[PPT] - Module 2: Water Use and Russia, barrier island fountains PowerPoint Presentation

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Module 2: Water Use and Conservation

Changes in Urban Streams
Water Reuse
Household Water Use
Local Issues with Water Supply
Conservation Opportunities
Water Use Regulations

Robert Pitt Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487 Long Island barrier island development, NY Moscow, Russia, fountains and kids in urban water Navasink River, NJ Barton Springs, Austin, TX River Walk, Austin, TX Confluence Park, Platte River and Cherry Creek, Denver, CO

Dangers of urban waters are well known

But ….. stormwater can be considered a valuable resource in many situations.

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2 Kitazawa Stream, Tokyo

Kitazawa Stream is an example of a severely degraded urban stream in Tokyo that has undergone extensive modification. The stream watershed is 10.5 km2 and has a population of about 150,000 people. The rapid urbanization in Tokyo since the 1950s has resulted in a severe decrease in groundwater infiltration during

rains. This has caused decreased groundwater levels and decreased

the associated natural recharge into urban streams. By the 1960s, there was almost no natural flow in Kitazawa Stream during dry

weather. The only flows present in the stream was wastewater

from homes. The stream was therefore of extremely poor quality, creating an unsafe and nuisance condition. In addition, the increased development caused frequent flooding. The local government authority therefore diverted the stream into an underground culvert. The aboveground area was converted into a promenade with extensive plantings. Recently however, local residents have requested the addition of a steam along the

promenade. A very small flow (0.02 m3/s) of treated wastewater

has been pumped from 11 km away to create this new stream (a “two-storied watercourse”). The following shows the changes that Kitazawa Stream has undergone as the watershed has developed. This new steam, however small, has created a very important element in the lives of the residents of this heavily urbanized city. Special community organizations have been established to plan and manage the area.

The history of Kitazawa Stream, Tokyo suburb (Fujita 1998)

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3 The history of Kitazawa Stream, Tokyo suburb (Fujita 1998) The history of Kitazawa Stream, Tokyo suburb (Fujita 1998)

28 24.0 Toilet flushing C 29 518 gal/day/acre Lawn irrigation B 36 31.0 Bathing, laundering, auto washing A 7 6.5 Consumption by humans, food preparation, general kitchen use AA Percentage

f Total

Water Use Rate of Use (gal/person/day) Use Class

Distribution of Maryland Residential Water Use and Required Quality (Mallory 1973)

>10,000 (none) 240 240 70 1 Total coliform bacteria (MPN/100 mL) Near saturation (AA) 4 4 5 5 Oxygen, dissolved (minimum) 6 to 9 (AA) 6 6 6 7 pH (pH units) 25 (B) 30 30 20 15 Color (color units) 25 (none) 15-20 8-15 3-8 0-3 Turbidity (NTU) 50 (none) 30 10

Suspended solids

250 (A) 1500 500 500 150 Total solids Typical average residential stormwater quality and highest use without treatment C B A AA Constituent (mg/L)

Maximum Concentrations Allowed by Maryland for Different Reuse Categories, Compared to Typical Residential Stormwater Runoff (Mallory 1973)

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4 As shown on these tables, residential area stormwater can be used to meet at least class A water needs, except for suspended solids, turbidity, color, and coliform bacteria. The solids, turbidity and color levels are likely to be adequately reduced through storage and associated settling, plus possible post-settling

filtration. The most serious impediment for the

reuse of stormwater in residential areas is the bacteria levels.

2.2 required Recreational impoundments: body contact (bathing) 2.2 required Recreational impoundments: boating and fishing only 23 required Recreational impoundments: no public contact 2.2 required Landscaped areas: parks, playgrounds, schoolyards 23 required Landscaped areas: golf courses, cemeteries, freeways Total coliform bacteria criteria (MPN/100 mL, median of daily

bservations)

Secondary treatment, coagulation, filtration, and disinfection Secondary treatment and disinfection Use of reclaimed water

California Reuse Guidelines (Metcalf and Eddy 1991)

Metcalf and Eddy (1991) state that primary treatment (similar to settling in a storage tank) reduces fecal coliform bacteria by less than 10%, whereas trickling filtration (without disinfection) can reduce fecal coliform levels by 85 to 99%. Chemical disinfection is usually required to reduce pathogen levels by 99.9+%, as likely needed to meet the above bacteria criteria for even the most basic water uses. Because

f the risks associated with potential pathogens, reuse of

stormwater in residential areas should only be considered where consumption and contact is minimized, restricting on- site reuse to classifications B and C, and only after adequate disinfection and site specific study to ensure acceptable risks. To further minimize risks, only the best quality stormwater (from a pathogen perspective) should be considered for reuse, such as roof runoff. It is possible to determine the likelihood of supplying needed irrigation water and toilet flushing water (reuse classifications B and C) from the stormwater generated from roof runoff by conducting an urban water budget. This budget requires a knowledge of all water sources and uses, and the associated quality requirements.

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5 Available Freshwater Resources Small Fraction of all Water

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6 Typical US Water Use (gallons/person/day)

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Water Regulations and Conflicts

“Water flows uphill towards money.”

Old western US saying

“Whiskey’s for drinking – water’s for fighting about.”

Mark Twain

Riparian water law is a common-law idea

Owner of land has the right to withdraw water that

is adjacent to the land.

Water must be returned in a relatively unpolluted

condition to ensure that downstream users do not have their water rights violated.

