AGSM Exam 1

Drawdown

A lowering of the groundwater surface caused by pumping 

Long-term:

Short-term effects:

Components of a water well

Pressure tank: designed to keep the pressure even (even when the pump is off) 

Pressure Switch

Submersible pump (electric motor driven)

Casing

Electrical Wiring

Casing

Maintains the integrity of the well shaft

Carbon Steel: can react with water

Stainless Steel: best and most expensive

Plastic: doesn’t corrode, but can crack

Turbine Pump

Provide water flow

Provide water pressure

Electrically driven by a motor

Sit at bottom of the well, in the water

Screen get clogged eventually

Pressure Tank

Maintains pressure when the pump is not on

Stores water for use

Common Contaminants of Water Wells

Arsenic

Fertilizer (nitrogen)

Septic Systems

Industrial pollution from site-specific sources

Flood waters over the well

Artesian well

Pressure from a confined aquifer

NOT a temporary spring like in John Wayne movies

Comes from an aquifer that has a confining bed up above it and it has hydraulic pressure that is higher than the hydraulic pressure of the earth. Not affected by rainfall at all. Has to come from a confined aquifer

(David Smith) Surface Water

Lakes (reservoirs), streams, rivers, ponds

Owned by the State of Texas (first in time, first in right; Dow Chemical Largest Surface Water Right Holder in Texas)

(David Smith) Groundwater

Aquifers

1. Potable: Holds freshwater that is safe to drink right away

2. Brackish: Geologic zones within major or minor aquifers with a Total Dissolved Solids of 1000 to 10,000 parts per million (has lots of salts)

9 major aquifers

Owned by property owners (not the state of Texas)

Ogalla Aquifer

The biggest

used for agricultural irrigation

Owned by Property Owners (not the state of Texas)

Rule of Capture (based on English Common Law)

Law of the Biggest Pump

Water rights can be sold just like mineral rights (oil & gas)

Texas Water Challenges

Reduced water supply

population rise

land conversion and fragmentation

aging infrastructure and workplace

drought and flooding

private property infringement

water resources distant from population centers

The Hydro-illogic Cycle

apathy

Interbasin Transfer

Surface water to city - Heart’s Bluff

Groundwater to city - Vista Ridge

What is an acre-foot

1. the amount of water that covers an acre with 1 foot of water

Texas Water Supply

Surface water: 43%

1. municipal use: 47%

Groundwater: 53%

1. 73% agricultural irrigation

Reuse: 4%

What is the longest River within Texas

Brazos River: 840 miles

What is the only natural lake in Texas

Caddo Lake

Purpose of Reservoirs

Flood Control

Hydroelectric Power

Water Supply

Limits to the Rule of Capture

Maliciously taking water for the sole purpose of injuring his or her neighbor

Willingly or wantonly wasting groundwater

Negligently drilling or pumping from a well in a manner that causes subsidence

Pumping from a contaminated well

Trespassing in order to pump groundwater

How does the size of Houston Public Works compare to other public work organizations?

• Largest and most diverse public works organization in the country

• 4000 dedicated public servants work together to create a strong foundation for Houston to thrive

Houston Public Works is responsible for?

• streets

• drainage

• producing and distributing water

• collecting and treating wastewater

• permitting and regulating construction

Approximately how many people are served by the Houston Public works?

About 1500 people are in charge of the sanitation of water each day for Houston when providing water for over 2 million people. 

The city of Houston drinking water system has a “_______” rating

Superior

Houston is the regional water provider for…

Harris County and portions of the three surrounding counties

Houston Has sufficient water supplies through the year

2050

What is the majority of Houston’s water used for?

industrial and manufacturing purposes

What sources of surface water does the City of Houston have? And how much ownership does it have over these sources?

Lake Livingston (70%)

Lake Houston (100%)

Lake Conroe (70%)

Lower Trinity River

Future of Allen’s Creek Reservoir (70%)

What percentage of Houston's water supply comes from surface water? Ground water?

86% is surface water

14% is ground water

Why does Houston only own 70% (have the water rights to) Lake Conroe

• So that the 30% Conroe takes is they will keep the water quality up. 

The positive effects of Houston protecting its water resources from contaminants is it…

1. Eliminates the need for supplementary treatment procedures

2. delays the cost of new infrastructure

3. delays increases in water rates

List methods of limiting pollution/contamination of Houston’s surface water sources.

