Quantities of Water.docx

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Quantities of Water

We have an accurate idea of a litre of water, but do you know how much water there

is in a cubic meter of air, or the quantity of liquid in a lake or an ocean? Do you know

how much water is present when the Rhone floods the Camargue, or the floodrequired to create Valle Marineris on Mars? Do you know what quantity of water is

ejected by a comet or is present in a cubic light year of interstellar matter?

And here is another task for you!

Try and make an original contribution associating volumes of water on Earth

and volumes of water in Space! Explain this to your friends and see their

reactions.

Surfaces

Water covers 70% of the Earth's surface, but 97% of it has too high a salt content

(salinity) to be drunk by living beings or used in agriculture.

Fresh water thus only represents 3% of the total quantity of water. Some 70% of this

is trapped in the polar ice-caps. Rivers, lakes and marshes only represent 1% of the

total water on Earth. The remainder is underground water.

Sea water and ice represent 99.35% of all water on the planet Earth. The remainder is

underground water, and that in streams, rivers, lakes, and the atmosphere.

Some 60% of rainwater evaporates and forms clouds; 25% penetrates the soil, and

15% flows into rivers and lakes.

The Earth's atmosphere contains 13,000 million tonnes of water. This is equal to a

layer of water 2.5 cm deep, covering the entire surface of the Earth.

Volumes

Now some numbers about the water on the Earth. First, here is how much water there

is in the Earth's oceans:

OCEANS ON THE EARTH VOLUME OF WATER

Pacific Ocean 707.5 million km of water

Atlantic Ocean 323 million km of water

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Indian Ocean 284 million km of water

The oceans cover 71% of the Earth's surface.

If the polar ice-caps in the Arctic and Antarctic melted completely, the average levelof the oceans would rise by approximately 80 metres.

How much water flows in the rivers on Earth?. Here are some examples:

RIVER MIN FLOW MAX FLOW

Amazon 70 000 m per sec 200 000 m per sec

Congo 40 000 m per sec 80 000 m per sec

Yang Ts-kiang 600 m per sec 50 000 m per sec

Danube 6 300 m per sec 22 000 m per sec

Rhine 780 m per sec 9 000 m per sec

Rhne 1760 m per sec 12 000 m per sec

Loire 75 m per sec 10 000 m per sec

Elbe 150 m per sec 3 600 m per sec

Seine 50 m per sec 1 650 m per sec

But the rivers also carry other things than water. As an example of the great pollution,

here are a few numbers about one of the big rivers in Europe: Each year the river

Rhone discharges between 2000 and 5000 tonnes of ammonia, 2000 and 13000 tonnes

of chlorides, 300 to 700 tonnes of arsenic into the Mediterranean in addition to lesser

quantities of copper, iron, titanium, cadmium,... Don't you think that this is a great

pity?

And here we go again:

Human beings are 75% water. Try to calculate what volume of water is

contained in the 6 billion inhabitants on the planet Earth. Are you amazed?

Try to calculate some other numbers and make other comparisons. You may

send in your results to Sea & Space(address on the top page).

Water Consumption

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We use a lot of water for our daily needs. Here are the quantities of water required for

domestic use (mean values for a European citizen; in some countries the quatities are

less because of stricter regulations):

Activity Quantity of water usedShower 25 - 100 litres

Bath 70 - 200 litres

Flushing the WC 8 - 12 litres

Washing dishes by hand 25 litres

Washing dishes by dishwasher 15 - 22 litres

Washing clothes by machine 55 - 120 litres

Washing a car 190 litres

Now try to answer these questions:

If each person living on the planet Earth took one shower every day, how much

water would be used in one year?

Compare this with... (your choice!).

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Storm drainFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about subterranean tunnels conveying runoff from urban streets. For a description

of early drainage systems designed to use storm runoff to flush sanitary and industrial wastes

into natural waterways for removal, seecombined sewer.

