U.S. Water Budget Figure 10.18 10-9 Source:Data from The Nation s Water Resources 1975-2000, Vol. 1, U.S. Water Resources Council.
Average U.S. Precipitation Figure 10.19 10-10 Source: U.S. Water Resources Council.
U.S. Variations in Water Use Figure 10.20 10-11 Source: U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Division.
Water Withdrawal by Sector Figure 10.21 10-12 Source: U.S. Geological Survey National Circular 1081 and 1995 Estimated Water Use, U.S. Geological Survey.
Water Sources and Disposition by Major Users Figure 10.22 10-13 Source: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1081.
Withdrawal of Surface and Ground Water Figure 10.23 10-14 Source: Data from U.S. Water Resources Council.
Water Use for Irrigation, by State Figure 10.24 10-15 Source: U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Division.
Problems associated with groundwater withdrawal Treating groundwater as a nonrenewable resource Overdraft In many places the water available to recharge the aquifer falls significantly short of the amount being withdrawn Subsidence Ground sinks when water is pumped from wells faster than natural recharge processes can replace it (San Joaquin Valley of California)
Ogallala Aquifer
Water Levels in Ogallala Figure 10.28 10-19 Source: U.S. Geological Survey.
The Colorado River Compact (1922) The Colorado River Compact divides the Colorado River into Upper and Lower Basins with the division being at Lees Ferry on the Colorado River one mile below the Paria River in Arizona. The Lower Basin states are Arizona, California, and Nevada, with small portions of New Mexico and Utah that are tributary to the Colorado River below Lees Ferry. The Upper Basin states are Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, with a small portion of Arizona tributary to the Colorado River above Lees Ferry. The Compact apportions the right to exclusive beneficial consumptive use of 7.5 million acre-feet of water from the "Colorado River System" in perpetuity to the Upper Basin and the Lower Basin It provides water for Mexico pursuant to treaty. Water must first come from any surplus over the waters allocated to the states Upper Basin states will not withhold water and the states of the Lower Basin shall not require delivery of water which cannot reasonably be applied to domestic and agricultural uses
Decreased water levels at Lake Mead are readily visible along the shoreline. Five years of drought in the Colorado River Basin have reduced Lake Mead to 60 percent of capacity and Lake Powell to less than 40 percent of capacity.
The Los Angeles Aqueduct Completed in 1913, the first Los Angeles aqueduct spans an estimated 223 miles in length, tapping into the waters of the Owens River in central California. In 1940 the aqueduct was extend 40 miles north to tap more water sources at tributaries to Mono Lake. In 1970, having again out grown its water needs, the city began construction of a second aqueduct doubling the amount of water diverted from the Mono Basin and Owens Valley to Los Angeles. The two Los Angeles Aqueducts now deliver an average of 430 million gallons a day to the city.
Mono Lake After Diversion of Surface Water Figure 10.31 10-24 Source:Courtesy of Carla W. Montgomery.
The Colorado River Aqueduct The MWD aqueduct was under construction for eight years, and was finished in 1941 The aqueduct carries water 242 miles, from Lake Havasu, on the Colorado River, to Lake Matthews in western Riverside County The aqueduct lifts the water 1,617 feet through five pumping plants. There are 92 miles of tunnels, 63 miles of concrete canals, 55 miles of concrete conduits, and 144 siphons totaling 29 miles By 1961, to keep pace with increasing water needs, MWD had expanded the Aqueduct to reach its full delivery capacity of 1,212,000 acre-feet of water annually, or more than 1 billion gallons a day.
Yuma Desalting Plant The salinity of the Colorado River at its source high in the Rocky Mountains is about 50 parts per million (ppm). Before development of the West, the salinity at the northern Mexico border was about 400 ppm. During the 1960s, the salinity at the border increased to concentrations as high as 1,200 ppm. This increase was caused by the return flows of numerous irrigation projects and cities along the river, where unabsorbed irrigation water percolated through mineral-rich soils and dissolved the minerals.
The Central Arizona Project
Central Arizona Project Constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation between 1973 and 1992, the Central Arizona Project can deliver approximately 1.5 million acre-feet (488 billion gallons) of Colorado River water each year for cities, industries, Indian communities and agricultural areas in central and southern Arizona.
North River Wastewater Treatment Plant The North River wastewater treatment plant is built on a 28-acre reinforced concrete platform over the Hudson River. It rests on 2,300 caissons pinned into bedrock up to 230 feet beneath the river. The roof of the building is the home of Riverbank State Park, a popular recreational facility with three swimming pools, an amphitheater, an athletic center, a skating rink, a restaurant and sports fields and, of the two New York State park facilities in the City, the only one built on top of a water pollution control plant. North River treats about 125 million gallons of wastewater every day during dry weather, and it is designed to handle up to 340 million gallons a day when the weather is wet.
Two types of desalination thermal (60%) and membrane
Aruba Desalination Plant
California Desalination 2006 A controversial proposal to build what would be the largest desalination plant in the nation along the Huntington Beach coastline was approved after months of raucous debate. The desalination plant would produce as much as 50 million gallons of fresh water daily by tapping ocean water already pumped into an adjacent power station to cool the huge electrical facility Most of the water would be sold to as yet unknown buyers, though Huntington Beach agreed to buy a modest amount 3.2 million gallon a day at a rate less than what it now pays for imported water from the Metropolitan Water District.
Huntington Beach, CA
Tampa Water Regional Water Supply Tampa Bay Water delivers an average of 182 million gallons per day (mgd) to the region through a diverse water supply network 66-mgd Surface Water Treatment Plant, the three sources that supply it, six groundwater treatment plants, 13 regional wellfields, and almost 200 miles of pipeline.
Desalination in Spain 2006 Spain's state-owned water company Acuamed is seeking offers from companies interested in building an 82 million euro (US$103 million) desalination plant in Almeria in southeastern Spain. The tender is to build and operate the plant for 15 years. The plant is one of nine that Acuamed, part of the Environment Ministry, plans to put out to tender by the end of June, and will provide water for irrigation and for human consumption. It is part of a plan to build 26 desalination plants between 2005 and 2009 to ease water shortages along Spain's Mediterranean coast. Spain suffered the worst drought on record in the 2004/2005 hydrological year.
Canary Island Research
Desalination Worldwide There are over 13,000 sea water desalination factories in the world with a production capacity of 35 million cubic meter fresh water per day, 80 percent of which is used for drinking. This has solved the water supply problem for over 100 million people.
Desalination to relieve China's water shortage! The biggest seawater desalination factory in Asia is under construction in the Dagang District of China's Tianjing City It's expected to handle 150,000 tons of water a day In China, there have been more than 20 seawater desalination projects