Sustainable Water Resources

Catalog description

The World Health Organization estimates that 1 in 8 people do not have access to a safe drinking water supply. The US State Department has stated that armed conflict over water rights is possible on many of the world’s river systems including the Nile, Tigris/Euphrates, Brahmaputra-Jamuna, and Mekong. What is the cause of these problems, and how will changes to the hydrologic cycle and world water supply brought about by climate change affect them? Students will learn about the hydrologic cycle, the general characteristics of surface water and groundwater, and global patterns of water use. Students will learn about the health, economic, and social consequences of drought and flooding, and the effect climate change is having on water supply in arid countries. Laws and government regulation of water withdrawal and use will be covered, as will techniques to extend the available water supply. Students will consider the positive and negative consequences of increasing the sustainability of the water supply through efficiency, conservation, inter-basin transfer, water use export, grey & black water reuse, urban runoff capture, and the creation of fresh water through desalination. Written and oral communication skills will be emphasized. Students will form teams to debate ethical issues related to equitable distribution of our limited water supply. The course will have one text, but learning materials will be strongly supplemented using documentaries, online videos and electronic and print journalism articles to elucidate the popular understanding of our water crisis. Students who complete this course may not take ESHS-360 (Sustainable World Water Supply) for credit.