Chapter 13

How much water do we have?

Only 30% of the earth is water and most of them are found in oceans
and seas.
2.8% of the earths water is fresh water.
75% of the fresh water is stored as ice bergs and glaciers.
21.4% of the fresh water is groundwater.
3.6% of the fresh water is found in rivers and lakes = 0.1% of the
earths total amount of water.

What causes the water supply to change?

Climate changes
Deforestation
Poor farming practices
Increase in Pollution
Increase in Agriculture activities
Industrial and Commercial
Climate changes
The disturbance of the hydrologic cycle has led to an increase of
prolonged droughts and famine all around the world.
Ice are melting and the
sea level has began to
rise.
Ice sheets melting
Deforestation
Canopy of the forest and vegetation areas slows down the surface runoff of
the rain.
When trees are cut down, the water flows into the river quickly, increasing
the amount of sediments flowing into the river, contaminating the clean
water, decreasing water supply.
Increase in pollution
Farmers who farm near rivers use pesticides and chemicals to kill weeds
and pests. Rain comes and wash them into the river, polluting the water.
Water pollution
Poor farming practices

Monoculture = one single crop planted over and over again
It reduces soil fertility and hence causes soil leaching and severe
soil erosion
Farmers rearing excessive herds of cattle= overgrazing
This occurs especially on marginal land that is exposed to severe
soil erosion.Water ways are blocked due to sedimentary, causing
flooding. Chemicals fertilisers pollute the water and decrease water
supply.
Increase in Agriculture Activities
As the worlds population increases, the demand of food
increases and so do the demand of water needed to water the
crops and other purposes.
Industrial and commercial
Industrial activities require a large amount of water and rapid
industrial growth will need a lot of water. (e.g.9.5l of water is
needed to refine 1l of gasoline.
Why water is a scarce
resource
2.8% of the
earths water
is fresh water
Climate changes
Increase in the no.
of prolonged
droughts
Uneven
distribution
of rainfall
Places with
low annual
precipitation
are likely to
suffer from
drought
Deforestation
With lesser
trees canopy,
the water
flows into the
river faster
causing soil
erosion
Poor farming
practices
Monoculture
Overgrazing
Using
chemical
substance
over cropping
The rising demand for
water
Increase in
population
Increase in
agriculture
activities
Increase in industrial
and commercial
activities
Chapter 14 - Response to the
rising demands for water
-Increasing the PRICE of water

-Increasing the SUPPLY of water
*Managing Catchment areas
*International agreements
*Desalination
Increasing the PRICE of water
Water price are inter-related to the rising demands of
water.
*E.g. If price of water increases, people would use
water more effectively and consciously.

Water prices are determined after discussions among:
-Government officials
-Water companies
-Environmental group
-Interest groups of consumers
Increasing the SUPPLY of water
Managing catchment areas

Definition of catchment areas: As known as a
drainage basin; the area of land bounded by hills or
mountain.

Negative human activities can affect the water
quality of catchment areas.
*E.g. Deforestation Soil being washed into rivers.
Poor farming practices - Using large amounts of
chemical fertilisers
Water pollution Soil leaching & erosion

Increasing the SUPPLY of water
Proper management can minimise the negative
human impacts.
*E.g. (Done by the Government)
Restricting logging activities
Carrying out reforestation programs

Initiate large water projects is another form of
proper management of catchment areas.
*E.g. Man-made Lake Nasser
-Supplies clean drinking water and irrigated water
for Egyptians all year round
Three Gorges Dam project in Central China

Increasing the SUPPLY of water
International agreements

Some rivers cut across political boundaries, making the rivers a
form of shared water resource.

Regional tensions and conflicts might arise.

These might result in inefficient use of water / decrease in water
supply to the affected countries.
Water pipes containing water from
Malaysia to Singapore
Increasing the SUPPLY of water
The allocation of water might cause regional tensions
and conflicts.
*E.g. If a country occupy the downstream water of a river and
the water received is polluted, the country occupying the
upstream would be blamed.

