What type of resource is water

Therefore, surface water conservation and quality is of the utmost importance. Watershed organizations continuously measure the stream flow and quality of surface water. Stream flow is monitored to warn of flooding and drought conditions.

Water quality is very important, as the majority of the water used in the United States comes from surface water. It is the measure of how suitable the water is from a biological, chemical and physical perspective. Water quality can be impacted negatively by both natural and human causes: electrical conductivity, pH, temperature, phosphorus levels, dissolved oxygen levels, nitrogen levels and bacteria are tested as a measure of water quality. Water that runs off into the stream can naturally carry sediment, debris and pathogens.

Turbidity, the measure of suspended sediment in a stream, is also a measure of water quality. The more turbid the water, the lower the water quality. Manmade contaminants such as gasoline, solvents, pesticides, and nitrogen from livestock can wash over the land and can leach in to waterways, degrading the quality of nearby waters.

The Clean Water Act in the United States protects the quality of the stream and issues fines to those contributing to the degradation in water quality. By protecting and conserving the water supply, there is a greater guarantee of future water resources for human use.

Corina Fiore is a writer and photographer living in suburban Philadelphia. She earned a B. Fiore taught high school science for 7 years and offered several teacher workshops to regarding education techniques.

She worked as a staff writer for science texts and has been published in Praxis review materials for beginning teachers. Different Sources of Water. The Disadvantages of Desalination. Types of Drainage Basins. How Does Water Get Cleaned? The Effect of Water Pollution on Land. Positive Effects of Floods. The Three Types of Water Pollution. The Importance of Saving Water. Types of Water Currents. Natural Sources of Water.

Toggle navigation. Language English. Water as a natural resource Coursing over a distance of 6, kilometers, the mighty Yangtze is the longest river in China and the third longest in the world after the Amazon in South America and the Nile in Africa.

The blue planet. There are more than million trillion gallons of water on Earth. With so much water around it seems like there is enough to see us through for millions of years.

But did you know that even water, which seems to be in abundance, might one day become scarce? How much water there is on earth? Let's start by getting the background information on water first. Water demand already exceeds supply in many parts of the world, and many more areas are expected to experience this imbalance in the near future.

Climate change will have significant impacts on water resources around the world because of the close connections between the climate and hydrologic cycle. Due to the expanding human population competition for water is growing such that many of the worlds major aquifers are becoming depleted.

Many pollutants threaten water supplies, but the most widespread, especially in underdeveloped countries, is the discharge of raw sewage into natural waters. Reference Terms. It is important because it is needed for life to exist. Virtually all of these human uses require fresh water. Related Stories. The Regent's Canal,