WATER

RESOURCES
CHAPTER 1
Water In The World
Unit 1: Different forms of water in the world

Water as liquid:
• Water found in streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans

Water as solid:
• Ice is solid, eg. Hail frost, and snow.

Water as gas:
• The gas form of water is water vapour.
 Processes associated with water changing its
states

These processes are associated with water’s changing states:

• Increasing temperature causes ice to melt, when water
changes from ice to a liquid state.

• A further rise of temperature cause liquid water to change to

gas, in a process called evaporation

• A drop in temperature causes water vapour to change back

into liquid, in a process called condensation.

• Sublimation occurs when ice changes to water vapour.

Unit 2: The occurrence of salt and fresh
water
• Water covers 71% of the earth’s surface
• 97.5% of water is in the ocean
• 2% of water is ice
• Less than 1% is fresh water
• People, plants and animals need fresh
water to survive.
• Salt water makes water taste salty, people,
land plants and animals can not drink salt
water.
 Water in the atmosphere
• Water in the atmosphere can be seen
as rain, in a storm or in the form of
clouds.

• About 80% of water in the

atmosphere comes from evaporation
over the oceans.

• Through evaporation, the atmosphere

transports water from the land and the
oceans into the clouds, from where it
falls to earth as rain again.
Water on land
• Rain water soaks into the soil or flows over
the land.

Key words:
• Surface run-off – water which flows on top
of the land.
• Channel run-off – water that collects in
streams and rivers.
• Ground water – water that occurs under the
ground, in saturated rocks and sand
• Infiltrate – the seeping or slow penetration
of water into the soil and cracks in rocks
under the ground
Water in the oceans
• Most precipitations happens over oceans.
• Rivers and groundwater returns water into the
ocean.
Unit 3: The hydrological cycle
• Hydrological cycle – the continual recycling of water between
the atmosphere, the land and the oceans.
Processes that drives the hydrological cycle
The hydrological cycle is a system driven by the following
important processes:
• Evaporation – water is heated by the sun, some of the water
changes to water vapour.
• Transpiration – the process of absorption of water by plants,
its transfer through the plant and release into the atmosphere
through the plant’s leaves.
• Evapotranspiration – the combined processes of evaporation
and transpiration that transfers water from the land into the
atmosphere.
• Condensation – cooling turns water vapour back to water
droplets, for example in cloud formation.
• Precipitation – the falling to ground of water in its solid or
liquid states from the atmosphere.
Processes that take place on land
The following processes help move water over and
through the land:
• Surface flow – this includes surface run-off, and
channel run-off. Surface flow deliver water into
rivers and streams.
• Infiltration – when water is absorbed by the
earth’s surface and permeable rocks.
• Percolation - the process whereby water seeps
into the soil and loose rocks until it reaches solid
rocks.
• Impermeable – will not allow water to pass
through it.
Chapter 2: The Worlds Oceans
Oceans as sources of oxygen, food, and energy.

1) Oceans as a source of oxygen

• The ocean contains a lot of oxygen
• More than half of the oxygen on earth is produced by minute
plants in the oceans called phytoplankton

2) Oceans as a source of food

• 90% of plants and animal life is in the oceans
• Sea weed is also used by some people as food

3) Oceans as a source of energy

• There are oil and gas fields in many oceans
• Oceans can provide tidal energy and wave energy
Ocean circulation
• Ocean currents- are large-scale movements of water from
one part of an ocean to another.

• Two kinds of ocean currents:

Surface currents- are set in motion by wind. They are
affected by the rotation of earth.
Deep-water currents- occur below the surface. Cause by the
differences in temperature, and the salt content of water.

• Ocean currents help in distributing heat more evenly

throughout the world.
 Ocean currents
• Warm surface ocean currents
Warm surface currents flow from the
tropics to the higher latitudes.
They are caused by wind and earth’s
rotation.
The arm Agulhas current, moves on
the east coast of SA, moving warm
equatorial water southwards.
Cold surface ocean currents
• Cold surface ocean currents
come from polar and temperate
latitudes, and flow towards the
equator.
• The cold Benguela current, flows
on the west coast of SA, bringing
cool polar water.
• Ocean currents form circular
patterns called gyres.
• Gyres flow in a clockwise
direction in the northern
hemisphere, and anticlockwise
direction in the southern
hemisphere.
Importance of ocean currents for fishing
• More fish is found on cold ocean currents because it
contains more oxygen and nutrients.
• The nutrients support the growth of phytoplankton.
• Areas where arm and cold water meet (mixing zones) are
also rich in phytoplankton.
Importance of ocean currents for trade
• Ocean currents makes sailing ships possible.
• The Agulhas current flows at about 8km per hour, causing
ships it to save fuel and time
• Trading over the ocean cuts transportation costs.
 Importance of oceans for tourism
• Many people like to take their holidays in the warm places by
the sea.
• Areas that are washed by warm ocean currents are more
popular than areas with cold ocean currents.
• For example, KZN gets has many tourists than western cape.
Relationship between people and the ocean:
• People threaten the oceans through pollution, overfishing, and desalination