Such problems can be solved by international
agreements. It helps to settle or prevent cross-border
disputes over water resources.
*E.g. Great Lakes Basin spans eight states of USA and two
provinces of Canada. Thus in 2004, they signed the Great
Lakes Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreements. Special
attention was given to relate the amount of water withdrawn.




Increasing the SUPPLY of water
Desalination
Definition: A process that removes salt and other impurities
from saltwater.

Technique is practiced in countries where fresh water is
scarce or where demand of water is high.

7500 desalination plants are in operation and 60% are
located in the Middle East.

The largest desalination plant, Jubail Desalination plant, is in
Saudi Arabia where it produces 3000 litres of fresh water per
day.
Senoko Power
Desalination Plant
-Treatment of water for REUSE

-Use for irrigation, toilet flushing, industrial process
Industries use for cooling processes Palo Verde Nuclear Generating
Station in Phoenix, Arizona in USA

-With improved technology, can be use for drinking
NEWater Visitors Centre
- Take Place across all sectors of economy

- Public education is essential to knowledge people about
importance of water conversation
Tools: posters, booklets, flyers, programmes, events
1. Turn water off when soaping during shower & washing hands
2. Take short shower instead of long bathe
3. Use a mug or cup to contain water when brushing teeth
4. Wash only at full load when using washing machine
5. Wash vegetables & fruits in a pan of water than under running tap
6. Water plants with water recycled from washing rice, vegetables &
fruits
Responses To Rising Demand
For Water
Increase price of water
-Effective tool to control
demand
-Slow down demand of water

Increasing water supply

Water conservation
- Educate public on how
to conserve water


Catchment Areas
Technology
International
Agreements
Construction of dams
Constructing of reservoirs
E.g. Singapore1/2 to 2/3 turn
into catchment
areas (2009)
Desalination: A process that
removes salt from seawater
Water Reclamation: A process
that recycles used water
- e.g. NEWater of Singapore
-Helps to allocate shared
water resources among
countries
-Established to protect,
conserve & manage water
source

*Chapter 15 *
+Supply of water:

Half of Singapores land is able to collect
rain in the catchment areas.
The rest of the land is highly urbanised
areas where rainwater flows into drains and
eventually ends up in the sea.
-some rainwater seeps into the ground as
groundwater. [can only be obtained if wells
or boreholes are sunk]
+ or else, the water would also flow to the sea.
* Given the high temperatures in Singapore,
much of the rain is also lost through
evaporation.
Demand for water


As population in Singapore grows so does the
demand for water.
+Water in Singapore comes from 4 sources:
*local water catchments
*imported water (from Malaysia)
*NEWater [reclaimed water]
*desalination
+ these 4 sources are known as the 4
NATIONAL TAPS.
4 National taps strategy
PUB, Singapores national water agency manages
water supply, water catchment and used water in an
integrated way.

PUBs water conservation plan:

+ Pricing water to reflect its strategic importance and scarcity.
+ educating the public to make efficient use of the water.
+making it compulsory in commercial and industrial premises
to install water-saving devices.
+ encourage industries to use alternative sources
[eg:NEWater.]
+ imposing fines on water wastage and unauthorised water
usage.

Imported water ^.^
Singapore depends on the Malaysian
peninsular to augment our water supply.

Importing water from Malaysia through 2 water
agreements signed in 1961 and 1962; which
are up in force up to 2011 and 2061
respectively.

Water is piped in through the Causeway from
Johor, Malaysia to Singapore.
Desalinated water
Supplies enough to meet up to 10% of our demand
for water. {Capacity of 136 380 cubic metres a day}

This is so as depending on traditional sources like
reservoirs and imported water may not be
sustainable.

