1.3 Case studies

Question 1

How has human activity polluted the Florida Everglades?

Answer 1

• algal blooms due to housing and agricultural development
• draining water ways and creating channels to divert water
• algal blooms mean lack of oxygen for life below water

Question 2

How has human activity polluted the Citarum River, Indonesia?

Answer 2

• domestic and industrial waste
• more than 35million people depend on river
• textile factories have polluted river with lead, mercury, and other toxic chemicals
• 60% of fish species have been wiped out
• one of the world’s ten most polluted rivers

Question 3

Sahel Drought 2012 - location

Answer 3

• Sahel region, South of the Sahara
• 12 countries
• e.g. Mali, Chas, Niger, Mauritania, Burkina Faso

Question 4

Sahel Drought 2012 - Who was affected?

Answer 4

• 80% of Burkina Faso’s population relies on agriculture
• starvation of people and livestock
• farmers forced into different jobs
• increase in food prices

Question 5

Sahel Drought 2012 - Impacts

Answer 5

• 10-15% increase in child malnutrition
• poor quality harvest
• 26% reduction in food production compared to previous year
• drought resistant crops too expensive to switch to

Question 6

Sahel Drought 2012 - Responses

Answer 6

• food handouts
• use of drought resistant crops
• UN issued appeal for $1.6 billion but only half raised (people more likely to donate to short-term aid)
• charities checking for malnutrition

Question 7

UK flooding 2015-2016 - features

Answer 7

• caused by Storm Desmond, an extra tropical cyclone
• Towns on the Scottish border, Carlisle, Lancaster, Keswick, Braithwaite and Appleby amongst many other

Question 8

UK flooding 2015/16 - physical causes

Answer 8

• Desmond brought in moist air from the Caribbean to the British Isles so rainfall from Desmond was unusually heavy.
• The heavy rain and strong winds were caused by an area of low pressure which arrived from the Atlantic
• Honister in Cumbria received 341.4mm of rain in the 24-hour period
• winds up to 81mph

Question 9

UK flooding 2015/16 - human cause

Answer 9

• partly due to climate change meant wettest, warmest december on record
• some believe government ignored warnings than an increasing number of homes were at risk

Question 10

UK flooding 2015/16 - economic costs

Answer 10

• £500m of damage across Cumbria
• £1.3bn insurance bill
• Tadcaster bridge in North Yorkshire collapsed - would take over a year and £3mn for repairs

Question 11

UK flooding 2015/16 - environmental impacts

Answer 11

• sediment washed into river impacted water quality and aquatic wildlife
• sediment was transported and deposited on floodplains
• trees ripped from river banks
• landslides

Question 12

UK flooding 2015/16 - social impacts

Answer 12

• More than 1,000 people evacuated across Cumbria.
• 50,000 people were without power across Cumbria and Lancashire.
• About 40 schools in Cumbria were closed
• appointments and routine business across NHS hospitals were cancelled
• 2 deaths

Question 13

UK flooding 2015/16 - responses

Answer 13

• government emergency response: 200 military personnel, 50 high-volume pumps, temporary defences
• £400,000 donated by public in 48hrs
• 5,000 businesses and households given council tax and business rate relief

Question 14

Murray-Darling basin - location

Answer 14

• South-East Australia
• across 4 states
• Near major cities Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, and has mouth in Adelaide
• combined river length of 3,780km

Question 15

Importance of the Murray-Darling Basin

Answer 15

• Approx 40% of Australian farm production originates from basin, this area called Australia’s food basket
• Provides more than 3million people with drinking water and 10% of Australia’s population live along it

Question 16

Stakeholders competing over water in Murray Darling basin

Answer 16

• farming
• industry
• habitat for endangered species
• cultural uses for indigenous groups
• government

Question 17

Impacts of extraction in the Murray Darling Basin

Answer 17

• Total flow at the Murray mouth has been reduced by 61% because of over abstraction from both groundwater and surface water
• lower Murray now experiences drought every year
• In periods of drought up to 90% of Adelaide rely on the Murray river
• increased salinity

Question 18

Murray Darling Basin Plan

Answer 18

• basin plan commenced in November 2012
• plan aimed to reduce amount of water which was being taken from the basin to ensure sufficient water for all users
• government pay for schemes (e.g. agricultural practices) that use less water

Question 19

Impacts of the Murray Darling basin plan

Answer 19

• 2100 job losses
• 9% contraction in the local economy
• loss of water irrigator jobs
• damage to communities
• regional governments have differing opinions

Question 20

Key features of China’s 3 Gorges Dam (5)

Answer 20

• hydroelectric dam on the Yangtze River
• In terms of the amount of electricity it generates, it’s the world’s largest power station.
• cost $30 billion. However, it should only take about 10 years to fully recover the costs.
• The power generate is equivalent to burning 25 million tons of crude oil
• Over 100 towns and settlements and over 1,000 archaeological and historic sites were submerged when the dam was built

Question 21

Benefits of China’s 3 Gorges Dam (3)

Answer 21

• Power generation for the middle, eastern and southern China, benefits industry and emerging middle class
• Controls water levels – will avoid frequent floods, which cause problems around the Jinjiang river.
• Tourism – To see the Yangtze river where a calm lake makes scenic spots which were originally hard to enter are now reachable

Question 22

drawbacks of China’s 3 Gorges Dam (5)

Answer 22

• more than 1.1 million people must be resettled.
• every year about 265 million gallons of raw sewage are deposited in the Yangtze River. Sewage will collect in the reservoir, which increases the risk for waterborne diseases
• dam built near many geological fault lines. About 360 million people live within the watershed of the Yangtze River.
• endangering 57 plant species, 25 fish species.
• Landslides may increase.

