3 The trouble with water

3 The trouble with water

3.1
What are the major threats to water resources?

A What are the uses of water?

B What are the major threats to the global water supply?

2 The two major threats are:

a not having enough freshwater for use; and
b lacking clean water.

3 Where do we get freshwater?

We get freshwater from rain , rivers and lakes .

4 The supply of freshwater is continuous. Therefore, it is a renewable resource.

Yet, its supply is still not enough for use, because:

a Economic
P opulation Income goes up/
increases activities increase increases

More
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b in some areas, people use more water than the water resources can provide.
c some people use the water (wisely / unwisely).

5 When water demand exceeds water supply, water shortages occur.

6 Why is there a lack of clean water?

This is because water is polluted by toxic or dirty substances such as sewage or
garbage.

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 3 The trouble with water

3.2 Where does water come from?

A Where is the water?

1 Water is found in the following places on the earth:

In this 4%,

- 1.7% is frozen in glaciers and polar

ice caps ;

- 1.7% is ground water in rocks;

- Less than 1% is water in lakes, rivers,

plants and in the air .

B What is a water cycle?

2 Water goes round and round in the form of a cycle. The movement of water is called the
water cycle . Refer to your textbook (p. 11 Figure 5). Add arrows and fill in the
blanks to complete the diagram below.

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3.3
What and where are China’s water resources?

A Where are the major rivers in China?

1 A river basin is the area drained by a river and its tributaries .

2 The following map shows the major river basins in China. Name the rivers of these basins
under the map. Find your answers in the box below.

Chang Jiang Hai He Huai He Huang He

Liao He Songhua Jiang Zhu Jiang

1 Songhua Jiang 2 Liao He

3 Hai He 4 Huang He

5 Huai He 6 Chang Jiang

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7 Zhu Jiang

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3 Complete the following information about the three most important rivers in China.

a Chang Jiang : This is the longest and largest river in China

 Dongting Hu  Poyang Hu  Tai Hu

b Huang He : This is the second longest river in China. It is muddy

c Zhu Jiang : It is formed by three rivers, namely

 Xi Jiang  Bei Jiang  Dong Jiang .
Hong Kong is at its mouth

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B What is the relationship between the relief of China and the

direction of flow of major rivers?

4 Water flows from ( high / low ) levels to ( high / low ) levels.

5 In China, there are ( highlands / lowlands ) in the east (the coast) and ( highlands / lowlands )
in the west (the inland). Therefore, the major rivers of China flow from west to
east towards the sea.

Examples of highland in inland China Examples of lowland in coastal China

a Qing Zang Gaoyuan f Huabei Pingyuan

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b Yungui Gaoyuan g Middle and Lower Chang Jiang Pingyuan

c Kunlun Shan h Zhu Jiang Delta

d Huangtu Gaoyuan

e Himalayas

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C What is the climate of China?

6 A large part of China has a m onsoon climate.

7 Winds blowing in opposite directions during different seasons are called

m onsoons .

1 In summer Land

The land is heated up by the sun .

Air becomes ( hot / cold ) and it rises.

Air pressure over the land is ( high / low ).

Sea

Water absorbs heat more ( quickly / slowly ) than land.

Air over the sea is relatively cooler than air over the land.

Cool air is denser than warm air.

Air pressure over the sea is ( higher / lower ) than over the land.

Air moves from high-pressure areas to low-

pressure areas.

Therefore, wind blows from the

Pacific Ocean towards the

southern and eastern parts of Asia.

This is the s ummer m onsoon .

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Winds blowing from the sea to the land are called onshore winds. They carry a lot of
moisture and bring rain to coastal regions.

Therefore, places affected by these winds are ( dry / wet ) in summer.

2 In winter Land

The land loses heat more ( quickly / slowly ) than

the sea.

The land surface is colder than the sea surface.

Cold air over the land ( rises / sinks ).

Air pressure over the land is ( high / low ).

Sea

Water releases heat more ( quickly / slowly ) than land.

Air over the sea is relatively warmer than air over the land.

Warm air is lighter than cool air.

Air pressure over the sea is ( higher / lower ) than over the land.

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Air moves from high-pressure areas to

low-pressure areas.

Therefore, wind blows from the

land towards the sea

(Pacific Ocean) .

This is the w inter m onsoon .

Winds blowing from the land to the sea are called offshore winds. They carry little
moisture.

Therefore, they bring dry weather to the affected regions in winter.

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8 The inland region has less rain than the coastal area in China.

Winds blowing from the sea bring

moisture. But as they move inland,

the amount of moisture carried by

them ( increases / decreases ).

D Where are China’s water resources?

9 Where are the wet and dry regions in China? Finish the descriptions below.

a There are four major wet and dry regions. They are:

1 Humid region (>800 mm) 3 Semi-arid region (200-400 mm)

2 Semi-humid region (400-800 mm) 4 Arid region (<200 mm)

Region 1 is mainly found in the southern part Regions 3 and 4 are mainly found in the
of China. Region 2 is mainly found in northern and the
southern and north-eastern China north-western parts of China

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More precipitation means more water in the The annual flow of water in rivers of these
river. The annual flow of water in rivers of these regions is ( great / small )
regions is ( great / small )

b In general, the amount of water resources in China decreases from south-east to

north-west . Their distribution is ( even / uneven ).

