Name: _________________________( ) Class: ______ Date: _______________
Secondary 1 Geography - Chapter 3: Water and its spatial distribution
identify the physical states of water;
describe the distribution of various water stores using maps or schematic diagrams;
explain how the hydrological cycle ensures a continuous supply of water using schematic
diagrams; and
explain water balance using schematic diagrams.
Water exists in 3 different states - solid, liquid and gaseous
SOLID STATE LIQUID STATE GASEOUS STATE
E.g. ice, snow, hail E.g. water droplets E.g. water vapor
● Under cold temperatures, ● Water in its liquid state ● When water boils, we see a
water droplets can freeze appears as water droplets cloud of mist that is made up
into ice, which is water in and behaves as a liquid of water droplets.
its solid state. ● Under natural ● What we cannot see is
● Ice exists in different forms circumstances, water steam, which is made up of
naturally, such as snow, droplets fall from the water vapor.
glaciers and hail. atmosphere when it rains, ● Water vapor is water in its
and flows in rivers or gaseous state.
reservoirs. ● Since evaporation occurs all
the time and at any
temperature, water vapor is
always in the air around us.
WHAT ARE WATER STORES?
● Water on earth is found in water stores, which are places where water is contained in.
○ There are two types of stores, categorized as freshwater and saltwater stores.
■ Glaciers, rivers, lakes, groundwater and soils contain freshwater, which means that
they contain water with low amounts of salt that can be used more readily.
■ Oceans are saltwater stores, which means that the ocean water has too much salt to
be used directly.
● It is important to remember that water stores are not evenly distributed on the Earth’s surface.
○ However, water can move from one store to another. These movements are known as flows.
○ For example, glaciers may melt and flow into rivers, which eventually flow into oceans.
WHAT ARE OCEANS?
● Oceans are large masses of (salt) water that are connected to one another.
● There are five oceans in the world.
○ The largest ocean is the Pacific Ocean, which is surrounded by countries in Asia, Oceania
and the Americas.
○ The second largest ocean is the Atlantic Ocean, which separates countries in the Americas
from Europe and Africa.
○ The third largest ocean is the Indian Ocean, which is surrounded by countries in Asia, Africa
and Oceania.
WHAT ARE SEAS?
● A sea is an expanse of salt water found on the earth’s surface
○ Seas are smaller bodies of saltwater compared to oceans, usually located near landmasses
and partially enclosed by land
WHAT ARE GLACIERS?
● Glaciers are large masses of ice that rest on land and move slowly over land due to gravity acting
on their weight and mass
● As a large solid store of water, glaciers also move slowly because they are very heavy.
● They are found in places where it snows throughout the year so that enough snow accumulates and
hardens into ice, compacted over many years
● They may break off and fall into ocean, and when they do, they are called icebergs
WHAT ARE LAKES?
● Lakes are water bodies surrounded by land.
● Lakes may receive water from rain, snow or flows from rivers.
● They form because of depressions in the land that are gradually filled by water, receiving water from
rain, rivers, melting snow and ice.
WHAT ARE RIVERS?
● Rivers are natural wide flows of freshwater across the land that store water temporarily while
keeping it in motion, before the water flows into another water body.
● They are fed by precipitation, groundwater and tributaries, and flow within a fixed area called a
drainage basin / catchment area. Tributaries are smaller rivers that join up to a main river.
● Rivers generally flow downstream, from a point of higher elevation to a point of lower elevation.
○ Rivers begin at its source, which can be high in the mountains, a lake, a natural spring, or
where glaciers or ice caps melt.
○ The end of a river is known as the mouth of the river, which is often a sea, ocean or a lake.
○ For example, Kallang River starts from Lower Peirce Reservoir, and flows into the sea
through Marina Channel. Therefore, Lower Peirce Reservoir is the river source while Marina
Channel is the river mouth
WHAT IS GROUNDWATER?