Question 23

Key features of China’s South- North water transfer (3)

Answer 23

• The Chinese government is building a $62 billion South-North Water Transfer Project.
• project would divert 44.8bn cubic meters of water per year from the Yangtze River in Southern China to the Yellow River Basin in arid Northern China.
• An estimated 330,000 people were recently relocated for the expansion of the Danjiangkou reservoir.

Question 24

Benefits of China’s South-North water transfer (3)

Answer 24

• The project saves China from a water crisis that could set its development back years.
• Will distribute water fairly to the North of China.
• Vital for economic development and water supply to Beijing and other areas.

Question 25

Drawbacks of China's South-North water transfer (2)

Answer 25

* could exacerbate water pollution problems. Pollution from factories along the Eastern Route may render the water unfit to drink. * About 345,000 villagers have been displaced by the project to date. Many farming communities displaced.

Question 26

What are the Berlin Rules?

Answer 26

- rules approved by the International Law Association in 2004 - outline laws relating to freshwater resources, whether internal or transboundary - they replace the 1966 Helsinki Rules - 9 water management principles

Question 27

Berlin Rules - 9 water management principles

Answer 27

1. Participatory water management - public have right to be involved in decision making 2. coordinated use - resources must be managed to maximise availability and reliability of supplies 3. Integrated management - all components of basin must be considered 4. Sustainability 5. Minimisation of environmental harm 6. Cooperation over shared resources 7. Equitable utilisation of shared water resources 8. Avoidance of transboundary harm 9. Equitable participation

Question 28

Why was the river Kissimmee channelised?

Answer 28

- river in florida * Severe flooding on the river in 1940’s meant that this river was channelized to stop this and ease navigation * Between 1962 and 1971 the river was replaced with a 90km channel and renamed C 38 * water entering the basin was controlled by storage lakes

Question 29

Impacts of the river Kissimmee being channelised

Answer 29

- Less recharge in Miami’s groundwater aquifers - Salinisation of water supplies - Less water flow – was 0.42 m per second, now 0.05 m per second - 92% loss in birds - Eutrophication from nutrients - happened further down stream

Question 30

Restoration of the river Kissimmee

Answer 30

- 1975 Kissimmee River restoration act passed – work started in 1999, completed in 2012. - 11,000 hectares restored to wetland - Levees have been removed and meanders restored - Some parts of the canal remain to protect settlements - Trying to allow the river to return to seasonal flow, but progress is slow

Question 31

Nile Basin description

Answer 31

- world's largest river. - basin covers 10% of African continent. - 11 countries compete for Nile water - modest discharge of 84 billion cubic metres a year - Susceptible to varying discharge from high evaporation rates and seasonal changes in rainfall. - 300 million live on the delta, expected to double to 600 million by 2030.

Question 32

Reasons for conflict in the Nile basin

Answer 32

- Egypt reliant on the Nile for 95% of water needs. - Many of the 11 countries have economic water scarcity issues. - Growing demands and climate change mean 7 out of 11 potentially water-scarce by 2025. - Water scarcity will impact food security.

Question 33

Historical water treaties in the Nile Basin

Answer 33

- 1902 treaty between Great Britain and Ethiopia, which prevents Ethiopia from carrying out any project on the Nile that would affect Egypt’s water interests. - similar treaty in 1929 between Great Britain on behalf of Sudan and Egypt - 1929: Nile Waters Agreement signed, giving 48 million cubic metres to Egypt and 4 billion to Sudan, only 14% going to other African countries. Egypt was given the right to veto use of water in other nine nations. - 1959: second Nile Waters Agreement signed, giving 55.5 billion cubic metres to Egypt and 18.5 billion to Sudan, the rest of the water was lost in evaporation. Signed by colonial powers on behalf of upstream nations, though Ethiopia refused to recognise its legitimacy.

Question 34

Challenges facing the Nile basin

Answer 34

- 10% of current basin facing water scarcity - estimated to be 35% by 2040 (80 million people) - could be 45% if conditions are hot and dry (110 million people)

Question 35

GERD description

Answer 35

- Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam - first produced electricity on 20 February 2022 - hydroelectric dam - ethiopia paid for dam through taxes and bonds

Question 36

Benefits of GERD

Answer 36

- can provide HEP for 234million people (Ethiopia population is 109 million) - dam will benefit ethiopia's agriculture and allow it to become energy supplier

Question 37

Costs of GERD

Answer 37

- reduced river flow downstream for Sudan and egypt, affecting water security, agriculture, economy - land has to be flooded for dam so 20,000 people displaced - with 85% of the river emerging from the Ethiopian highlands, Egypt is concerned its rival has the capability to control the flow of the river

Question 38

Describe the Ogallala Aquifer water recycling

Answer 38

- located in Nebraska USA - Reuses water - 100% grey water recycled in 2016 - Measure daily evapotranspiration rates and post them so farmers can adjust irrigation rates - Grow wheat and crops that do not need a lot of water - wireless infrared sensors - measure crop temperature and turn on automatically - Main issue is that the government gives higher subsidies for crop fields rather than grassland fields, this would need to change