See also:DrainageandStormwater

American-style curbside storm drain receivingurban runoff

Old storm drain inKutn Hora,theCzech Republic

A storm drain, storm sewer(US), stormwater drain(AustraliaandNew Zealand)ordrainage

wellsystem (UK)or simply a drainor drain systemis designed todrainexcessrainandground

waterfrom paved streets,parking lots,sidewalks,androofs.Storm drains vary in design from

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small residentialdry wellsto large municipal systems. They are fed bystreet gutterson

mostmotorways,freeways and other busyroads,as well as towns in areas which experience

heavy rainfall,floodingandcoastaltowns which experience regularstorms.Many storm

drainage systems are designed to drain the storm water, untreated, into rivers or streams.

Contents

[hide]

1 Function

o 1.1 Inlet

o 1.2 Piping

o 1.3 Outlet

2 Environmental impacts

o 2.1 Water quantity

o 2.2 Water quality

o 2.3 Reducing stormwater flows

o 2.4 Mosquito breeding

3 Relationship to sanitary sewer systems

o 3.1 Combined sewers

4 Regulations and local building codes

5 Exploration

6 Residence

7 Ancient history

8 Gallery

9 See also

10 References

11 External links

Function[edit]

Inlet[edit]

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Full view of a storm drain (Ontario, Canada)

There are two main types ofstormwaterdrain (storm sewer) inlets: side inlets and grated inlets.

Side inlets are located adjacent to the curb (kerb) and rely on the ability of the opening under

the backstone or lintel to capture flow. They are usually depressed at the invert of the channel to

improve capture capacity.[1]

Many inlets havegratingsor grids to prevent people, vehicles, large objects ordebrisfrom

falling into the storm drain. Grate bars are spaced so that the flow of water is not impeded.

Consequently sediment and many small objects can fall through. Also, if grate bars are too far

apart, the openings may present a risk to pedestrians, bicyclists, and others in the area. Grates

with long narrow slots parallel to traffic are of particular concern to cyclists, as the front tire of a

bicycle may become stuck, causing the cyclist to go over the handlebars or lose control and

fall.[2]Storm drains in streets and parking areas must be strong enough to support the weight of

vehicles.

Old German storm drain in Kstrin (now Kostrzyn nad Odr in Poland)

Some of the heavier sediment and small objects may settle in a catchbasin, orsump,which lies

immediately below the outlet, where water from the top of the catchbasin reservoir overflows

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into the sewer proper. The catchbasin serves much the same function as the "trap" in household

wastewaterplumbingin trapping objects.

In the United States, unlike the plumbing trap, the catchbasin does not necessarily prevent

sewer gases such ashydrogen sulfideandmethanefrom escaping. However in the United

Kingdom, where they are called gulley-pots, they are designed as true water-filled traps and do

block the egress of gases and rodents.

Most catchbasins will containstagnant waterduring the drier parts of the year, and can be used

bymosquitosfor breeding.Larvicidesor disruptive larval hormones, sometimes released from

"mosquito biscuits", have been used to control mosquito breeding in catchbasins. Mosquitoes

may be physically prevented from reaching the standing water or migrating into the sewer

proper by the use of an "inverted cone filter". Another method ofmosquito controlis to spread a

thin layer of oil on the surface of stagnant water, interfering with the breathing tubes of mosquito

larvae.

The performance of catchbasins at removingsedimentand otherpollutantsdepends on the

design of the catchbasin (for example, the size of the sump), and on routine maintenance to

retain the storage available in the sump to capture sediment. Municipalities typically have

largevacuum trucksthat perform this task.

Catchbasins act as a first-line pretreatment for othertreatmentpractices, such asretention

basins,by capturing large sediments and street litter fromurban runoffbefore it enters the storm

drainage pipes.

A storm sewer under the main road empties into a bigger open channel

Piping[edit]

Pipes can come in many different cross-sectional shapes (rectangular, square, bread-loaf-

shaped, oval, inverted pear-shaped, and most commonly, circular).Drainagesystems may have

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many different features includingwaterfalls,stairways, balconies and pits for catching rubbish,

sometimes called Gross Pollutant Traps (GPTs). Pipes made of different materials can also be

used, such asbrick,concrete,high-density polyethyleneor galvanized steel.Fibre reinforced

plasticis starting to see widespread use for drain pipes and fittings.