● Groundwater refers to water that is stored underground, below the surface of the Earth, above the
impermeable layer of rock
● It is a region where soil/rock is permanently saturated by water, usually above the bedrock
● Water enters the ground through pores in the soil due to gravity.
○ Soil refers to the loose topmost layer of Earth’s surface where plants grow.
○ Soil is the uppermost layer of the earth’s surface, formed by the processes of weathering
and erosion, when rocks break down into smaller finer pieces. Soil composition depends on
the original material that is weathered down to become soil there
● When it rains, water passes through the soil through very small openings known as pores that hold
water in it. Water that is stored in the soil is known as soil moisture.
○ First, water first infiltrates into the ground
○ Second, water percolates downwards through the soil due to gravity
○ Note that some types of soil can hold a lot of water, while others only allow water to
percolate through its layers.
● Percolation is a process when water moves through the soil layer downwards until it reaches an
impermeable layer of rock
○ When it reaches the impermeable bedrock, water accumulates above it to form groundwater.
The water is held above the bedrock in soil pores.
● The water table is the level below the surface of the ground at which you start to find groundwater
● Countries like China and India use groundwater to grow crops, while countries like Indonesia and
Thailand use groundwater for household activities.
Secondary 1 Geography - Chapter 3: What Is the Hydrological Cycle?
What Is the Hydrological Cycle?
● The hydrological cycle is a sequence of processes that occur to ensure that water is naturally
replenished on the Earth.
● It is an endless process that flows and connects all the stores of water found on earth. Water is
circulated from store to store through flows.
1 The sun heats the earth surface and causes water in surface water stores such as lakes and seas to
evaporate into water vapour
● Plants release water vapour through the process of transpiration through the surfaces of its
leaves and stems
● The two processes here are known as evapotranspiration
2 As water vapour rises in the atmosphere, it will cool and condense to form small water droplets
The small water droplets form clouds, which accumulate in size as more water vapour rises in the
atmosphere
3 When the water droplets can no longer be held in the atmosphere, the droplets fall back to earth as
precipitation. Precipitation can be in the form of ice, rain or snow
4 As precipitation falls to the ground
● Some of the precipitation will infiltrate the ground
● The water will then percolate through the soil layers on the ground and become groundwater
● Groundwater may flow towards an ocean and feed a river
Note: Infiltration comes first, Percolation comes second
5 Sometimes, when rainfall occurs instead of reaching the ground, it is intercepted by trees
Due to interception, the flow of water is slowed down before it reaches the surface and enters the soil.
6 Not all rainfall infiltrates the ground!
The water that is not infiltrated into the ground will flow on the surface of earth as surface runoff
The surface runoff moves on the land towards surface water stores such as rivers and seas.
What Is the Water Budget?
● A water budget equation describes the flow of water in and out of a catchment area, and it tells us
how much water is available in an area.
○ Processes that increase the amount of water in a catchment are known as inputs.
■ Rain adds water to a catchment, so precipitation is an input.
○ Processes that decrease the amount of water in a catchment are known as outputs.
■ Surface runoff, evaporation and transpiration decrease the amount of water in a
catchment, so these processes are outputs.
● These processes can be represented in a water budget equation:
Net change in storage = precipitation - output (surface runoff, evaporation, transpiration)
● When input is more than output, more water is received than lost, and a catchment is likely to
have more than enough water available. This is known as water surplus.
● When output is more than input, more water is lost than received, and a catchment is likely to
have less water available than is enough. This is known as water deficit
● When input matches the output, there is no change in the amount of water available in the
catchment.
○ For a catchment to have enough water all the time, its inputs and outputs need to be
balanced.
● Since the amounts of inputs and outputs change throughout the year, the amount of water
stored within a catchment changes as well. This is known as net change.