1. Educated and informed community

2. Citizens play an important role in reducing the amount of pollution that enters our water resources

3. Proper use and maintenance of motorized equipment can eliminate fluid discharges into our waterways

Know how many gallons of water our classroom holds and how to do calculations with this number

498,802

Hydrology

literally ‘water science’, encompasses the study of the occurrence and movement of water on and beneath the surface of the Earth, the properties of water, and its relationship with the living and material components of the environment

Water Cycle

Pathways:

1. Precipitation

2. Evapotranspiration (the sum of evaporation and transpiration)

3. Groundwater

4. Surface Water

Energy:

1. Primarily sun (heat)

2. Gravity’s role

Precipitation

Intensity - inches per hour

Varies from fog to downpours

Watershed

Amazon (largest watershed of a river in the world)

Stream Network:

1. Convergence

2. Idea of Orders (streams combine within a watershed)

3. Water forms its own watersheds (gravity)

4. Fractal networks - makes optimal path for water

Where is Water

Ocean:

1. 96.5% oceans

2. salty

Freshwater

1. 2.5% of Earth’s water

2. 68.7% in glaciers and ice caps

3. 30.1% in groundwater (aquifers)

4. 1.2% surface water

Groundwater

Aquifers:

1. Confined:

2. Unconfined:

Age of water in Aquifer:

1. Anthropocene 25-74 years old

2. Pleistocene > 11,800 years old (basically a non-renewable resource)

What is the major consumer/user of water throughout the world

Agriculture: main sector (85.8%)

100 year flood

Same as a 100-year rainfall event

1. Percentage or probability of this occurring in a given year

Floodplain

40.67% of the floodplain in Harris County is developed

Know how to do the water tower calculation

What drives the hydrologic cycle?

Energy (the sun)

What happens to the majority of rainwater?

it evaporates

Which human body system is similar to stream fractal networks?

Cardiovascular system

What is the boundary of a watershed called

Divide

Where is the majority of the Earth’s total water found?

oceans

Where is the majority of Earth’s Freshwater found

Glaciers and Ice caps

What percentage of the Earth’s water is freshwater, fresh surface water, and ocean saltwater

• Freshwater: 2.5% of earth’s water

• Fresh surface water: 1.2%

• Ocean Saltwater: 96.5%

What is the source of water for Bryan and CS

The source of water for Bryan, CS, and Texas A&M is all the same.

It’s all groundwater

About _____ of domestic water is delivered to homes by a public-supply facility such as a county water department

85%

15% of the Nation’s population supply their own water,. Where is it from

mainly from wells

PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY:

THE SYSTEMS HAVE AT LEAST 15 SERVICE CONNECTIONS (SUCH AS HOUSEHOLDS, BUSINESSES, OR SCHOOLS) OR REGULARLY SERVE AT LEAST 25 INDIVIDUALS DAILY FOR AT LEAST 60 DAYS OUT OF THE YEAR

Evaporation:

The process of liquid water becoming water vapor, including vaporization from water surfaces, land surfaces, and snow fields, but not from leaf surfaces

Transpiration:

process by which water that is absorbed by plants, usually through the roots, is evaporated into the atmosphere from the plant surface, such as leaf pores

What kind of water do Bryan and College Station use

Bryan and College Station use ground water

Riparian Water Rights

landowners adjacent to a flowing stream or river can use the water.

Urbanization

rural farmland converted to impervious surface

Inter-basin Transfer

movement of water from one significant basin to another (i.e. Vista Ridge Project)

Subsidence

sinking of the ground because of underground material movement, most often caused by the removal of water, oil, natural gas, or mineral resources out of the ground by pumping, fracking, or mining activities.

Every ____ gallons of brackish water is converted to _____ gallons of drinking water. What happens to the other gallon

1. Every 10 gallons of brackish water is converted to 9 gallons of drinking water. The salts and minerals that are removed are then injected deep into the ground into an area where existing salt and concentrations are much higher. 

   1. What happens to the other gallon?

      1. 10 gallons worth of salt in 1 gallon. This one gallon goes to the aquifer 

      2. Desalination (el paso does the most than any other state in texas)

Submersible Turbine Pump

Electric motor drives the pump, Sized by horsepower, Provide flow (GPI), Provides pressure (PSI)

Potential contaminants in a well: 

Microbial Contamination:

• Fecal contamination

  • Feedlots, wildlife, poorly maintained septic systems

Local land use practices 

• Nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers

• Chemicals from herbicides and pesticides

High concentrations of naturally-occuring contaminants 

• Arsenic

• Radon