Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence - see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ - Original copyright The Open University
<p>To judge what constitutes poor quality or polluted water, we must first understand the properties of naturally occurring waters. Natural water is not just H<sub>2</sub>O: all natural waters contain dissolved and suspended substances - seawater is an obvious example of water containing dissolved salts, but freshwater does also, although at a far lower concentrations. Water pollution is defined as a change in the quality of the water due to human activity that makes the water less suitable for use than it was originally. It is difficult to set absolute standards of purity that apply for all uses of water however, because water that is considered clean enough for one purpose may be too polluted for another.</p><p>This OpenLearn course provides a sample of level 2 study in <span class="oucontent-linkwithtip"><a class="oucontent-hyperlink" href="http://www.open.ac.uk/courses/find/environment-and-development?LKCAMPAIGN=ebook_&MEDIA=ou">Environment & Development</a></span></p>
Water is arguably the most important physical resource as it is the one that is essential to human survival. Understanding the global water cycle and how we use water is essential to planning a sustainable source of water for the future.
In the UK there are areas where water supplies are limited, shown by recent droughts. Globally, there are many areas that do not have enough water to support the current population adequately.
Decisions will have to be made on the best way to use water in a world where there is climate change. Energy resources: Water quality is a free course that helps explain the options.
<link rel="canonical" href="http://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/science/environmental-science/energy-resources-water-quality/content-section-0" /> First published on Tue, 22 Mar 2016 as <a href="http://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/science/environmental-science/energy-resources-water-quality/content-section-0">Energy resources: Water quality</a>. To find out more visit The Open University's <a href="http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ole-home-page">Openlearn</a> website. Creative-Commons 2016
<p>To judge what constitutes poor quality or polluted water, we must first understand the properties of naturally occurring waters. Natural water is not just H<sub>2</sub>O: all natural waters contain dissolved and suspended substances ­ seawater is an obvious example of water containing dissolved salts, but freshwater does also, although at a far lower concentrations. Water pollution is defined as a change in the quality of the water due to human activity that makes the water less suitable for use than it was originally. It is difficult to set absolute standards of purity that apply for all uses of water however, because water that is considered clean enough for one purpose may be too polluted for another.</p><p>This unit is from our archive and is an adapted extract from Earth's physical resources: origin, use and environmental impact (S278) which is no longer taught by The Open University. If you want to study formally with us, you may wish to explore other courses we offer in <span class="oucontent-linkwithtip"><a class="oucontent-hyperlink" href="http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/science/environmental-science/index.htm">this subject area</a></span>. </p>
Water is arguably the most important physical resource as it is the one that is essential to human survival. Understanding the global water cycle and how we use water is essential to planning a sustainable source of water for the future.
In the UK there are areas where water supplies are limited, shown by recent droughts. Globally, there are many areas that do not have enough water to support the current population adequately.
Decisions will have to be made on the best way to use water in a world where there is climate change. Energy resources: Water quality is a free course that helps explain the options.
<link rel="canonical" href="http://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/science/environmental-science/energy-resources-water-quality/content-section-0" /> First published on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 as <a href="http://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/science/environmental-science/energy-resources-water-quality/content-section-0">Energy resources: Water quality</a>. To find out more visit The Open University's <a href="http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ole-home-page">Openlearn</a> website. Creative-Commons 2011
Water is arguably the most important physical resource as it is the one that is essential to human survival. Understanding the global water cycle and how we use water is essential to planning a sustainable source of water for the future.
In the UK there are areas where water supplies are limited, shown by recent droughts. Globally, there are many areas that do not have enough water to support the current population adequately.
Decisions will have to be made on the best way to use water in a world where there is climate change.<link rel="canonical" href="http://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/science/environmental-science/energy-resources-water-quality/content-section-0" /> First published on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 as <a href="http://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/science/environmental-science/energy-resources-water-quality/content-section-0">Energy resources: Water quality</a>. To find out more visit The Open University's <a href="http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ole-home-page">Openlearn</a> website. Creative-Commons 2011
