SGEO 303-01 H. Horowitz

Class Time: R 6:30-9 pm Office: G430

WATER RESOURCES

Objectives: To survey the physical and cultural geography of fresh water. To examine the problems and prospects of water resource management, including drinking supplies, irrigation, reservoirs, groundwater supplies, wetlands, and fisheries. Case studies are drawn from the local area and from other parts of the world.

Texts: White, Richard. The Organic Machine. Hill and Wang, 1995.

Reisner, Marc. Cadillac Desert. Penguin Books, 1986, 1993, 1999.

Several articles from other sources will be made available to the class, including pieces written by Gilbert White, Luna Leopold, and David Speidel et al.

Course Requirements and Grade Determination:

1. Timely reading of assignments, regular attendance in class, and participation in field trips. If scheduling prevents field trip attendance, then alternative work will be assigned. (10% of grade)

2. Two exams, one in-class mid-term exam and one final exam (45% of grade, 20% for midterm, 25% for final).

3. Two Water Issues Reports, one approximately 6-8 pages in length, the other approximately 4-6 pages in length. One report will cover a local or regional water-related issue, the other a national or international water-related issue. I will discuss these reports more fully in class. (45% of grade; 25% for one, 20% for the other).

COURSE OUTLINE

I. The Physical Geography of Water

The Hydrologic Cycle: concept and components. Evapo-transpiration, water surplus and water deficit. Precipitation: moisture regimes and world vegetation. Vegetation management and water supply. Cloud-seeding and rainfall enhancement efforts.

Streams: their dynamics and morphology. The watershed: drainage networks and stream orders. Floods: physical features associated with overbank discharge. Special study: the Ramapo River Watershed, the Hackensack River Watershed.

Groundwater: the location and extent of major aquifers. Problems in groundwater management: drawdown and contamination. Special Study: the Ogalalla Aquifer -- prospects for its conservation.

II. Issues in Water Use and Management

Domestic Uses of Water: large-scale and small-scale water supplies. A look at the water systems of New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

Water Issues in New Jersey: aquifer integrity in the Pinelands, storage and quality in the Highlands. Issues in the allocation of Delaware River water. Problems with Watershed Management in the Passaic River Basin. Flood Control: the diversion tunnel proposal. Guest speakers from

watershed protection organizations.

Dams and Reservoirs: positive and negative effects of multiple-use water impoundments. Flood control technologies. Hydroelectric Power: past achievements and future prospects. The uses and misuses of the Colorado River and the Columbia River. Reading: The Cadillac Desert.

International dam issues: The Three Gorges Dam: "the river dragon is here". The Aswan Dam: decades of controversy still unresolved. Water resource development in Brazil. The Narmada and Tehri Dams in India.

Agricultural Uses of Water: labor-intensive systems in traditional societies. Contemporary concerns about agricultural water use; the California water plan. Interbasin water transfers.

Wetlands: historical uses and misuses of a vital resource. Wetland wildlife refuges. Fisheries: freshwater, anadromous, and saltwater resources.

Water pollution and clean-up. Sewage treatment facilities: conventional systems, unconventional prospects, and financial limitations. Pollution and progress in the Hudson River Estuary. The Clean Water Act of 1972. Public benefits from improved water quality: the South Platte studies.

III. Field Trips: Watershed Lands, Water Filtration Facilities, and Sewage Treatment Facilities.