1. Periodic – relating or happening in one particular country and not
involving any other countries;
2. Domestic – something that you think is true although you have no
definite proof;
3. Assumption – happening a number of times, usually at regular times;
4. Well-being – a situation when there is not enough of something;
5. Scarcity - to make it difficult for someone to do something;
6. Hamper (v) - a feeling of being comfortable, healthy and happy.
Task 4. Answer the questions to the text
1. How is the concept of water stress defined?
2. What does it embraces?
3. What are the thresholds for water stress?
4. What happens if the availability of water is below the threshold levels?
Task 5. Read the definitions of these words and word combinations. Translate them into Russian
1. Expansion – when something increases in size, range, amount, etc.;
2. Estimate (v) - to try to judge the value, size, cost etc. of something without calculating it exactly;
3. Additional – more than what was agreed or expected;
4. Water demand - the need for water;
5. Conservation - a protection of natural things such as animals, plants, forests etc., to prevent them being spoiled or destroyed;
6. Urbanization - the process of city growing and developing city structures;
7. Density – the degree to which an area is filled with people or things;
8. Drought - a long period of dry weather when there is not enough water for plants and animals to live;
9. Flood – a very large amount of water that covers an area that is usually dry.
Task 6. Read the text and decide whether these statements are True (T) or False (F)
1. The reasons for the water stress development are manifold.
2. By 2050 there will be approximately 10 billion people on the Earth.
3. Water demand will decrease as water is a renewable resource.
4. The expansion of business activity will lead to a sufficient water stress increase.
5. The problems of water treatment in urban areas are not significant and easy to solve.
6. As the climate and water cycle in nature are closely interconnected, the changes in the former will have a significant impact on water availability.
7. The supply of groundwater will become depleted.
Reasons for water stress
There are several reasons for the water stress development, they are the population growth, the expansion of business activity, rapid urbanization, the climate change, the depletion of aquifers, etc.
In 2000, the world population was 6,2 billion. The UN estimates that by 2050 there will be additional 3,5 billion people with most of the growth in developing countries that already suffer water stress. Thus, water demand will increase unless there are corresponding increases in water conservation and recycling of this vital resource.
Business activity ranging from industrialization to services such as tourism and entertainment continues to expand rapidly. This expansion requires increased water services including both supply and sanitation, which can lead to more pressure on water resources and natural ecosystems.
The trend towards urbanization is accelerating. Small private wells, and septic tanks that work well in low-density communities are not feasible within high-density urban areas. Urbanization requires significant investment in water infrastructure in order to deliver water to individuals and to process the concentrations of waste water – both from individuals and from business. These polluted and contaminated waters must be treated or they pose unacceptable public health risks.
Climate change could have significant impacts on water resources around the world because of the close connections between the climate and hydrologic cycle. Rising temperatures will increase evaporation and lead to increases in precipitation, though there will be regional variations in rainfall. Overall, the global supply of freshwater will increase. Both droughts and floods may become more frequent in different regions at different times and dramatic changes in snowfall and snowmelt are expected in mountainous areas. Higher temperatures will also affect water quality in ways that are not well understood. Possible impacts include increased eutrophication. Climate change could also mean an increase in demand for farm irrigation, garden sprinklers, and, perhaps, even swimming pools.
Due to the expanding human population, competition for water is growing and many of the world’s aquifers are becoming depleted. This is due to both direct human consumption and agricultural irrigation by groundwater. Millions of pumps of all sizes are currently extracting groundwater throughout the world. Irrigation in dry areas such as northern China and India is supplied by groundwater, and is being extracted at an unsustainable rate. Cities that have experienced aquifer drops between 10 to 50 metres include Mexico City, Bangkok, Beijing, Madras and Shanghai.
Eutrophication - эвтрофикация (зарастание водоема)
