Sarawak Campus

Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Science

Tutorial 9: Sustainable Water Use

Student Name:

SCORE

Student Identification Number:

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1. You are required to design a rainwater tank for a house having a roof size of 200.0 m 2. Monthly average rainfall
values for the locality are given in the table below. Daily total rainwater demand is 200.0 L in April-September
and 400.0 L in October-March. Assume a 10% loss from rainfall to leakage and runoff. Also, assume a 30-day
month. Calculate what should be the minimum size of the tank to meet 100% of rainwater demand in all
months. Note: 1.0 m3 = 1000 L (exact number). [8 marks]
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Average rainfall (mm)

Note: To accomplish this, you need to calculate the total rainfall received each month and compare it to the rainfall
demand each month. Then total up the surplus or deficit in available rainwater each month (relative to demand)
over the course of the year. The minimum tank size will be equal to the total deficit assuming that there is sufficient
surplus in months with surplus to fill the tank to a level that would meet the total deficit. If the surplus does not
exceed the deficit then no tank is big enough to meet 100% of the water demand. This text WILL NOT be present
on the exam if this question were to be found there.

2. Given that a household in Melbourne uses, on average, 250.0 kL per year, using the rainwater demand figures
provided and assuming that you installed a tank that could meet all of your rainwater demand (ignore losses),
what percentage of your overall annual water use could be met by your rainwater tank? [2 marks]

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Figure 1 presents data on the actual (water directly consumed) and virtual (water consumed in the making
of products) water use for many world nations. Figure 2 presents data on the water use and water
availability of continents and regions around the world. Use these figures to answer the following
questions.

3. Where does Australia rank in terms of its per capita actual and virtual water use? [1 mark]

4. Compare the water availability (from Figure 2) to the water use for each of the three biggest users (from Figure
1) of water per capita. [2 marks]

5. New Zealand has an economy similar to Australias in many ways with a very similar standard of living.
Compare the water use (from Figure 1) in Australia to that in New Zealand. Which country is more efficient at
using water? Which country has a larger water supply per capita (note: New Zealand receives about 850 mm
per year on average and has an annual river discharge similar to Asian countries)? [2 marks]

Much of the worlds water is devoted to agricultural production although the proportion allocated to
agriculture varies greatly from one country to the next (Figure 3). In general, countries that do not use a
high proportion of their water for agriculture have more available for other things, like the environment.
Use Figure 3 to help you to answer the following questions.

6. In general, would you say that the countries that use 75% of their water or more for agriculture are wet or dry
countries? [1 mark]

7. What does this tell you about why a country might use such a high proportion of water for agriculture? [1 mark]
8. Does there appear to be a link between a countries wealth (use your general knowledge about country GDP for
this) and how much water it uses for agriculture? If so, what is the link? [2 marks]

9. Figure 4 illustrates the top 10 countries for agricultural exports worldwide. How many of these use 75% or
greater of their water for agriculture? How many of these use 50% or less of their water for agriculture? Does
the proportion of total water use invested in agriculture equate to income from agricultural exports? [3 marks]

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In Australia, where a great proportion of our water use is dedicated to agriculture and water is scarce, it is
important to see how much benefit is derived from different agricultural activities relative to the water use
of those activities. Data on this issue are presented in Figure 5. According to these data:

10. Which two crops/activities give the greatest return per mega litre of water used? [2 marks]
11. Which two crops/activities give the lowest return per mega litre of water used? [2 marks]
12. Which two crops use the largest amount of water? [2 marks]
13. Are we using our water as effectively as possible (i.e., are the biggest consumers of water also giving the
highest returns)? Why or why not? [2 marks]

14. Based on your answer above, is the free market, which determines what is grown and where, a good
mechanism for allocating water to the most efficient and profitable crop types? What alternate means of
allocating water to agriculture could you envision that might improve the situation? [2 marks]

Figure 6 illustrates temperature and rainfall predictions as a result of climate change for Victoria in 2030
and 2070. Use this figure to answer the following questions.