Name: _________________________( ) Class: ______ Date: _______________
Secondary 1 Geography - Chapter 4: Sustainable Management of Water (Part 1)
In this chapter, we will learn to:
describe how the availability of water changes due to variations in precipitation;
describe how water supports river ecosystems;
describe how water is used by people;
explain how human actions have led to water pollution and its associated impact;
explain the strategies taken to sustainably manage water resources in Singapore and other
countries; and
evaluate the strategies taken to sustainably manage water resources in Singapore and other
countries.
How Do Variations in Precipitation Affect the Availability of Water?
● The amount of precipitation that an area receives will determine how much water is available!
● However, sometimes there is excessive loss of water, or excessive availability of water!
What are Floods?
A flood is an overflow of a large amount of water onto what is normally dry land.
● Flash floods are caused by exceptionally heavy rainfall over a short period of time.
○ These floods often occur in dry areas where there is not enough soil or vegetation to allow
rainwater to infiltrate the ground i.e. slower infiltration
○ Therefore, most of the rainwater that falls onto the ground becomes surface runoff
which quickly floods low-lying areas (Recall water flows from higher to lower elevations)
● River floods are typically caused by sustained heavy rainfall, or meltwater produced when snow
and ice start to melt in spring.
○ The large amounts of rainwater and meltwater enter streams and tributaries, which then flow
into larger rivers.
○ The water level in the rivers rises rapidly and it eventually overflows the river banks, flooding
the surrounding areas.
What are Droughts?
A drought is a prolonged period of little or no rainfall in a specific area.
● Droughts may last for months or even years, causing areas to become drier than normal.
● There may not be enough water available to replenish the amount used for human activities or
lost through evaporation and transpiration.
○ As a result, water stores such as reservoirs and groundwater will start to dry up.
How Does Water Support River Ecosystems?
● Precipitation provides a regular supply of water to rivers so that organisms can live in it.
○ In other words, water supports the river ecosystem, which refers to the community of
plants and animals found in rivers that interact with one another.
● A food chain shows the relationships among organisms as energy is transferred through food,
when predators gain the energy they need to survive by eating their prey.
○ At the bottom of the food chain are microscopic aquatic plants known as phytoplankton
which are food producers that can obtain energy from sunlight through photosynthesis and
release oxygen into the water.
○ Zooplankton, or small microscopic aquatic organisms feed on phytoplankton.
○ Insects then feed on zooplankton and in turn, the insects are eaten by fish.
○ Humans are at the top of the food chain!
How Do People Use Water?
● People use water for domestic, recreational, agricultural, and industrial purposes
(1) Domestic use of water
● Using water for household activities is known as domestic use of water.
● In Singapore, water used in the shower, in the kitchen and for flushing, account for the highest
percentages of water used domestically.
○ In 2017, each Singaporean consumed an average of 143 liters of water per day for domestic
activities. PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, hopes to lower this amount to 130 liters
of water per day by 2030.
(2) Recreational use of water
● Water also enables people to carry out certain recreational activities.
● Water is required for certain sports such as canoeing, sailing and sport fishing, which are all
highly dependent on water conditions, water availability as well as water quality.
(3) Agricultural use of water
● Agriculture accounts for the largest use of water worldwide.
● Water is used to grow crops and rear animals for human consumption.
● Different animal and plant products require different amounts of water.
● For example, among plant products, the production of nuts requires more water than the production
of vegetables or fruits.
● Among animal products, the production of beef requires a much higher amount of water compared
to the production of chicken and pork.
(4) Industrial use of water
● Many industries require water to function, because it is used to cool equipment in factories and
power plants because they generate a lot of heat when they operate i.e. it is an industrial coolant
● Water is also used to generate electricity when it passes through turbines installed in dams.
● Water is also used as a cleaning agent in wafer fabrication, which is the process of creating
components for the electrical circuitry found in computers and mobile phones.
Name: _________________________( ) Class: ______ Date: _______________
Secondary 1 Geography - Chapter 4: Sustainable Management of Water (Part 2)
What is water pollution? When does water pollution occur?
Water pollution occurs when harmful substances enter water bodies and cause water quality to decline.