Outlet[edit]

Most drains have a single large exit at their point of discharge (often covered by agrating)into

acanal,river,lake,reservoir,sea orocean.Other than catchbasins, typically there are no

treatment facilities in the piping system. Small storm drains may discharge into individualdry

wells.Storm drains may be interconnected using slotted pipe, to make a larger dry well system.

Storm drains may discharge into man-made excavations known as recharge basins or retention

ponds.

Environmental impacts[edit]

Urban runoffbeing discharged tocoastalwaters

Water quantity[edit]

Storm drains are often unable to manage the quantity of rain that falls during heavy rains and/or

storms. When storm drains are inundated, basement and street flooding can occur. Unlike

catastrophic flooding events, this type ofurban floodingoccurs in built-up areas where man-made drainage systems are prevalent. Urban flooding is the primary cause of sewer backups

and basement flooding which can affect properties year after year.[3]

Water quality[edit]

Main article:Urban runoff

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Thefirst flushfromurban runoffcan be extremely dirty. Storm water may become contaminated

while running down the road or otherimpervious surface,or from lawn chemical run-off, before

entering the drain.

Water running off these impervious surfaces tends to pick upgasoline,motor oil,heavy

metals,trashand other pollutants from roadways and parking lots, as well

asfertilizersandpesticidesfrom lawns. Roads and parking lots are major sources

ofnickel,copper,zinc,cadmium,leadandpolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs), which are

created ascombustionbyproducts of gasoline and otherfossil fuels.Roof runoff contributes

high levels ofsyntheticorganic compoundsandzinc(fromgalvanizedgutters). Fertilizer use on

residential lawns, parks and golf courses is a significant source ofnitratesandphosphorus.[4][5]

Separation of undesired runoff can be done by installing devices within the storm sewer system.

These devices are new to the market and can only be installed with new development or during

major upgrades. They are referred to asoil-grit separators(OGS) or oil-sediment separators

(OSS). They consist of a specializedmanholechamber, and use the water flow and/or gravity to

separate oil and grit.[6]

Reducing stormwater flows[edit]

Runoff into storm sewers can be minimized by includingsustainable urban drainage

systems(UK term) orlow impact developmentorgreen infrastructurepractices (US terms) into

municipal plans. To reduce stormwater from rooftops, flows from eaves troughs (rain

guttersand downspouts) may beinfiltratedinto adjacent soil, rather than discharged into the

storm sewer system. Storm water runoff from paved surfaces can be directed to unlined ditches

(sometimes calledswalesorbioswales)before flowing into the storm sewers, again to allow the

runoff to soak into the ground.Permeable pavingmaterials can be used in building

sidewalks,drivewaysand in some cases, parking lots, to infiltrate a portion of the stormwater

volume.[7]In many areas detention tanks are required to be installed inside a property and are

used to temporarily hold rainwater runoff during heavy rains and restrict the outlet flow to the

public sewer. This lessens the risk of the public sewer being overburdened during heavy rain.

An overflow outlet may also be utilized which connects higher on the outlet side of the detention

tank. This overflow would prevent the detention tank from completely filling up. By restricting the

flow of water in this way and temporarily holding the water in a detention tank public sewers are

far less likely to become surcharged.

Mosquito breeding[edit]

Catch basins are commonly designed with a sump area below the outlet pipe level which is a

reservoir for water and debris to help prevent the pipe from clogging. Unless they are

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constructed with permeable bottoms to allow water to infiltrate into the underlying soil, this

subterranean basin can become a perfect mosquito breeding area because it is cool, dark, and

retains stagnant water for long periods of time. Combined with standard grates which have

holes large enough for mosquitoes to enter and leave the basin, this is major problem in

mosquito control.[8]Basins can be filled with concrete up to the pipe level to prevent this

reservoir from forming. Without proper maintenance, the functionality of the basin is

questionable, as these catch basins are most commonly not cleaned annually as is needed to

make them perform as designed. The trapping of debris serves no purpose because once filled

they operate as if no basins was present, but continue to allow a shallow area of water retention

for the breeding of mosquito. Moreover, even if cleaned and maintained, the water reservoir

remains filled, accommodating the breeding of mosquitoes.

