Managing the UK's Water

Unit 1 Physical Geography - Water On Land

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The Demand for Water for Different Across the UK

The north and west of the UK have high rainfall, which means there's a good supply of water. 

The south east and midlands have high population densitites, which means there's a high demand for water. 

The south east and midlands are areas of water deficit (there's a greater demand than supply)

The north and west are areas of water surplus (there's a great supply than demand) 

The demand for water in the UK is inceasing: 

Over the past 25 years, the amount of water used by people in the UK has gone up by 50%

The UK population is predicted to increase by around 10 million people over the next 20 years. 

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The UK needs to Manage its Supply of Water

One way is to transfer ater from areas of surplus to areas of deficit. 

Water transfer can cause a variety of issues:

  • The dams and aqueducts (bridges used to transfer water) that are needed are expensive. 
  • It could affect the wildlife that lives in the rivers e.g. fish migration patterns could be disputed by building dams. 
  • There might be political issues, e.g. people may not want their water given to another country. 

Another way is to build more reservoirs to store more water. Although builing a reservoir can involve flooding settlements and relocating people. 

Fixing leaky pipes would mean less water is lost during transfer. 

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Reducing Demands for Water

People can reduce the amount of water that they use at home e.g. by taking showers instead of baths, running washing machines only when they're full and by using hosepipes less. 

Water companies want people to have water meters installed - meteres are used t charge people for the exact volume of water they use. People with water meters are more likely to be careful with the amount of water they use - they're paying for every drop. 

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