The water must be used on land adjacent to the

water source, not exported (reasonable use doctrine now allows irrigation).

Evolved through practical use.
Practiced mostly east of the Mississippi River

where sufficient water resulted in few conflicts.

Appropriation water law adopted from Roman civil law

Owners of land may be denied the right to

withdraw water if a more beneficial use is found.

Government agencies “appropriate” the water.
Water right can be taken away if better use found,
r lost if abandoned.
Water can be used away from the source.
Common in western states where water is much

more scarce.

Increasing Recognition of Water Rights to Protect the Natural Environment

Loss of fisheries, wetlands, lakes, and other ecological

assets are shifting the balance of power governing water use, away from agriculture and towards protecting the natural environment.

Australia’s Murray-Darling river basin states have

agreed to allocate 25% of the river’s natural flow to maintaining ecological health in the system.

10% of the water from the Central Valley Project in

California is to go for maintaining fish and wildlife habitat.

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34 Countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East are Classified as Water-Stressed

Occurs when a country’s renewable water supplies drop

below about 1,700 m3 per person.

At this level, it becomes difficult for a country to collect

enough water to satisfy all the food, household, and industrial needs of the population.

These countries then begin to import grain (requires about

1,000 tons of water to produce a ton of grain).

Poor countries have the vast majority of the water-stressed

populations and they can ill afford imported grains.

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About 40% of the World’s Population live in Water Basins Shared by more than two Countries

Biggest potential problems in Middle East:

Jordan River (Israel, Jordan, Syria, and

Lebanon)

Nile River (Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Zaire,

Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Eritrea, Kenya)

Tigris-Euphrates Rivers (Iraq, Syria, and

Turkey)

King Hussein declared in 1990 that water was the only issue that could take him to war with Israel

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“The national security of Egypt is in the hands of the eight other African countries in the Nile basin.”

Boutros Boutros-Gali, when he was Egypt’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs

Saudi Arabia uses Fossil Groundwater for 40% of their needs

Groundwater depletion more than 5 billion

cubic meters per year and rapidly growing.

Water Issues Increasingly Responsible for Armed Conflict

Dispute over the headwaters of the Jordan

River helped spark the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Bypass canal project in southern Sudan one

factor in continuing civil war.

Current Serious Water Conflicts

Israel’s unrestricted use of groundwater

from the Jordan River basin in occupied territories.

Egypt-Sudan agreement totally allocates

Nile River downstream flow without reference to upstream needs.

Construction of dams in Turkey reduce

Euphrates water to Iraq to as little as 10% of normal flow, and to 60% for Syria.

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More than 2,000 International Treaties Relating to Common Water Basins

Common basins make up 60% of the land in Africa and South America

US and Canada Great Lakes Compact
The Nile Water Agreement (Egypt and Sudan)
India and Pakistan share development of the Indus

River.

India and Bangladesh agree to maintain minimal

flows in the Ganges.

US and Mexico agree on flow conditions in

Colorado and Rio Grande Rivers.

Argentina and Brazil agree on management of the

Paraná River.

Gonick and Outwater. The Cartoon Guide to the Environment.

Formula for “Survival”

(Population) X (Demand) must be <1 (Sustainable Supply)

Malthus 1766 - 1834 “A decade ago, a fish Malthusian might have predicted the end of salmon as a food. Human ingenuity seems to have beaten nature once again.” Forbes 1990 Bailey, Earth Report 2000.

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Environmental Trends Shaping the New Century

State of the World 2000

Population growth
Rising temperature
Falling water tables
Shrinking cropland per person
Collapsing fisheries
Shrinking forests
Loss of plant and animal species

Time and Scale of Environmental Concerns (Graedel)

Problems in Our Future (recovery periods for individual actions)

Short Term (< 100

years): Tree falls Land slides Oil spills Slash and burn Forest fires Floods Tsunamis Volcano eruption Acid rain

Long-Term (>100 years):

Heavy metal deposition Groundwater exploitation Ozone depletion Meteor strike Climate change

Water Supply and Water Quality

Conservation easiest to develop and

cheapest new water source

Water quality problems becoming better

understood

Habitat destruction becoming recognized as

serious issue

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Development or Reservation?

Development:

Atmospheric nitrogen, electric steel, cement, marble, brick, lime, iron, coal, fruit, lumber, and cotton. 300,000 horsepower Coosa-AL navigation = 10 railroads

Reservation:

Falling, wasting as I flow. A mighty brimming river. My commerce tied, my strength untried. Fix me now or never. W.P. Lay. River Problems of

Alabama. 1915

“Nearly the entire spectrum of conservation and efficiency options cost less than the development of new water sources.”

Sandra Postel 1996

Estimated Costs of Water Management Options

100 – 150 Desalination of seawater 55 – 85 Development of marginal water 45 – 70 Desalination of brackish water 30 – 60 Treatment and reuse of wastewater for irrigation 5 – 50 Reducing demand through conservation/efficiency Estimated cost range (cents/m3)

World Bank 1995

In El Paso, pricing and educational efforts are credited with a substantial reduction in water use. Conservation meets about 15 to 17% of the city’s future water

needs. Besides slowing the rate of

depletion of the groundwater supply, the conservation measures cost about 8% less than the cost of existing water supplies (about $135 per 1,000 m3).

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20 John Boland, Johns Hopkins University, Abel Wolman Lecturer

WorldWater, January 2003 WorldWater, January 2003 WorldWater, January 2003 Hydroplus, July 2003