Floods and Water Quality - University of Sheffield...Prague flood: June 3, 2013 …but things get...

Floods

and

Water Quality

A short history

Then where did the water

come from?? Now the Earth has 70% water!!

Gujba meteorite, a bencubbinite found in Nigeria. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonaceous_chondrite#/medi

a/File:Gujba_meteorite,_bencubbinite_(14785860604).jpg

http://blogs.nasa.gov/Watch_the_Skies/wp-content/uploads/sites/193/2015/08/HuntsvilleComposite.png

It is believed that the source of water

is one type of asteroids called

carbonaceous chondrites that

came to Earth few billion years ago

When Earth was created 4.5 billion

years ago, it was a pile of fire ball

with no water

This is the exact same water that existed during….

So think about this!!

The time of Dinosaur

65 million years ago…

http://palaeos.com/vertebrates/primates/images/Sahelanthropus.jpg

The time of Homininae 8 million years ago…

AND even today!!

Again, this will be the

exact same water that will

exist in Earth until her last

day

Being used by 7 billion people of the world

http://www.dinosaurfact.net/backgrounds.php

Same water drunk by the builders

of the pyramids in Egypt 4000

years ago

Or by Julius Caesar 2000 years ago

A short history

As day by day, more people are/will be using the same amount of water…

More process is being involved…

We need to think more about the problems we find with water and water pollution…

Uses and problems of Water

Floods

Hydroelectric power Snowpack

River flow

Habitat

Delta Life

Water Quality

Water Use

Ground Water

Agriculture

Draught

http://what-when-how.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/tmp6721.jpg

Natural Water Cycle

Cities next to water bodies

ADVANTAGES

• Economically: water transportation (rivers, canal and sea/ocean)

• Sustainability: Fresh/drinkable water and food (fish and others), waste disposal (sanitary needs)

Water Cycle in Urban Areas

Prague flood: June 3, 2013

…but things get messy sometimes!

Coimbra flood: 11 January, 2016

Lech river flood, Germany: June 2, 2013

Caused by storm surge Death toll: 2,551 killed (1,836 in the Netherlands)

Property damage: 9% of total Dutch farmland flooded, 30,000 animals drowned, 47,300 buildings damaged of which 10,000 destroyed

Flood Hazard in the Netherlands

Flood at the Dutch Coast: 31 January – 1 February 1953

http://www.floodsite.net/juniorfloodsite/html/en/student/thingstoknow/hydrology/floodtypes.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_floods_in_Europe

Flood Hazard

Reasons of floods

Flooding occurs most commonly from • Heavy rainfall: (Volume, spatial

distribution, intensity and duration of rainfall)

• Dam failure (triggered for example by an earthquake) or Dyke breaching

• Reduction of capacity of the watercourse (may be due to unplanned urbanization)

• Drainage congestion (clogging of urban drain or sedimentation in the downstream river)

• Ground cover, topography (main cause of urban flooding)

• Tidal influences

• In coastal areas where inundation can be caused by a storm surge associated with a tropical cyclone or tsunami

Can we stop flooding

It is not possible to stop raining!

What we can do is protecting ourselves by Flood Management

Flood management

Krystian Pilarczyk, http://www.slideshare.net/Pilarczyk/flood-protection-and-management-nl?qid=ad07cc89-621b-40ee-9d44-6ab08d8cfd73&v=default&b=&from_search=11

• Source control to reduce runoff (permeable pavements, afforestation, artificial recharge);

• Storage of runoff (wetlands, detention basins, reservoirs);

• Capacity enhancement of rivers (bypass channels, channel deepening or widening);

• Separation of rivers and populations (land use control, dikes, flood proofing, zoning, house raising);

• Emergency management during floods (flood warnings, emergency works to raise or strengthen dikes, flood proofing, evacuation); and

• Flood recovery (counselling, compensation or insurance).

Shorten river length

Storm warning system

Flood management examples

Storm surge barrier Retention tank Dyke construction

Green pavement Mount Morris Dam

What is water quality

• Ability of a water body to support all appropriate beneficial uses.

What is water quality

• Chemical

• Physical-chemical

• Biological

NH4

NO3

Point Source

• Specific source, like a pipe

• Factories, industry, sewage treatment plant

• Possibility to monitor and control by a permit system

Nonpoint Source • Associated with stormwater

or runoff

• Cannot be traced to a direct discharge point such as wastewater treatment facility

• Examples: Oil & grease from cars Fertilizers Animal waste Grass clippings

Septic systems Sewage & cleaners from boats Household cleaning products Litter

Sources of water pollution

What is water pollution

• Anthropogenic

What is water pollution

• Natural phenomena

Effect of Extreme

Rainfall on Water Quality

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and

demonstration under grant agreement no 607000

Thank You!