NEWater-{reclaimed water}
All used water in Singapore is collected through a Sewage
reticulation network and treated to acceptable discharge
standards at the water reclaimation plants.
with new technology to further treat the effluent; large
volumes of water has been reclaimed. {process done through
reverse-osmosis}.
NEWater is mainly used for commercial and industrial
purposes, with a small amount blended into reservoir water.
With the introduction of NEWater-Singapores water suppl
has become more sustainable.
Water from local Catchment areas
Currently 14 reservoirs to supply us with clean water.
Rainwater is one of Singapores most important sources of
rainwater.
Currently of Singapores total land area is used as water
catchments. {By 2009 it will go up to 2/3 of Singapore.}
Reservoir Integration scheme connects various reservoirs through
a system of pumps and pipelines.
*so that excess water can be transferred from one reservoir to another.
{The Marina Barrage will create Singapores 15
th
reservoir.}
Besides boosting Singapores water supply, it will also control flooding, and the
freshwater lake created is suitable for recreational activities.


Water Resources In Singapore
-Benefits from heavy rainfall
-Increase demand due to:
Rapid population growth
Living standards & Economic activities
The Four National Taps Strategy
Water Catchment
-1/2 to 2/3 of Singapore as
catchment areas by 2009
-Currently Singapore have 14
reservoirs with Marina
Barrage as the 15
th

Imported Water
-Water agreements
with Malaysia,
supplying half of
Singapores demand
-Water carried by
pipelines
NEWater
(Reclaimed Water)
- Purification of treated
used water to produce
NEWater
Desalinated
Water
-Meets 10% of
our demand
PUB
-Mission: Ensure efficient, adequate & sustainable water supply
-Manages water supply, water catchment & used water in an integrated way
-Encourages all Singaporeans play a part to conserve water, keep water catchments
& waterways clean, and build relationship with water so that we can enjoy our
water resources
From this project, I learned that the time taken to revise my work and to study
reduces and that if everybody works together to compile the notes, it is much faster
and easier to understand the topic. It is not time consuming and the notes that
everyone has compiled are very easy to understand and I can master the topics much
more easily than before. I also learned that teamwork is very important and that
studying in groups arent that bad.

Next, from what I have learnt, I think that we should cherish what we have now and
conserve what we can. For example, water. As a scarce resource, we should use it
wisely and too, understand our water supply.

-Suli
Reflections
With all the water shortages Singapore faced and solved, I truly learnt the importance of conserving
water. Though there is no serious water shortage in the world currently, we should foresee the problem
and solve it NOW and not let the problem develop. Although we have already found the solution of our
shortage problem in Singapore, we should not be contented with the current situation and continue
wasting water but to sought for more solutions to get ready for a yet-to-come crisis of water if there is one.
Overall, the must important factor to supply more water is to RECYCLE, REUSE, REDUCE! Its
also a pleasant to work with such a wonderful group to complete this revision slides xD~~

-SzeHwee
Reflections
I feel that the rising demand of water is becoming a major problem that
would threaten mankind in the future. A handful of rivers in the world
are polluted due to the many centuries of usage. There are factors such
as deforestation that in turn result in soil erosion and leaching too.

If mankind continue to figure out ways to help lesson the demands; I
feel that raising the cost is not a permanent solution. Without the water,
even any amount of money could not buy it back. Ways such as
stopping deforestation would certainly come in handy. It would be a
better solution to prevent the problem from starting in the first place.

-Gina
Reflections
Overall, Ive learnt about how Singapore derives its water
sources from the 4 National taps, which are namely:
Desalination, reclaimed water (NEWater), imported water
though water agreements and water from Singapores
Catchment areas. Although Singapore has 14 (going to
15 soon) reservoirs and has almost 2/3 of its land area as
water catchment, we still have to rely on desalination and
water reclamation, as well as imported water to augment
our water supply and it is safer to have access to potable
water through various alternatives should one of these
means fail (eg. Water supply cut off from Malaysia due to
hostile relations or drought due to change of climate).

The PUB has also come up with a comprehensive water
conservation plan to urge consumers to use water
efficiently. [eg: pricing water and educating the public to
make efficient use of water.]
-Lydia

Jiayous 4 Exams!^.^