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Recreational Use
Recreational water use accounts for generally a very small but increasing percentage
in total water use. Normally, recreational water use is tied to reservoirs. If a reservoir
is kept fuller than it would otherwise be for recreation, then the water retained could
be categorized as recreational usage. Common recreational usage includes whitewater boating, angling, water skiing, and swimming. Recreational water use is usually
nonconsumptive. Golf courses are often accused of using excessive amount of water,
especially in drier regions. In order to avert environmentalist’s thoughts of wasting
water, some governments categorize golf course usage as agricultural. However, it is
not clear whether recreational irrigation has an obvious influence on water resources
till now because of the inapplicability of reliable data. Besides, many golf courses use
either primarily or exclusively treated effluent water, which will not affect potable
water. In Arizona, an organized lobby concentrated on educating the public on how
golf affects the environment has been established in the form of the Golf Industry
Association. One disadvantage of recreational water use is that it may reduce the
availability of water for other users at specific times and places. For example, water
retained in a reservoir to allow boating in the late summer is not available to farmers
during the spring planting season. Water released for whitewater rafting may not be
available for hydroelectric generation during the time of peak electrical demand.
Environmental Use
Environmental water use also accounts for a small but increasing percentage of total
water use. The source of environmental water includes water stored in retention tank
and released for environmental purposes or water retained in waterways through
regulatory limits of abstraction. Then the usages of environmental water include fish
ladders, water releasing from reservoirs timed to help fish spawn, restoring of more
natural flow regimes, watering of natural or artificial wetlands, and creating of wildlife habitat. Similar to recreational usage, environmental usage is nonconsumptive
but may influence other users. For example, water released from a reservoir to help
fish spawn may not be available to farms upstream, and water retained in a river to
maintain waterway health would not be available to water abstractors downstream.
Irrigation Use
Irrigation is necessary to grow and increase the productivity of crops. Various irrigation methods involve different relationships between water consumption, capital
cost of equipment and structures, and crop yield. Some types of irrigation methods
which are simple, cheap, and less efficient include furrow and overhead sprinkler,
Results and Discussion
Recreational Use
Recreational water use accounts for generally a very small but increasing percentage
in total water use. Normally, recreational water use is tied to reservoirs. If a reservoir
is kept fuller than it would otherwise be for recreation, then the water retained could
be categorized as recreational usage. Common recreational usage includes whitewater boating, angling, water skiing, and swimming. Recreational water use is usually
nonconsumptive. Golf courses are often accused of using excessive amount of water,
especially in drier regions. In order to avert environmentalist’s thoughts of wasting
water, some governments categorize golf course usage as agricultural. However, it is
not clear whether recreational irrigation has an obvious influence on water resources
till now because of the inapplicability of reliable data. Besides, many golf courses use
either primarily or exclusively treated effluent water, which will not affect potable
water. In Arizona, an organized lobby concentrated on educating the public on how
golf affects the environment has been established in the form of the Golf Industry
Association. One disadvantage of recreational water use is that it may reduce the
availability of water for other users at specific times and places. For example, water
retained in a reservoir to allow boating in the late summer is not available to farmers
during the spring planting season. Water released for whitewater rafting may not be
available for hydroelectric generation during the time of peak electrical demand.
Environmental Use
Environmental water use also accounts for a small but increasing percentage of total
water use. The source of environmental water includes water stored in retention tank
and released for environmental purposes or water retained in waterways through
regulatory limits of abstraction. Then the usages of environmental water include fish
ladders, water releasing from reservoirs timed to help fish spawn, restoring of more
natural flow regimes, watering of natural or artificial wetlands, and creating of wildlife habitat. Similar to recreational usage, environmental usage is nonconsumptive
but may influence other users. For example, water released from a reservoir to help
fish spawn may not be available to farms upstream, and water retained in a river to
maintain waterway health would not be available to water abstractors downstream.
Irrigation Use
Irrigation is necessary to grow and increase the productivity of crops. Various irrigation methods involve different relationships between water consumption, capital
cost of equipment and structures, and crop yield. Some types of irrigation methods
which are simple, cheap, and less efficient include furrow and overhead sprinkler,
Results and Discussion