Different Sources of Water

It is said the humans can't live more than five to seven days without water, that's why, it became a very essential resource for humans and even for animals. As well as plants, they can't survive without water which will be used in the process of photosynthesis. Therefore, it is important for us to know where water came from so that we can be able to protect and preserve it.

Some sources of water are obvious, like lakes and rivers, while others, like glaciers, are a bit more removed from everyday experience. With so many people living near water, it sometimes seems unlikely that water shortages could be a serious problem. Understanding the sources of water available for human use reveals how limited freshwater actually is. Despite the overwhelming amount of water on earth, very little of it is suitable for consumption. New research and technology are currently seeking answers to this dilemma.

• Groundwater

Ground water refers to any source of water that lies beneath the soil layer. Ground water can exist in the soil itself or between rocks and other materials. Most communities obtain their water from underground aquifers, or rock formations capable of holding large amounts of freshwater. Only 3 percent of the water on earth is considered freshwater, with a mere 30 percent of that small amount being found as groundwater. Pollution, seawater contamination and overuse threaten this valuable resource.

• Surface Water

Sources of surface water can include any above-ground collection of water such as rivers, lakes, ponds and oceans. Some sources of surface water are also fed by underground aquifers. Surface water accounts for 80 percent of the water human use.

• Ocean water

Although ocean water makes up nearly 97 percent of all water on earth, it is not a viable source of potable water unless salt and other impurities are removed. Desalination, the process by which salt is removed from water, is a rapidly growing practice. While salt and other microscopic particles can be removed from water in a variety of ways, the most promising method is through reverse osmosis. This process forces saltwater through filters with microscopic pores that remove salt and other microbes. Reverse osmosis requires large amounts of energy, making it a very expensive process.

• Ice caps and Glacial Melting

Of the 3 percent of earth's water considered freshwater, 70 percent of that small amount is currently locked in glaciers and ice caps. In theory, frozen glacial and ice cap water could be melted and used, but the amount of energy needed to melt and transport vast quantities of ice make it economically impractical. Glaciers and ice caps also play vitally important roles in the regulation of earth's climates and global temperatures, making their preservation very important.

• Lakes

Freshwater lakes are inland and found throughout every region of the planet. Some lakes, however, have some saltwater content, or brackish water. Like oceans, lakes are home to various forms of life, from fish and crustaceans to algae and microscopic organisms. Lakes vary in size from small and quaint to massive, such as the Great Lakes in the United States.

• Rivers and Streams

Rivers and streams are natural sources of moving freshwater that can be found in every country in the world. Rivers and streams can be so tiny that you can literally step over them. Or, like the Mississippi River, they can be so vast that most people couldn't swim across them. Rivers empty into bodies of water like lakes, basins, reservoirs and even the ocean. Living organisms also thrive in rivers and streams, but these natural water sources are noted for their ability to erode rocks and naturally smooth and polish them.

Importance of Water Resources Assessment on Soil and Water Conservation

Water resources assessment is a prerequisite for sustainable development and management of water resources worldwide. It provides a basis for the sound and proper planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of projects associated with irrigation and drainage; mitigating flood losses; industrial and domestic water supply; urban and suburban drainage; energy production; health; agriculture; fisheries; drought mitigation; and the preservation of aquatic ecosystems. Water resources assessment, under various names (e.g., water accounting, water resource audits, water census) are being increasingly promoted as a key component of integrated water resources management. Conducting water resources assessment in your area helps clarifying the following issues:

•      Status of water resources at different scales, including inter-and intra-annual variability

•      Current water use (including variability), and the resulting societal and environmental trade-offs

•      Scale related externalities, especially when patterns of water use are considered over a range of temporal and spatial scales

•      Social and institutional factors affecting access to water and their reliability

•      Opportunities for saving or making more productive, efficient and/or equitable

•      Efficacy and transparency of existing water-related policies and decision-making processes

•      Conflicts between existing information sets, and the overall accuracy of government (and other) statistics. 

REFERENCES

DTK Hydronet Solutions (2019). What is Water Resources Assessment (WRA)? Retrieved from https://www.dtkhydronet.com/post/what-is-water-resource-assessment-wra

KELLER, S. (2008). Water Resources Assessment. Retrieved from https://sswm.info/sswm-university-course/module-4-sustainable-water-supply/further-resources-water-sources-software/water-resources-assessment

YOUNG, K. (2018). Different Sources of Water. Retrieved from https://sciencing.com/facts-5179246-uses-seawater.html