Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially
useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water
supply or irrigation water. These resources can be
either freshwater from natural sources, or water produced artificially
from other sources, such as from reclaimed water (wastewater)
or desalinated water (seawater). 97% of the water on Earth is salt
water and only three percent is fresh water; slightly over two-thirds of
this is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps.[2] The remaining unfrozen
freshwater is found mainly as groundwater, with only a small fraction
present above ground or in the air.[3] Natural sources of fresh
water include surface water, under river flow, groundwater and frozen
water. People use water resources
for agricultural, industrial and household activities.
Water resources are under threat from multiple issues. There is water
scarcity, water pollution, water conflict and climate change. Fresh
water is in principle a renewable resource. However, the world's
supply of groundwater is steadily decreasing. Groundwater depletion
(or overdrafting) is occurring for example in Asia, South America and
North America.
Natural sources of fresh water
Further information: Water distribution on Earth
Natural sources of fresh water include surface water, under river
flow, groundwater and frozen water.
Surface water
Main article: Surface water
Lake Chungará and Parinacota volcano in northern Chile
Surface water is water in a river, lake or fresh water wetland. Surface
water is naturally replenished by precipitation and naturally lost
through discharge to
the oceans, evaporation, evapotranspiration and groundwater
recharge. The only natural input to any surface water system is
precipitation within its watershed. The total quantity of water in that
system at any given time is also dependent on many other factors.
These factors include storage capacity in lakes, wetlands and
artificial reservoirs, the permeability of the soil beneath these storage
bodies, the runoff characteristics of the land in the watershed, the
timing of the precipitation and local evaporation rates. All of these
factors also affect the proportions of water loss.
Humans often increase storage capacity by constructing reservoirs
and decrease it by draining wetlands. Humans often increase runoff
quantities and velocities by paving areas and channelizing the stream
flow.
Natural surface water can be augmented by importing surface water
from another watershed through a canal or pipeline.
Brazil is estimated to have the largest supply of fresh water in the
world, followed by Russia and Canada.[4]
Panorama of a natural wetland (Sinclair Wetlands, New Zealand)
Water from glaciers
Glacier runoff is considered to be surface water. The Himalayas,
which are often called "The Roof of the World", contain some of the
most extensive and rough high altitude areas on Earth as well as the
greatest area of glaciers and permafrost outside of the poles. Ten of
Asia's largest rivers flow from there, and more than a billion people's
livelihoods depend on them. To complicate matters, temperatures
there are rising more rapidly than the global average. In Nepal, the
temperature has risen by 0.6 degrees Celsius over the last decade,
whereas globally, the Earth has warmed approximately 0.7 degrees
Celsius over the last hundred years.[5]
Groundwater
Relative groundwater travel times in the subsurface
This section is an excerpt from Groundwater.[edit]
Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock
and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30
percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is
groundwater.[6] A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called
an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at
which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock become
completely saturated with water is called the water table. Groundwater
is recharged from the surface; it may discharge from the surface
naturally at springs and seeps, and can form oases or wetlands.
Groundwater is also often withdrawn for agricultural, municipal, and
industrial use by constructing and operating extraction wells. The
study of the distribution and movement of groundwater
is hydrogeology, also called groundwater hydrology.
Typically, groundwater is thought of as water flowing through shallow
aquifers, but, in the technical sense, it can also contain soil
moisture, permafrost (frozen soil), immobile water in very low
permeability bedrock, and deep geothermal or oil formation water.
Groundwater is hypothesized to provide lubrication that can possibly
influence the movement of faults. It is likely that much of Earth's
subsurface contains some water, which may be mixed with other fluids
in some instances.
Under river flow
Throughout the course of a river, the total volume of water transported
downstream will often be a combination of the visible free water flow
together with a substantial contribution flowing through rocks and
sediments that underlie the river and its floodplain called the hyporheic
zone. For many rivers in large valleys, this unseen component of flow
may greatly exceed the visible flow. The hyporheic zone often forms a
dynamic interface between surface water and groundwater from
aquifers, exchanging flow between rivers and aquifers that may be
fully charged or depleted. This is especially significant in karst areas
where pot-holes and underground rivers are common.
