The Effect of Human Interference on Water Availability
1.Explain how human interference in the water cycle can affect water availability
The water cycle is the process of evaporation, condensation and precipitation of water on Earth including rain water and how it is distributed. Human factors such as forest clearing, urban construction and changes in land use can all affect the distribution of water.
Infiltration can be affected by forest clearance. This also affects percolation and the water table. When there is rain the forests holds a lot of rainfall to the soil through roots of plants. The water then sinks deeper in the ground and replenishes the supply of the water table. If there was the removal of these forests then water from rain would flow simply through the soil surface and not be retained. Another effect may be the water from rain will not stay in the soil at all and the process of evaporation would immediately set in therefore not replenishing water table. This would lead to wells drying up.
Another factor affecting water supply is climate change. As climate warms up weather patterns are shifting. Some places experience a decrease in rainfall and others see an increase. A decrease in rainfall means there is less water in aquifers and the water table. This means the supply of water has decreased. A warmer climate also means more water evaporates from seas and oceans. This can be bad as it can increase the number of floods which destroys infrastructure.
Another factor that can affect water supply is urban development and over extraction. An example is the coca cola conflict in India. Since coca cola moved to India and started using aquifers as a water source there has been a noticeable decrease in the supply of water. Water is being over extracted in an unsustainable rate which is causing the level available to drop drastically. However Coca-Cola attempt to combat this by collecting rainwater and feeding it back to aquifers.
Urban development affects water supply as the construction of buildings
More
The water cycle is the process of evaporation, condensation and precipitation of water on Earth including rain water and how it is distributed. Human factors such as forest clearing, urban construction and changes in land use can all affect the distribution of water.
Infiltration can be affected by forest clearance. This also affects percolation and the water table. When there is rain the forests holds a lot of rainfall to the soil through roots of plants. The water then sinks deeper in the ground and replenishes the supply of the water table. If there was the removal of these forests then water from rain would flow simply through the soil surface and not be retained. Another effect may be the water from rain will not stay in the soil at all and the process of evaporation would immediately set in therefore not replenishing water table. This would lead to wells drying up.
Another factor affecting water supply is climate change. As climate warms up weather patterns are shifting. Some places experience a decrease in rainfall and others see an increase. A decrease in rainfall means there is less water in aquifers and the water table. This means the supply of water has decreased. A warmer climate also means more water evaporates from seas and oceans. This can be bad as it can increase the number of floods which destroys infrastructure.
Another factor that can affect water supply is urban development and over extraction. An example is the coca cola conflict in India. Since coca cola moved to India and started using aquifers as a water source there has been a noticeable decrease in the supply of water. Water is being over extracted in an unsustainable rate which is causing the level available to drop drastically. However Coca-Cola attempt to combat this by collecting rainwater and feeding it back to aquifers.
Urban development affects water supply as the construction of buildings
More