Pollution of the ocean

• Pollution on the ocean is a major environmental issue caused by human
activities.

Land based pollution

• Pollution from inland from untreated sewage, fertilizers and pesticides, oils
and chemicals are washed into rivers and are carried into the ocean.
Ship pollution
• Ships dump waste water, untreated sewage, rubbish, and
leak chemicals into the water.

Offshore mining
• Mines cause noise pollution and vibrations, and cause
plumes of sediments to spread and kill marine animals
Effects of ocean pollution
• Plastics in the oceans kills birds and many other sea
animals every year.
• Fish breeding grounds are destroyed, reducing fish
populations.
• Floating oil clogs the feathers of birds.
• Sewage pollutes beaches, threatening health and tourism.
Overfishing
• Overfishing occurs when people catch too many
fish and cause the fish population of the ocean to
decline

Causes of over-fishing:
• Modern fishing methods and fishing technology
• Too many people on earth
• There is a lack of international laws

Effects of overfishing:
• Reduces the amount of food available for people.
• Affects animals and plants that live in the sea
• Unemployment and Increased poverty
• Extinction of some fish species
Desalination
• Desalination is the process of turning salty water into fresh
water.

Advantages of desalination
• Because of the limited amount of fresh water desalination is a
valuable alternative to obtain fresh water.

Disadvantages of desalination
• I takes a lot of energy to heat up to complete the desalination
process.
• Salt that is removed from water is returned to the ocean,
forming a strong salt solution which affects marine life, and
reduce oxygen levels in the ocean.
• Desalination technology is expensive.
Strategies to manage the world’s oceans
• Countries must apply management laws to their coastal
waters
• Have size restrictions to stop fishing companies from
catching small fish that hasn’t developed
• Have restrictions on the amount of fish that can be caught
in a year
• Have no tae zones where fishing is not allowed until their
number increase
• Have an endangered list for certain fish species
• have an international standard for mesh sizes of nets
• Establish conservation areas.
• Practice aquaculture
Water management in South Africa
• South Africa is a dry country which depends on its rivers,
lakes and dams for the needs on its growing population
and industries.
• South Africa’s water resources are limited and may
decrease in future, but its population and the demand for
water is increasing
• There are schemes by which poorer people receive a
basic amount of water free of charge
Factors influencing the availability of water in
South Africa
Human factors:
Population growth
Increased demand for food
Urbanisation
Untreated waste water
Mining and factories
Pollution of water sources
Agriculture
Physical factors
• Rainfall distribution
• Alien vegetation
• Climate change
Challenges of providing free basic water
1. Free basic water
• The Free Basic Water Policy was introduced in 1999 to guarantee free water for
all the people of South Africa.
• Basic water is 25L per person per day.

2. Challenges of providing water to people in rural areas

• People are spread out across the country
• Lack of water services in rural areas
• Distance between water supply centers and water demand centers are often
great.
• Water provision takes time and costs money

3. Challenges to providing water to people in urban areas

• Increase in urban population
• Growing number of people living in informal settlements
• Old infrastructure, including pipes, dams, and purification works
• Shortage of skilled water engineers and systems managers.
• Lack of payment for water services by users
Role of government and other water providers
1. inter-basin water transfers
• Inter-basin water
transfer- moving water
from one drainage
basin to another
• Because of the uneven
distribution off rainfall
in South Africa, water
has to be transferred
from areas with
enough water to the
dry areas in South
Africa.
2. Building dams
• South Africa relies on the system of dams to supply water
• Water is obtained from neighboring countries, notably Lesotho

Positive effects of dams

• Dams control and regulate the flow of water, preventing floods
• Dams store water
• Ensures that seasonal rivers flow throughout the year.
• Regulate the flow of water in rivers

Criticism of building dams

• High cost of construction
• Loss of valuable farmland
• Loss of valuable farmland
• Damage to natural environment
• Increase in flood risk
• Affects water supply downstream of the river.
3. Water purification and the role of municipalities
• Water boards are responsible for purifying water.
• Rand Water is the water board operating in Gauteng.
• Rand Water buys water stored in the Vaal dam from the
department of water affairs, purifies the water, and then
pass it to the local municipalities for distribution.
• Factories and mines buys water directly from the boards.
• The municipality distribute purifies water to private users.
 The sustainable use of water
• Using water sustainably means using water wisely, not wasting
water, and recycling water where possible.

