A Brief Course Description...

Water is a natural substance and one of the most common compounds found near the surface of the Earth. It is essential, in its pure form, to the health and very existence of all natural ecosystems and, quite possibly all life. Water plays an important role in abiotic systems as well and has been around in large quantities on Earth for at least 4.4 billion years (Wilde et al., 2001)- predating the arrival of our species considerably. Our concern for this course, however, is not the function and importance of water as it cycles endlessly though natural systems; rather, we will focus upon the complex interaction between our species and the water within our natural and modified environment as we attempt to understand fresh water as a resource (a physical entity of limited availability and economic, aesthetic, legal, and/or ethical value). To put it succinctly, we will concern ourselves with how we as humans use water. With the exception of saline water incursion into fresh water aquifers, will will be concentrating entirely on terrestrial water. If you are more interested in marine systems, you should look into GEOL 155 (Oceanography) as an alternative to this course.

Understanding water resources requires the consideration of a multitude of factors. As the illustration below indicates, our water resources course will combine discussions about physical hydrology, government regulation, and the private interest that are playing a larger and larger role in the water that we consume. Since I anticipate that very few of the students that take this course will actually find their way into a profession that involves direct action within the realm of public or private water supply, disposal, et cetera, this course will also have substantial portion of material dedicated to helping students understand how their personal decisions affect the hydrosphere on local, national, and international levels.
Physical Hydrology: In order to appreciate the limits, options, and consequences, of how we as individuals, companies, and societies use water, we must develop a firm understanding of the fundamentals of physical science as it applies to freshwater hydrologic systems (rivers, lakes, and groundwater). To this end, we will study how water moves through the global hydrologic cycle and through regional surface waters (riparian and lacustrine) and through groundwater. We will study the impacts of dams, chemical pollution (both natural and anthropogenic), the cyclically of flooding events, and withdrawing water from systems at rates that exceed natural rates of replenishment. We will also discuss future changes to the Earth's hydrologic systems that are predicted as a result of anthropogenic global climate disruption.

Government Oversight: In the USA, both water supply and non-supply (sanitation, hydroelectric, recreational, et cetera) resources have been largely under the control of federal, state, and local governments for much of our history. We will discuss the role of our government in providing water resource infrastructure, safe drinking water, and the legal framework for proportioning water between its citizens. We will also discuss governments abroad, their internal dealings, and the role of water resources in determining the nature of interactions between governments.

Commercial Interests: While the vast majority of water supply and sanitation systems are publicly controlled (90% globally?), there is a trend toward privatization of these systems both nationally and globally. We will discuss the consequences of these trends both for the natural environment and for consumers of water. In doing so, we will examine communities both domestically (I would welcome suggestions from students for specific communities of interest) and abroad (Bolivia, England) that have "decided" to privatize their water supply systems.

Personal Consumption: Residents of the USA use an average of 1797 gallons per person per day (Hoekstra and Chapagain, 2007). While our per capita water usage is, apparently decreasing (Kenny et al., 2009), it is still the highest in the world. Only 9% of this water is used in a domestic capacity with the rest playing a vital role in producing the agricultural (59%) or industrial (32%) products that we consume (Hoekstra and Chapagain, 2007). Needless to say, we, as a society use huge quantities of water in order to sustain our current standard of living; and, while our personal decisions are made within the context of the choices that are provided by our public and private vectors of water resources and, of course, the limits of the natural world, we do have the ability to drastically reduce our personal water consumption thereby lessening our noticeable impacts both on our natural environment and the availability of water for our fellow humans. To this end, we will discuss concepts of virtual (embedded) water and the water footprint of the products that we consume and our role as individuals in minimizing anthropogenic water pollution. We will discuss the quality of the local (municipal) water that we drink here in Lexington and the safety of the water that we use for recreation.