Relationship to sanitary sewer systems[edit]

Sign alerting public to avoid dumping waste into storm drains

Typical signage embedded in pavement next to a storm drain inBoston,in the United States

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Storm drains are separate and distinct fromsanitary sewersystems. The separation of storm

sewers from sanitary sewers helps to prevent sewage treatment plants becoming overwhelmed

byinfiltration/inflowduring a rainstorm, which can result in untreated sewage being discharged

into the environment.

Many storm drainage systems are designed to drain the storm water, untreated, into rivers or

streams. Many local governments conduct public awareness campaigns about this, lest waste

be dumped into the storm drain system.[9]In the city ofCleveland, Ohio,for example, all new

catch basins installed have inscriptions on them not to dump any waste, and usually include a

fish imprint as well.Trout UnlimitedCanadarecommends that a yellow fish symbol be painted

next to existing storm drains.[10]

Combined sewers[edit]

Main article:Combined sewer

Cities that installed their sewage collection systems before the 1930s typically used single

piping systems to transport bothurban runoffand sewage. This type of collection system is

referred to as acombined sewer system(CSS). The cities' rationale when combined sewers

were built was that it would be cheaper to build just a single system.[11]In these systems a

sudden large rainfall that exceeds sewage treatment capacity will be allowed to overflow directly

from the storm drains into receiving waters via structures called combined sewer overflows.[12]

Storm drains are typically at shallower depths than combined sewers; because, while storm

drains are designed to accept surface runoff from streets, combined sewers were designed toalso accept sewage flows from buildings with basements.[13]

New York City,Washington DC,Seattleand other cities with combined systems have this

problem due to a large influx of storm water after every heavy rain. Some cities have dealt with

this by adding large storage tanks or ponds to hold the water until it can be treated.Chicagohas

a system of tunnels, collectively called theDeep Tunnel,underneath the city for storing its

stormwater.[14]In many areas detention tanks or roof detention systems are required to be

installed for a property and are used to temporarily hold rainwater runoff during heavy rains and

restrict the outlet flow to the public sewer. This lessens the risk of the public sewer beingoverburdened during a heavy rain. An overflow outlet may also be utilized which connects

higher on the outlet side of the detention tank. This overflow would prevent the detention tank

from completely filling up. By restricting the flow of water in this way and temporarily holding the

water in adetention tankor by roof detention public sewers are far less likely to become

surcharged.[15]

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Regulations and local building codes[edit]

Building codesand local governmentordinancesvary greatly on the handling of storm drain

runoff. New developments might be required to construct their own storm drain processing

capacity for returning the runoff to thewater tableandbioswalesmay be required in sensitiveecological areas to protect thewatershed.

In the United States, cities, suburban communities and towns with over 10,000 population are

required to obtain discharge permits for their storm sewer systems, under theClean Water

Act.[16]TheEnvironmental Protection Agency(EPA) issued stormwater regulations for large

cities in 1990 and for other communities in 1999.[17]The permits require local governments to

operate stormwater management programs, covering both construction of new buildings and

facilities, and maintenance of their existing municipal drainage networks. Many municipalities

have revised their local ordinances covering management of runoff. State government facilities,

such as roads andhighways,are also subject to the stormwater management regulations.[18]

Exploration[edit]

Main article:Urban exploration

An internationalsubculturehas grown up around the exploration of stormwater drains. Societies

such as theCave Clanregularly explore the drains underneath cities. This is commonly known

as "urban exploration", but is also known as drainingwhen in specific relation to storm drains.

