Protection of water

The water and the air the most important elements in physical and chemical processes on the surface of the earth. Resources of river, lake and underground fresh waters are distributed very unevenly on the continents.

Russia is one of the richest countries in the world in water resources. The main source of fresh water comes from river discharge estimated at 4,700 km a year. In addition, Russia has many lakes, the total area of which is larger than Great Britain and useable reserves of underground waters are extensive. nevertheless, the question of the rational use of water resources and their protection from pollution is acquiring growing importance in Russia.

Water use. Shortage of water in different areas of the world is due not only to uneven distribution of water resources but also to its more varied and intensive use.

The Law on Conservation of Nature of the Russian Federation states that all rivers, lakes and underground waters are to be protected from depletion and pollution as water supply resources, a source of energy and means of treatment. Rivers and lakes are also used as transport routes, fisheries, hunting areas and recreation sites.

It is obvious that the exploitation of water resources is extremely varied at the present time. It should be added that the scope of water resource exploitation is growing rapidly due to population growth, fast development of industry and expansion of irrigated land area.

An enormous amount of water is used in industry. To manufacture one ton of paper, 100 m of water is required, one ton of synthetic fibres-from2,500 to 5,000 m of water and so on. It has been estimated that industry consumes about 15 per cent for the daily needs of the people.

A sharp increase in water consumption on the planet may lead to a water shortage in the near future. In view of this, measures are being worked out to increase water resources and rationally exploit them.

Redistribution of water. There are two ways to redistribute river water by means of reservoirs and through canals.

Reservoirs. In recent decades, cascades of hydroelectric power plants have been built with reservoirs, the largest on the Volga, Kama, Dnieper, Angara and Yenisei.

Reservoirs are an example of how man intervenes to a considerable extent in natural processes over large areas. Reservoirs help solve energy problems, irrigate agricultural land, improve water transport, supply large enterprises, cities and other populated areas with water fisheries and form the basis for recreation and tourist zones.

Canals are important not only for redistributing water but also as transport routes, as such they are artificial rivers built by mighty excavating machines.

Use of underground water. Supplies of underground waters are considerable, and, therefore, their rational use helps to compensate for moisture shortages. Academician Karpinsky called water the most precious natural resource. Unlike mineral deposits, water resources are renewed in the course of exploitation.

Geothermal (hot) waters are a kind of ground water source, the water being obtained from the earth's interior by deep drilling. These hot waters are used to generate electricity (geothermal electric plants), heat homes and livestock breeding farms, and also in hot-houses. Recently, geothermal waters have been used for breeding fish in ponds in Siberia.

I. Ответьте на вопросы по тексту:

1. Как можно объяснить неравномерное распределение водных ресурсов?

2. Каковы масштабы эксплуатации водных ресурсов?

3. Каковы последствия резкого увеличения потребления воды?

4. Какие существуют возможности использования подземной воды?

II. Прочтите и определите значения следующих слов по сходству со словами того же корня в русском языке:

planet [ ]n, rational [ ] a, decade [ ] n, cascade [ ] n, territory [ ]n, compensate [ ]v, geothermal [ ] a.