Sustainable Water Supply (WJEC GCSE Science (Double Award)): Revision Note

Sustainable Water Supply

• The demand for water has increased over the last 100 years due to an increasing population and a greater need for it in agriculture and industry 

• Climate change could also result in water shortages all over the world, including the UK which would cause the cost of water to increase

• As a result we need a sustainable water supply 

Graph to show the global demand for water 

The global demand for water has increased 

• Ways people can reduce their water consumption are:

  • take showers instead of baths 

  • use dishwashers instead of washing by hand and ensure they are full 

  • water plants with leftover bath or sink water 

  • make sure taps are turned off when not in use

  • insulate pipes 

  • use a water meter to monitor water use

• How we abstract and distribute water also needs to be considered to ensure this is also sustainable 

• Abstracting water involves obtaining water from natural sources 

  • The ways we do this are:

    • collecting rainwater 

    • building dams and reservoirs 

    • desalination (removing salt from seawater)

    • collecting water from rivers and lakes 

    • pumping water from underground

  • Ensuring a sustainable water supply will help reduce the environmental impact of abstracting water

    • Damns and reservoirs can flood land and destroy habitats 

• Distributing water involves taking the water from where it has been abstracted to its destination 

  • Sometimes this can be many miles away 

  • Water is distributed through pipes to areas that need it for drinking water, growing crops and water for sanitation

• Ensuring we have a sustainable water supply will help reduce the environmental impact of abstracting, distributing and treating water 

  • Damns and reservoirs can flood and damage habitats 

  • Pipes to distribute water are unsightly and are very expensive 

  • Treatment plants containing sewage can smell and are a hazard to human health 

Image taken from Wikipedia 

The Clywedog reservoir in Wales