Artificial sources of usable water
There are several artificial sources of fresh water. One is treated
wastewater (reclaimed water). Another is atmospheric water
generators.[7][8][9] Desalinated seawater is another important source. It
is important to consider the economic and environmental side effects
of these technologies.[10]
Wastewater reuse
This section is an excerpt from Reclaimed water.[edit]
Water reclamation is the process of converting municipal
wastewater or sewage and industrial wastewater into water that can
be reused for a variety of purposes . It is also called wastewater
reuse, water reuse or water recycling. There are many types of reuse.
It is possible to reuse water in this way in cities or for irrigation in
agriculture. Other types of reuse are environmental reuse, industrial
reuse, and reuse for drinking water, whether planned or not. Reuse
may include irrigation of gardens and agricultural fields or
replenishing surface water and groundwater. This latter is also known
as groundwater recharge. Reused water also serve various needs in
residences such as toilet flushing, businesses, and industry. It is
possible to treat wastewater to reach drinking water standards.
Injecting reclaimed water into the water supply distribution system is
known as direct potable reuse. Drinking reclaimed water is not
typical.[11] Reusing treated municipal wastewater for irrigation is a long-
established practice. This is especially so in arid countries. Reusing
wastewater as part of sustainable water management allows water to
remain an alternative water source for human activities. This can
reduce scarcity. It also eases pressures on groundwater and other
natural water bodies.[12]
There are several technologies used to treat wastewater for reuse. A
combination of these technologies can meet strict treatment standards
and make sure that the processed water is hygienically safe, meaning
free from pathogens. The following are some of the typical
technologies: Ozonation, ultrafiltration, aerobic treatment (membrane
bioreactor), forward osmosis, reverse osmosis, and advanced
oxidation,[13] or activated carbon.[14] Some water-demanding activities
do not require high grade water. In this case, wastewater can be
reused with little or no treatment.
Desalinated water
This section is an excerpt from Desalination.[edit]
Desalination is a process that removes mineral components
from saline water. More generally, desalination is the removal of salts
and minerals from a substance.[15] One example is soil desalination.
This is important for agriculture. It is possible to desalinate saltwater,
especially sea water, to produce water for human consumption or
irrigation. The by-product of the desalination process is brine.[16] Many
seagoing ships and submarines use desalination. Modern interest in
desalination mostly focuses on cost-effective provision of fresh
water for human use. Along with recycled wastewater, it is one of the
few water resources independent of rainfall.[17]
Due to its energy consumption, desalinating sea water is generally
more costly than fresh water from surface water or groundwater, water
recycling and water conservation; however, these alternatives are not
always available and depletion of reserves is a critical problem
worldwide.[18][19][20] Desalination processes are using either thermal
methods (in the case of distillation) or membrane-based methods (e.g.
in the case of reverse osmosis).[21][22]: 24
Research into other options
Schematic illustration of a proposed approach for capturing
moisture above the ocean surface and transporting it to proximal land for improving water security[23]
Researchers proposed air capture over oceans which would
"significantly increasing freshwater through the capture of humid
air over oceans" to address present and, especially, future water
scarcity/insecurity.[24][23]
A 2021 study proposed hypothetical portable solar-
powered atmospheric water harvesting devices. However, such off-
the-grid generation may sometimes "undermine efforts to
develop permanent piped infrastructure" among other problems.[25][26][27]
Water uses
Total renewable freshwater resources of the world, in mm/year (1
mm is equivalent to 1 L of water per m2) (long-term average for the years 1961–1990). Resolution is 0.5°
longitude x 0.5° latitude (equivalent to 55 km x 55 km at the equator). Computed by the global
freshwater model [Link] of water stress and spatial variability of water yield along the
delineated near-offshore region of 200 km across the world[23]
The total quantity of water available at any given time is an important
consideration. Some human water users have an intermittent need for
water. For example, many farms require large quantities of water in
the spring, and no water at all in the winter. Other users have a
continuous need for water, such as a power plant that requires water
for cooling. Over the long term the average rate of precipitation within
a watershed is the upper bound for average consumption of natural
surface water from that watershed.