Government strategies towards sustainable use of water

• More efficient water delivery systems

Leaks, burst pipes, old pumping systems and lack of water
metering causes losses of water, and losses of water
payments.
• Reducing water pollution
It takes a lot of money to purify water that contains poisonous
chemicals, so the government must implement laws that helps
control water pollution.
• Removing invasive alien plants
The role of individuals in water sustainability
In the home
• Switch off taps when not using the water, and fix dripping taps and
leaks.
• Use water saving showerheads, and take shallower and fewer baths.
• Flush toilets less often.

In the garden
• Use a watering can instead of a hose pipe
• Collect rain water from the roof
• Use bath water to water vegetables
• Water plants in the evening

In the community
• Report leaking pipes to the municipality
• Remove invasive alien plants
Floods
• A flood is a sudden overflow of water which covers land
that is usually dry.
• Flooding is the result not only of natural causes, but also
of human activity and mismanagement of earth’s surface.

Types of floods
• Coastal flooding
• River flooding
Causes of floods

Physical causes Human causes

• The type and amount of • High rates if run-off in

precipitation urban areas
• The type of soil and • Altering the shape of rivers
underlying rock • Building dams- dams can
• Vegetation cover break or overflow
• Human cover • Deforestation and
• The land use of the river vegetation removal
basin
• Poverty and overpopulation
• Relief
leading people to live in
• Volcanic eruptions flood risk areas
• Earthquakes and tsunamis
Characteristics of floods
• A river floods when it carries a lot more water than it
usually carries.
• Discharge- the amount of water in a river
• A rivers discharge is measured as the number of cubic
metres of water that pass a certain point in one second.
• Hydrograph- a graph that shows the changes in a river’s
discharge over time in response to a rainfall event.
Effects of river floods
• Destroy crops
• Drown people and livestock
• Wash away topsoil
• Damage homes and other buildings
• Disrupt communications such as roads, railways and
telephone and power lines
Managing flooding in various settlements
• Improve drainage systems
• Building concrete walls on river banks
• Widening, deepening, and straightening rivers to
help water low more quickly
• Channeling water into dams
Managing flooding in informal settlements
• Providing formal housing in other areas
• Prevent people from building houses in areas at high risk
of flooding
• Improve the design of houses
• Installing and maintaining drains
• Designing disaster plans to handle the flood situation
when it happens
• Educating people about flood dangers
• Managing floods involves reducing the likelihood of their
happening, as well as preparing society for the dangers
that a possible flood would cause

• A case study of the floods in South Africa in January

2011nillustrate the damage to human life, property and
food supply that are commonly caused by floods. The
case study also shows that floods are unpredictable.
Page 284-285
ACTIVITY 15 CORRECTIONS
1. Reasons for reducing demand will include:
• They will save billions or Rands
• If demands exceeds supply, there will be shortages in places,
this will cause inefficiencies and unrest
2. You would save 60L a day. That is 420L a week and 21
900L a year.
3. Dams and desalination plants are much more expensive
than individuals can afford.
4. 4.1 Answers may vary depending on your ages
4.2 water will be very expensive
water shortages means that food will be more
expensive.
water shortages mean new dams etc. so income tax
and/or municipal rates will go up.
Activity 16 Corrections
1. Floods cause great loss of life, destruction of property,
drowning of farm animals, damage to homes, roads,
bridges and railways.
2. Tropical cyclones: rainfall is very heavy, this leads to more
water on the surface than can drain away quickly.
3. Forest reduce water run-off. When forests are cleared,
rainwater runs off quickly. Most of the rain in a cleared
river drainage basin will drain downslope very quickly and
flood the valley floor.
4. Deserts have very little vegetation (plants) and plant
matter on the ground to slow down run-off. Heavy rain is
channeled down valleys to flood lower areas.
5. After the first few days of rain, surface soil will be so
saturated that later rain will not be able to soak in but will
run over the surface and into streams that lead to lower
land which becomes flooded.