Water Resources on Earth
Water Resources are natural resources of water on earth.
Approximately 70% of the Earth's surface, where Approximately 97.2% of the
water on the Earth is saline water and only 2.8% is Freshwater.
"Slightly over two-thirds of this is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps".
Although It May Be Expensive and The Supply May Not Always Be
Sustainable.
Sources Where Water Obtained Include:
- Groundwater - Groundwater is recharged from the surface; it may discharge from the surface naturally at springs and seeps and can form oases or wetlands. It is commonly used for public water supplies.
- Precipitation - In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel, hail, and fog, etc.
- Surface water - Surface water is water located on top of the Earth's surface such as rivers, creeks, and wetlands. This may also be referred to as blue water. There are three major types of surface water. Permanent (perennial) Surface Water, Semi-Permanent (ephemeral) Surface Water, Man-made surface water.
- Biological Sources - The biological process with chemical treatment implemented for the removal of toxic compounds.
- Desalination Seawater - Desalination is a water supply option that is used widely around the world and involves taking the salt out of the water to make it drinkable. Many countries use desalination to create a more reliable water supply that is not dependant on rain.
Distillation: Occurs naturally through evaporation or through very simple
methods such as boiling salty water and condensing the steam.
Commercial desalination plants using this process have been in
operation for decades.
Membrane Processes:
A the more recent and now more widely used method relies on a
semi-permeable membrane with pores so tiny that they separate the salt
from water, this is reverse osmosis and it relies on natural processes
and membranes.- Water supply network - Water supply system is a system of engineered hydrologic and hydraulic components that provide water supply. Treated water is transferred using water pipes (usually underground). Water storage facilities such as reservoirs, water tanks, or water towers.
- Atmospheric water generator - An atmospheric water generator (AWG) is a device that extracts water from humid ambient air. Water vapor in the air can be extracted by condensation - cooling the air below its dew point, exposing the air to desiccants, or pressurizing the air. Unlike a dehumidifier, an AWG is designed to render the water potable.
