6.3.5

Increasing Water Supplies

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How Can We Increase Water Supplies?

Increasing water supplies can be achieved by diverting water supplies, increasing water storage, using dams & reservoirs, using water transfers or building desalination plants.

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Increasing water storage, dams, and reservoirs

  • The UK uses dams and reservoirs to transfer water.
  • Networks of dams, reservoirs, and aqueducts can transport water across the UK.
  • Manchester gets water from the Lake District, Birmingham gets water from Wales, London gets its water from the River Thames upstream of Teddington.
  • Water is trapped behind a dam. This builds a reservoir, full of water.
  • Reservoirs essentially build up a stockpile of water throughout the year, when it is most needed.
  • Inevitably, some land must be flooded to store water in a reservoir.
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Water transfers and diverting water supplies

  • Water can be transferred from one area to another by diverting water supplies.
  • Water is usually moved from an area of surplus water to an area with a water deficit.
  • Building aqueducts and canals can help water flow to new places. However, gravity means that it has to be transferred from higher ground to lower ground.
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Desalination

  • Desalination plants take seawater, extract the salt and produce drinkable freshwater.
  • Desalination can happen by boiling seawater and separating the water & salt, or by filtering the seawater in a membrane.
  • Desalination is most common in areas with the largest water deficits (North Africa and the Middle East). These plants produce enough freshwater for 300 million people.
  • 97% of the Earth's water is salty seawater.
  • Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar are 3 of the largest users of desalination to get water.

Jump to other topics

1The Challenge of Natural Hazards

1.1Natural Hazards

1.2Tectonic Hazards

1.3Weather Hazards

1.4Climate Change

2The Living World

3Physical Landscapes in the UK

3.1The UK Physical Landscape

3.2Coastal Landscapes in the UK

3.3River Landscapes in the UK

3.4Glacial Landscapes in the UK

4Urban Issues & Challenges

5The Changing Economic World

6The Challenge of Resource Management

6.1Resource Management

6.2Food

6.3Water

6.4Energy

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