Agriculture and other irrigation
Further information: Sustainable Water and Innovative Irrigation
Management
This section is an excerpt from Irrigation.[edit]
Irrigation of agricultural fields in Andalusia,
Spain. Irrigation canal on the left.
Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of
applying controlled amounts of water to land to help
grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key
aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been developed by
many cultures around the world. Irrigation helps to grow crops,
maintain landscapes, and revegetate disturbed soils in dry areas and
during times of below-average rainfall. In addition to these uses,
irrigation is also employed to protect crops
from frost,[28] suppress weed growth in grain fields, and prevent soil
consolidation. It is also used to cool livestock, reduce dust, dispose
of sewage, and support mining operations. Drainage, which involves
the removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given location, is
often studied in conjunction with irrigation.
There are several methods of irrigation that differ in how water is
supplied to plants. Surface irrigation, also known as gravity irrigation,
is the oldest form of irrigation and has been in use for thousands of
years. In sprinkler irrigation, water is piped to one or more central
locations within the field and distributed by overhead high-pressure
water devices. Micro-irrigation is a system that distributes water under
low pressure through a piped network and applies it as a small
discharge to each plant. Micro-irrigation uses less pressure and water
flow than sprinkler irrigation. Drip irrigation delivers water directly to
the root zone of plants. Subirrigation has been used in field crops in
areas with high water tables for many years. It involves artificially
raising the water table to moisten the soil below the root zone of
plants.
Irrigation water can come from groundwater (extracted from springs or
by using wells), from surface water (withdrawn
from rivers, lakes or reservoirs) or from non-conventional sources
like treated wastewater, desalinated water, drainage water, or fog
collection. Irrigation can be supplementary to rainfall, which is
common in many parts of the world as rainfed agriculture, or it can be
full irrigation, where crops rarely rely on any contribution from rainfall.
Full irrigation is less common and only occurs in arid landscapes with
very low rainfall or when crops are grown in semi-arid areas outside of
rainy seasons.
Industries
See also: Industrial water treatment and Industrial wastewater
treatment
It is estimated that 22% of worldwide water is used in industry.[29] Major
industrial users include hydroelectric dams, thermoelectric power
plants, which use water for cooling, ore and oil refineries, which use
water in chemical processes, and manufacturing plants, which use
water as a solvent. Water withdrawal can be very high for certain
industries, but consumption is generally much lower than that of
agriculture.
Water is used in renewable power generation. Hydroelectric
power derives energy from the force of water flowing downhill, driving
a turbine connected to a generator. This hydroelectricity is a low-cost,
non-polluting, renewable energy source. Significantly, hydroelectric
power can also be used for load following unlike most renewable
energy sources which are intermittent. Ultimately, the energy in a
hydroelectric power plant is supplied by the sun. Heat from the sun
evaporates water, which condenses as rain in higher altitudes and
flows downhill. Pumped-storage hydroelectric plants also exist, which
use grid electricity to pump water uphill when demand is low, and use
the stored water to produce electricity when demand is high.
Thermoelectric power plants using cooling towers have high
consumption, nearly equal to their withdrawal, as most of the
withdrawn water is evaporated as part of the cooling process. The
withdrawal, however, is lower than in once-through cooling systems.
Water is also used in many large scale industrial processes, such as
thermoelectric power production, oil refining, fertilizer production and
other chemical plant use, and natural gas extraction from shale rock.
Discharge of untreated water from industrial uses is pollution. Pollution
includes discharged solutes and increased water