Residence[edit]See also:Mole people,Underclass,andUnderground living

In several large American cities,homelesspeople live in storm drains.[citation needed]At least 300

people live in the 200 miles of underground storm drains ofLas Vegas,many of them making a

living finding unclaimed winnings in the gambling machines.[19]An organization called Shine a

Light was founded in 2009 to help the drain residents after over 20 drowning deaths occurred in

the preceding years.[19][20]A man inSan Diegowas evicted from a storm drain after living there

for nine months in 1986.[21]

Ancient history[edit]

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Ancient Romangullyhole[clarification needed]

inOstia AnticainItaly

Archaeologicalstudies have revealed use of rather sophisticated stormwaterrunoffsystems in

ancient cultures. For example, inMinoanCreteapproximately 4000 years before present, cities

such asPhaistoswere designed to have storm drains and channels to collect precipitation

runoff. At CretanKnossos,storm drains include stone-lined structures large enough for a person

to crawl through.[22]Other examples of early civilizations with elements of stormwater drain

systems include early people ofMainland Orkneysuch asGurnessand theBrough of

BirsayinScotland.

Gallery[edit]

A storm drain discharging into theRiver Brentin theUK.

Iron Cove Creek,Sydney,Australia.

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Inside of a largereinforced concrete boxstorm drain inMississauga,Ontario,Canada.

Storm drain inObertraun,Austria.

Storm drain overflowing inDurham, North Carolina.

114" pipe installation; Pipe: 114" aluminized type 2; Flow: 25 cubic meters/second; This is a storm drain

inGuasave,Mexico.

The inlet to a storm drain inMarkeaton,Derbyallowing a river to overflow into the storm drain.

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Inside theMarkeaton Interceptor Storm Relief Culvert

See also[edit]

Urban runoff

Water pollution

References[edit]

1. Jump up^Kerb Inlet,Local Government & Municipal Knowledge Base, accessed February 6,

2010

2. Jump up^"technotes"(Spring 2009). Maryland Transportation Technology Transfer Center.[dead

link]

3. Jump up^http://www.cnt.org/media/CNT_PrevalenceAndCostOfUrbanFlooding.pdf

4. Jump up^Water Environment Federation,Alexandria, VA; andAmerican Society of Civil

Engineers,Reston, VA."Urban Runoff Quality Management."WEF Manual of Practice No. 23;

ASCE Manual and Report on Engineering Practice No. 87. 1998.ISBN 1-57278-039-8.Chapter

1.

5. Jump up^G. Allen Burton, Jr., Robert Pitt (2001).Stormwater Effects Handbook: A Toolbox for

Watershed Managers, Scientists, and Engineers.New York: CRC/Lewis Publishers.ISBN0-

87371-924-7.Chapter 2.

6. Jump up^Shoemaker, Leslie; Lahlou, Mohammed; Doll, Amy; Cazenas, Patricia (2002)."Fact

Sheet--Oil/Grit Separator Units".Stormwater Best Management Practices in an Ultra-Urban

Setting: Selection and Monitoring. Washington, DC: U.S. Federal Highway Administration.

7. Jump up^Brattebo, B. O., and D. B. Booth. 2003."Long-Term Stormwater Quantity and Quality

Performance of Permeable Pavement Systems."Water Research.37: 4369-4376.doi:10.1016/S0043-1354(03)00410-X

8. Jump up^Clinical Medicine & Research February 1, 2005 vol. 3 no. 1 3-12.

9. Jump up^U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Washington, DC."Public Education and

Outreach on Stormwater Impacts."2008-09-17.

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7 Steps to Clean Waterfrom Great Lakes Green Initiative (example of a local public

awareness program)

Experiences and Challenges in Sewers: Measurements and Hydrodynamics

(2008)International Meeting on Measurements and Hydraulics of Sewers IMMHS'08,

Hydraulic Model Report No. CH70/08, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, 114

pages (ISBN 978-1-86499-928-0)

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Stormwatermanagement structures

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Infrastructure

Categories:

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