scheme.
Any two: high construction costs, environmental damage such as habitat disturbance, conflict over water rights downstream, disruption of communities.
What is grey water?
Waste water from sinks, showers and washing machines that is re-used without treatment, e.g. for flushing toilets or watering gardens.
What is groundwater management?
Monitoring and controlling abstraction so groundwater is not taken faster than it is replenished, and limiting pollution of aquifers.
What is water conservation?
Reducing the amount of water used, e.g. by water-efficient appliances, metering, fixing leaks and water butts.
Why does recycling water make supplies more sustainable?
Treated waste water can be re-used for irrigation and industry, so less water needs to be extracted and less energy is used.
Give two benefits of a local sustainable water scheme in an LIC or NEE.
Any two: improved water supply and security, less time spent fetching water, less water lost to evaporation, better year-round access.
What makes a local water scheme in an LIC or NEE sustainable?
It uses appropriate technology that is low cost and easy to maintain, and is small scale so local people are involved and have a stake in it.
What is rainwater harvesting?
Collecting and storing rainwater during the rainy season, e.g. from roofs or in sand dams, for use in the dry season.
Which kinds of places are most likely to suffer water insecurity?
Places where rainfall is low or evaporation is high, and/or where a large, dense population needs water. Wet areas with few people tend to have a water surplus.
How does pollution of supply reduce water availability?
Rivers and groundwater contaminated by untreated sewage, industrial waste or farm chemicals are unsafe to use, so less clean water is available even where water itself is plentiful.
Give one disadvantage of building a dam and reservoir to increase water supply.
Any one: less water reaches people and farms further downstream; the reservoir floods farmland, habitats and villages, so people have to relocate; it is very costly to build.
Name the two main methods of desalination.
Distillation (heating seawater and condensing the fresh water vapour) and reverse osmosis (pushing seawater through a membrane that holds back the salt).