Human Water Cycle
Students learn about the human water cycle, or how humans impact the water cycle by settling down in civilizations. Specifically, they learn how people obtain, use and dispose of water. Students also learn about shortages of treated, clean and safe water and learn about ways that engineers address this issue through water conservation and graywater recycling.
We use water for drinking and washing, part of the human water cycle.Copyright NIH http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2008/October/feature2.htm
Engineers involved with water resources, drinking water and wastewater are responsible for designing ways for communities to obtain, treat and dispose of water. Each step in the human water cycle—from natural water sources to communities and back to natural water sources—requires the help of engineers. Some engineers focus on cultivating drinking water sources, while others treat water so it is safe for public consumption and treat wastewater before it is returned to the natural environment. When presented with problems such as water scarcity, engineers are challenged to think of ways to change traditional water management in order to provide enough water for future generations. Some of these changes require increasing water efficiency—how we can better use existing water supplies instead of creating new infrastructure to address water limitations.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Describe the human water cycle.
- Differentiate between graywater and blackwater.
- Evaluate ways in which people can change their water use to make sure we have enough (water conservation).