● Consequently, the amount of water that is clean enough to be used is thus reduced.
● One third of rivers in Africa and Asia are already affected by water pollution, even though they are a
source of water for millions of people.
How Do Human Actions Lead to Water Pollution and Its Associated Impact?
● Human activities often cause water pollution for various reasons.
○ Some people may conveniently throw rubbish into drains, and factories may release toxic
chemicals in the sea to save costs.
○ Some countries may not have proper systems to treat wastewater, while others may have
accumulated so much waste that their landfills have started to leak.
Water pollution poses a direct threat to aquatic ecosystems
● Pollutants like pesticides and lead kill plants and poison animals that feed on them, and may flow
into water bodies to damage water quality, and affect the organisms living in water.
● Excess fertilizers from farms that get washed into rivers by rain, and in turn provide additional
nutrients that cause algae to grow rapidly in water bodies such as rivers and lakes (eutrophication).
○ When the algae eventually die, they are decomposed by bacteria, which take in oxygen
during the process.
○ As a result, less oxygen remains in the water, causing fish and other aquatic animals to die.
Case Study: The Rhine River
The Rhine is the most important river in Western Europe. It originates in Switzerland and flows through
Germany, France and the Netherlands before entering the North Sea.
● The river had been seriously polluted since the 1950s.
● A toxic chemical spill in 1986 worsened the situation, when large amounts of pesticides were
released into the river. Many fish died and some species went extinct.
● After this disaster, the governments of Switzerland, Germany and France decided to work
together to manage pollution in the Rhine.
● Monitoring stations were installed along the river, enabling water quality to be measured
continuously every six minutes.
● Industries found responsible for polluting the river were also fined.
● Since then, water quality in the Rhine has seen significant improvement.
How Can Water Be Managed Sustainably?
Given the limited amount of clean freshwater available on the earth, countries around the world have
attempted to manage their water resources by:
1. improving water quality
2. reducing water consumption
3. improving water technologies
4. importing water
These management strategies help to ensure that there is an adequate supply of water for human activities
in both the short term as well as in the long term.
Name: _________________________( ) Class: ______ Date: _______________
Secondary 1 Geography - Chapter 4: Sustainable Management of Water (Part 3)
HOW DO COUNTRIES IMPROVE WATER QUALITY?
● Water quality is determined by considering factors (variables) like temperature, amount of
dissolved oxygen, turbidity and pH.
○ These factors affect how well aquatic plants can grow, as well as the range of aquatic
animals that can survive.
○ Countries often implement laws to maintain or improve water quality.
■ E.g. Under Singapore’s Environmental Protection and Management (Trade Effluent)
Regulations, industries are not allowed to release wastewater into water bodies
without permission from the National Environment Agency (NEA).
■ E.g. China has aimed to clean up polluted rivers so that more clean water is available
for agriculture and industry.
● In January 2018, the government implemented a revised version of the Water
Pollution Prevention and Control Law.
● Officials who achieve the clean water standards are rewarded, while those
who do not meet the standards face fines and loss of promotion opportunities.
● The new law also requires cities with only one water source to set up
emergency and back-up water resources
HOW DO COUNTRIES REDUCE WATER CONSUMPTION?
Generally, water consumption tends to increase as a country’s population grows, since more water is
needed to grow food and manufacture goods for people.
● Although water is a renewable resource, it can run out if it is used faster than it can be
replenished naturally. Hence, countries try to reduce water consumption by encouraging people to
conserve water.
○ E.g. Since 2007, Singapore’s PUB has presented Watermark Awards to organizations
which have introduced water conservation strategies.
■ Some of these strategies include placing message cards to encourage hotel guests
to reuse towels instead of sending them to the laundry every day, as well as getting
students to track their household water bills.
■ PUB also encourages people to save water through social media platforms.
