Water management (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Geography B): Revision Note

Specification link

This page covers section 3.3.3 of the WJEC Eduqas GCSE specification.

3.3.2 - What are the challenges of managing water supplies?

• Ways in which an imbalance of supply and demand can be met within one country at a local scale.

• The international issues facing future water management across national boundaries.

Case Study: Water management in Spain

• The average precipitation in south-east Spain is approximately 365mm a year

• Most precipitation occurs in winter

• The area is one of the driest in Europe

• Agriculture uses 80% of the water available

  • 147,000 hectares of land require irrigation

• Regular droughts mean the supply of water is further reduced

• There is a water deficit as demand exceeds supply

• Tourism increases the problem:

  • Water parks and golf courses use significant quantities of water 

  • An average tourist uses between 450-800 litres per day

  • An average Spaniard uses 127 litres per day

Tagus-Segura Project

• Completed in 1978

• 60% of the water flowing into the Tagus is transferred

• A 286-km pipeline which connects for Spanish river basins Tagus, Jucar, Segura and Guadiana

• The aim was to supply Alicante, Murcia and Cartagena in the south-east to reduce the water deficit

Issues

• Much of the water transferred went to tourists and leisure users, not to small-scale farmers

• Water consumption in the south-east increased due to an increase in supply

• It is estimated that 15% of the transferred water is being illegally used by leisure users, such as golf courses

• Large commercial farms are benefiting more than small-scale farmers

Ebro project

• A second water transfer project was proposed in 2001 to transfer water from the River Ebro

• This project was abandoned due to:

  • The failure and issues with the Tagus-Segura project

  • The cost

  • The threat to the Ebro delta is that the scheme would have disrupted sediment flow to the delta

Future of water management in Spain

• Spain has now moved to utilising desalination plants to meet the demand for water

  • Two additional plants are being built to open in 2028 and 2029

  • The estimated cost is €467 million

• Increased use of reclaimed water

  • About 62% of the water used in agriculture is reclaimed

  • Over 17% of water used in industrial processes is reclaimed

International water management issues

• At least 60% of the world's water sources (rivers and aquifers) cross a boundary between countries

  • The actions in one country can have significant impacts on countries and regions downstream, including:

    • Over-abstraction

    • Construction of dams and reservoirs

    • Pollution (sewage, industrial and agricultural waste)

  • Mismanagement of water sources can cause conflict between neighbouring countries and regions

• The construction of the dams on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Türkiye has significantly affected water flow into Syria and Iraq

  • During the filling of the Ilisu Dam in Türkiye in 2019, the water flow into Iraq decreased by 50%

  • The quality of the water was also affected

    • In Basra, people's health was severely affected with an increase in rashes, diarrhoea and vomiting

• On the border between India and China, there have been clashes between communities due to concerns that China was reducing water flow into India