E How do monsoons affect water resources in China?

10 Refer to the following climatic graphs of places along the Chang Jiang.

Monsoon climate affects these places in the following ways:

Summer monsoons prevail Winter monsoons prevail between

between May and September. They November and March. They bring low
bring high rainfall during the wet rainfall during the dry season.
season.

 
Chengdu May to September, about 800 mm November to March, about 60 mm

Wuhan May to September, about 720 mm November to March, about 270 mm

Hangzho May to September, about 830 mm November to March, about 400 mm

u

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 
( More / Fewer ) water resources are ( More / Fewer ) water resources are

available during the wet season. available during the dry season.

11 Water resources in China also vary greatly yearly.

 During wet years, the high rainfall may cause f looding .

 During dry years, the low rainfall may result in d rought .

Both of them can cause serious damage to farming and other economic activities.

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F What are the major human activities in a river basin?

12 Human activities are often found in river basins. What are these activities?

 Deforestation : People cut down trees for timber and fuel wood.

 Building dams : People use them to control the river flow. Water in the river is used
for irrigation .

 Modifying channels and lakes:

 People straighten the river channel for flood control.
 People convert lakes to land for fishery , farmland and s ettlement .

 Drawing ground water for various uses, e.g. for industrial and domestic uses.

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3.4 What are the major water problems in China?

A What and where are China’s major water problems?

1 What are China’s major water problems?

a Flooding

It occurs when rainfall is very

heavy, rivers become full and
water flows over the channel.

Sometimes, strong typhoons push

seawater onto the shore. This
causes storm
surges and leads to severe

coastal flooding .

b Drought

It occurs when there is a long

period without any rain, or when
rainfall is much lower than
normal.

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c Pollution

When a river is polluted, the water

becomes unusable.

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2 Where do China’s water problems occur? Refer to the following maps showing the
distribution of the three major water problems in China. Fill in the blanks and circle the
correct answer (there can be more than one answer) to show their distribution.

Distribution of flooding:

It occurs mainly in low-lying areas

such as coastal flat land and river basins.

These areas are found in ( western /

central / eastern ) China

Distribution of drought (can choose more

than one):

Mainly found in ( western / central /

eastern ) China

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Distribution of water pollution (can

choose more than one):

Mainly found along the ( upper /

middle / lower ) parts of rivers in China.

Many of these rivers flow past major

cities in ( western / central / eastern )

China

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B What are the harmful effects of flooding?

3 Flooding causes great damage. The damage includes:

a On structures
i Damaging buildings
ii Damaging transport networks such as roads, rail lines
and bridges

b On services

iii Stopping the supply of water , electricity and

gas

iv Disrupting transport services

c On health of people In sum, flooding causes

v Loss of lives and injuries the following losses:

vi Causing water pollution, and the polluted water may

diseases - E conomic loss
cause on people

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d On crops - Loss of lives and

vii Damaging crops causing crop f ailure property

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C What is the impact of drought?

1 Impact on the environment

4 a Serious drought may cause no water flow in a river

channel. It is called the cut-off of a river.

b The sediment in the river will stay in the river. This

causes silting and results in a rise of river
bed .

5 Dry condition does not favour vegetation growth. The topsoil

may be blown away more easily. This will intensify
d esertification and s andstorms may become more
common.

2 Impact on people

6 Drought

Agriculture
Industry Crop
HEP generation Daily life of people
Fall in failure
Electricity generationwater
Insufficient is affected
for daily use inconvenience and affecting he
production because of insufficient water food
shortages

D How does serious water pollution in China worsen the water

shortage problem?

7
Waste water from factories may Excess chemicals from farms Sewage
contain heavy metals and toxic e.g. pesticides and from home
chemicals fertilizers

Not treated

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 3 The trouble with water

Water pollution
Reduces the Intensifies the water
quality of water shortage problem

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3.5 Is nature to blame?

A What are the causes of flooding in China?

1
Flooding occurs when:

There is a sudden and large increase in The river bed becomes shallow and the
river flow river cannot hold the large amount of flow

Factor A: Factor B:

The amount of river flow increases The capacity of the river decreases

Natural causes Factor Human causes Factor

Heavy rainfall and typhoons A Deforestation results in more soil and B

bring heavy rain rocks washed into the rivers

When the slope of the channel B Poor farming methods and too much B

becomes gentle, the water flow livestock grazing on the slopes causes
slows down. Sediment in the river soil erosion. Silting becomes more
stays in the river bed. This raises serious

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the river bed Lakes are changed to different uses. B

They cannot store as much water as

before

Dykes are poorly kept. They may fail B

if river flow increases rapidly

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