Specification
The storage and supply of clean water (dams and reservoirs, pipelines, treatment works).
A. Global access to safe water
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Safe water is water that is safe for humans to drink: it is water which is not contaminated with disease or chemicals.
Use the map on the right to write a description of patterns of access to safe water. Remember to use data and to refer to specific regions, continents, countries. you should also refer to the difference between HICs and LICs. Consider what "access to safe water" means. Do we have "access to safe water"? How might this access take different forms? (Hint - check this link). |
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B. Stages of water supply
There are 3 main stages of water supply. They are shown below:
Stage 1: Collection
Use the information below to make brief notes on where we source our water. You should include each of the three main sources below.
The main sources of water are:
Reservoirs are artificial lakes or stores of water, usually created by building dams across river valleys to hold back the water and create a store for water supply. Dams are often multi-purpose schemes and may be used to hydro-electric power generation and flood control as well as for water supply. We will look at one dam in more detail in a later lesson (The Three Gorges Dam - see video below).
We also access water from groundwater, stored in aquifers or water holding rocks. To access this we use boreholes or wells (see the second video below).
Use the information below to make brief notes on where we source our water. You should include each of the three main sources below.
The main sources of water are:
- Rivers
- Reservoirs and lakes
- Aquifers and wells
Reservoirs are artificial lakes or stores of water, usually created by building dams across river valleys to hold back the water and create a store for water supply. Dams are often multi-purpose schemes and may be used to hydro-electric power generation and flood control as well as for water supply. We will look at one dam in more detail in a later lesson (The Three Gorges Dam - see video below).
We also access water from groundwater, stored in aquifers or water holding rocks. To access this we use boreholes or wells (see the second video below).
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Stage 2: Treatment
Watch the videos below and carefully read page 23 of the student textbook and use them to make notes ready to prepare a detailed flow diagram of the stages of water treatment for safe drinking water
- Grill
- Coagulants
- Filtration
- Chlorination
- Aeration
- Disinfection
- Other additives (eg fluoride)
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Stage 3: Delivery
Use the student textbook and the resources below to make sure you understand each of the four methods of water deliver below:
- Pipe networks delivering water to the home
- Standpipes
- Wells
- Plastic bottles
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C. Future solutions?
Watch these videos and summarise the points made about future water supply.
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