15. What is the range of potential annual temperature increases for Melbourne by 2030? [1 mark]
16. What is the range of potential annual temperature increases for Melbourne by 2070? [1 mark]
17. What is the range of potential annual rainfall changes for Melbourne by 2030? [1 mark]
18. What is the range of potential annual rainfall changes for Melbourne by 2070? [1 mark]
19. If the worst happens and Melbourne rainfall is reduced by 25% by 2070 and each drop of 1% in rainfall equals
a 2.5% drop in runoff in Melbourne, what percentage decrease in runoff will Melbourne experience in 2070? [1
mark]

20. Under these conditions, would we be able to sustain Melbournes water use using dams alone? Why? [2
marks]

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New virtual water import refers to the amount of water embedded in the products that get traded between
various countries. A negative value indicates that a country exports more water than it imports while a
positive value indicates that a country imports more water than it exports. Figure 7 provides global data on
net virtual water import. Use this figure to answer the following questions.

21. Is Australia a net virtual water exporter or importer? [1 mark]

24. Is there a link between water availability and whether a region (see Figure 2) is a net importer or exporter of
water? Is so, what is the link? [2 marks]

Figures 8 and 9 provide data on the water footprint of various products. Use these figures to answer the
following questions.

25. Which product consumes the most water per kg? How does this product rate in terms of overall global
production rates? 1 L of water weighs 1 kg. Given this fact, what proportion of the water that goes into this is
consumed when the product is consumed? [2 marks]

26. Of the following beverages which takes the highest amount of water to produce (tea, coffee, milk, wine)? What
proportion of the water that goes into this is consumed when the product is consumed? [2 marks]

27. Which crop type has the highest global production level? Is this a staple food crop? Most of the worlds
population subsists on rice, wheat and/or corn. How do the production levels of these crops compare? [3
marks]

28. Which crop type consumes the largest share of the worlds water? [1 mark]

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Groundwater is often mooted as an alternative water source to help alleviate the negative impacts of
climate change on rain fed water supplies. Figure 10 illustrates the quality of groundwater reserves in
Victoria. Use this question to answer the following questions.

29. Could groundwater solve Melbournes impending water crisis? Why or why not? [2 marks]

30. Where is the highest quality groundwater in Victoria found? Where is the lowest quality of groundwater in
Victoria found? Does most of Victorias population live in area with access to drinking water quality
groundwater? [3 marks]

At present, most of Melbournes water supply is secured by reservoirs (i.e., dams). These have typically
been in place for many decades.

31. Given that these dams already exist, what, if any, might be the on-going negative impacts of these structures?
[3 marks]

.
With water resources at a premium around the world and water being vital to not only our survival but also
to our economy and our way of life it may be unsurprising to know that water has been a source of conflict
around the world. These conflicts can occur within a country (between different types of users e.g., urban
vs rural; between upstream and downstream users or between local or state governments) or between
countries as rivers seldom respect international boundaries. Figure 12 highlights some water related
conflicts between 1990 and 2008 and Figure 13 illustrates the proportion of world nations renewable water
resources that originate outside those nations borders. Use these figures to answer the following
questions.

32. Is there a relationship between those areas with 127 or more conflicts between 1990 and 2008 and the
proportion of water that is sourced outside a nations borders? If so what is the relationship? Why do you think
there are conflicts in these areas? [3 marks]

33. Are there conflicts in areas that have 80% or more of their renewable resources originating within the countrys
borders? What types of conflicts would these likely be? [2 marks]

34. Given the patterns you see here, is there any evidence to suggest that water might be the cause of war in the
future? [2 marks]

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Figure 1. Actual and virtual water use per capita for several world nations.

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Figure 2. Water availability and use around the world.

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Figure 3. Water devoted to agriculture worldwide.

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Figure 4. Top ten countries by agricultural exports.

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Figure 5. The return per megalitre for different Australian crop types.

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Melbourne

Figure 6. Temperature and rainfall predictions for Victoria as a result of climate change.

Figure 7. Net virtual water import for the world.

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Figure 8. The water footprint of various products.

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Figure 9. Water footprint and production levels for various crop types.

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Figure 10. Groundwater quality in Victoria.

Figure 11. The negative impacts of dams.

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Figure 12. Water related conflicts between 1990 and 2008.

Figure 13. Percentage of a countrys renewable water resources that originate outside the countrys borders.

# End of Document #

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