○ E.g. South Africa is a popular tourist destination known for its safaris and scenic
landscapes. However, the country’s dry climate makes it prone to droughts. This has led
businesses to introduce new practices to reduce water consumption while still
continuing to attract tourists to the country.
■ From 2018 to 2019, South Africa experienced a drought. During the drought, some
restaurants started harvesting water from their air-conditioning units to mop the floor,
while certain hotels reused wastewater from showers and basins to flush toilets.
■ Golf clubs were encouraged to grow native plants and harvest water for irrigation.
■ A tourism marketing campaign with the hashtag #WaterWiseTourism was even
launched to raise awareness of the need to conserve water among tourists and
businesses.
HOW DO COUNTRIES IMPROVE WATER TECHNOLOGIES?
All countries are increasingly using technology to develop new ways of generating and conserving water.
● E.g. Singapore is an island surrounded by the sea, but seawater cannot be used directly because of
its high salt content.
○ However, Singapore is able to convert seawater to fresh water for use through desalination.
○ Desalination is a process that involves lowering the salt content of seawater to a level
that is acceptable for use by industries and households.
■ Improvements in desalination technology allows desalination to take place quickly
and on a large scale. As of 2020, Singapore already has five desalination plants.
■ The Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant is one of the world’s first large-scale
desalination plants that can treat both seawater and fresh water in one place.
○ Desalination is projected to meet up to 30% of Singapore’s water demand by 2060.
Case Study: Kern County, USA
● The USA is one of the top oil-producing countries in the world today. Kern County, located in the
southwestern part of the USA, produces thousands of barrels of oil every day.
○ But to produce a single barrel of oil, nearly 400 liters of wastewater is generated.
○ Kern County has to spend millions of dollars to treat such wastewater before it is
discharged.
● Fortunately, the county is experimenting with the use of artificial intelligence to treat wastewater.
○ A machine first analyzes how polluted the wastewater is, and then suggests the most
effective method to treat it.
○ With this technology, oil producers can recycle up to 1.6 million liters of water per day
while reducing costs.
HOW DO COUNTRIES IMPORT WATER?
● In regions where water is relatively scarce and difficult to obtain, countries are likely to prioritize
the protection of their existing water resources.
● As such, sometimes, conflicts between countries may arise over the sharing of water resources.
● However, countries which have relatively abundant water resources may allow their neighbors to
import water from them.
○ E.g. Two agreements on Singapore’s import of water from Malaysia remain.
■ These agreements will expire in 2061.
■ By then, Singapore aims to rely on other management strategies to ensure that it can
produce enough water on its own to meet its people’s needs.
Singapore’s Water Agreements with Malaysia
1961 agreement 1962 agreement 1990 agreement
• Singapore paid an annual rent of 5 • Expires in 2061 • Expires in 2061
ringgit per acre and 3 sen per 1,000 • Singapore can draw 250 million • Singapore can draw 250 million
gallons of raw water drawn. gallons of water from the Johor River gallons of water from the Johor River
• Singapore provided Johor with every day. every day.
treated water every day, up to 12% • Singapore pays rent at a standard • Singapore pays rent at a standard
of raw water drawn. rate and 3 sen per 1,000 gallons of rate and 3 sen per 1,000 gallons of
• Singapore charged Johor 50 cents raw water drawn. raw water drawn.
per 1,000 gallons of treated water. • Singapore provides Johor with • Singapore provides Johor with
treated water every day, up to 2% of treated water every day, up to 2% of
raw water drawn. raw water drawn.
• Singapore charges Johor 50 cents • Singapore will continue to draw
per 1,000 gallons of treated water. water from the Johor River.
○ E.g. Kuwait is another country that also imports water due to its dry climate with low
rainfall
■ In 2017, a contract was signed between Serbia and Kuwait for Kuwait to receive
three million liters of water, because its groundwater had run dry since the 1970s.
■ On the other hand, Serbia has about 300 mineral springs and 25 factories for
water processing, allowing it to deliver quality mineral water to Kuwait.
