Senior Geography

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Senior Geography

Water and the environment Senior Geography Contents Water and the environment

Introduction

General objectives

Unit plans

Worksheets

■ Global and local catchment areas ■ Investigating a local river and catchment area ■ Investigating the effects of human activities in a river catchment area

References

Appendices

■ Hinze Dam map

■ Fact sheet - What is a catchment?

■ Fact sheet - The water cycle

■ Fact sheet- Catchments and water quality

Make your water mark! Senior Geography Introduction Water and the environment

The river catchment, or drainage basin, is all the land The two work sheets from the mountain to the seashore, drained by a single river and its tributaries (www.bcb.uwc.ac.za/envfacts/ ■ Work sheet: facts/catchments.htm). On the Gold Coast, the Hinze Global and local catchment areas Dam has a 207-square-kilometre catchment area. It ■ Work sheet: includes the Numinbah Valley and Springbrook Plateau, Investigating a local river with about 77 per cent covered by native bushland. and catchment area The quality of the water is very important to ensure the overall Work sheet: health of the surrounding catchment area is maintained. Investigating the effect of human Water quality in rivers varies depending on the seasons, activities on a river catchment area. climate and type of rocks/soils (http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs- 027-01/). To maintain a healthy catchment, the rivers, creeks Link with the key concepts within The and groundwater systems must receive a certain quantity State of Queensland - Senior Geography of water (watercare.net/wll/wc-entry.html), because water Syllabus that contain K (Knowledge), in the catchment dissolves minerals from the rock and soils. AP (Analytical processes), DP (Decision- So, during a period of drought, water is evaporated from the making processes) and RC (Research and river, and the dissolved minerals become more concentrated communication) sections, therefore they in the remaining water (http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-027-01/). can be developed into an assessment item The quality of water is also affected by human activities if desired. including irrigation for agriculture, horticulture, chemicals, fertilisers, dam construction and recreational activities. On the Gold Coast the water quality is maintained by managing the catchment’s land, water and biological resources. Enhancing the learning experience In this unit students have the chance to study river catchments at the local, national, regional and global scale. They can also Students and school groups can volunteer make predictions, recommendations and judgments on the to be part of Waterwatch Queensland. effect of different human activities on a river catchment area. More information is available on their website www.qld.waterwatch.org.au/

Students can volunteer for GECKO, the regional environmental group. GECKO is ‘working to promote, protect, conserve and restore the natural environment and improve the sustainability of the built environment of the entire Gold Coast region, including its magniﬁ cent hinterland areas’ (www.gecko.org.au/ index.php?index). GECKO is involved with the preservation of river catchment areas on the Gold Coast, in particular the Currumbin Creek catchment area.

Make your water mark! Senior Geography General objectives Water and the environment

Senior Geography syllabus links

K Knowledge Ao Affective objectives

1 geographical facts, concepts and key 1 an attitude of concern for the quality of ideas, and explanations of the relationships environments, the condition of human life between people and their environments and the biosphere as a life support system

2 processes that affect the location, 2 a willingness to relate to the environment distributions and arrangement of and to participate in actions that geographical elements on earth ensure a sustainable future

3 processes geographers use to investigate 3 a willingness to challenge existing environmental and spatial aspects attitudes and values in environmental, of human decision making social, cultural and economic issues

4 the impact of people on the environment 4 the ability to clarify and develop personal values in relation to environmental, social, 5 the impact of the environment cultural questions, issues and problems on the quality of life 5 an interest in learning as a life-long process. 6 equity issues as they apply to Geography .

Ap Analytical processes DpII Decision-making processes

1 understand the meaning of information 1 recognise the environmental, social, economic by transforming, interpreting and and political implications of an issue extrapolating text or illustrative material 2 examine alternate proposals, 2 identify relationships strategies, solutions and plans

3 suggest causes for some of these relationships. 3 make a judgment/decision about the alternatives

4 justify this decision.

Rc Research and communication 5 establishing the currency, validity and reliability of information

1 gathering and recording information and 6 communicating and presenting primary data from sources and settings information in a variety of ways

2 designing research plans relevant to the purpose 7 devising an appropriate format when presenting research ﬁ ndings 3 selecting and organising information 8 demonstrating use of clear written 4 referencing and acknowledging sources of expression and language conventions information using current conventions 9 using maps, diagrams and statistics appropriately.

Make your water mark! General objectives Senior Geography - Information for teachers

Key concepts and ideas

Theme one

1 The natural environment results from the operation and interaction of physical systems, ie. biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere.

2 Changes to the dynamics of physical systems because of factors such as population change over time, land use practices, attitudes and values can exacerbate or reduce impacts on the natural environment.

3 Managing the natural environment sustainably depends on an understanding of the elements of the natural environment.

4 Some management decisions or lack of them have increased the vulnerability of people to adverse impacts such as contamination of water supplies, landslides, inundation, loss of lives and livelihood.

Focus unit two: Managing catchments

1 River catchments are geographic units that vary in size and and complexity of characteristics.

2 Elements of catchments can be mapped and quantiﬁ ed. Elements include topography, drainage patterns, geology, vegetation cover, rainfall, soil types, land use and settlement patterns.

3 Land and water resources are basic and interactive components of natural ecosystems within catchments.

4 River catchments are changing continuously in response to natural processes and human activity.

5 Changes within a catchment affect the natural systems and the social and economic systems of people living within the catchment.

6 People make short-term responses to changes in a catchment (e.g. tree planting, damming, fencing, catchment monitoring and ﬂ ood mitigation).

7 Long-term responses require planning and coordinated action through the informed action of individual users and managers of resources (such as governments through legislation) in order to achieve sustainability and a balance between economic development and conservation of land and water resources.

8 Individuals can contribute to the resolution of catchment management problems through participation in groups.

Ideas for elective units for theme one

● Conserving water through water wise practices in your home/school.

● Investigating an issue and future scenario in managing the natural environment (such as building a desalination plant in your district).

● The effect of human induced disasters on the natural environment (such as industry leakage into catchment).

Make your water mark! Senior Geography Unit plans Water and the environment

The water cycle

Key ideas The following resources and fact sheets are useful:

● Earth guide diagrams: Animated water cycle 1 and quiz www.earthguide.ucsd.edu/earthguide/ diagrams/watercycle/watercycleq.html Learning experiences and geographical skills ● Enchanted learning: Water cycle www. Individual study of the water cycle and relationship enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/earth/ to terms; evaporation, condensation, precipitation, Watercycle.shtml evapotranspiration, capillary action and run-off. www.enchantedlearning.com/geology/label/watercycle/

● Healthy Waterways fact sheet: The water cycle www.healthywaterways.org/healthywaterways/ resources/factsheets.aspx

● United States geological survey: Water science for schools http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle.html http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/waterproperties.html

Catchments

Key ideas The following resources and fact sheets are useful:

● Work sheet: Global and local catchment areas 2 3 1 2 3 ● about.com: Geography: Free blank outline maps for all countries www.geography. Learning experiences and geographical skills about.com/library/blank/blxindex.htm ● Teacher exposition and identiﬁ cation of the ● Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology: elements within a river catchment area. Rain, river and water storage data www.bom. ● Individual study on local and global catchment areas, gov.au/hydro/wr/agency_data.shtml to compare and contrast the location, statistical data ● Healthy Waterways: Fact sheet - What is and elements of three different river catchment areas. a catchment? www.healthywaterways.org/ healthywaterways/resources/factsheets.aspx

Make your water mark! Unit plans Senior Geography - Information for teachers

Investigating water quality

Key ideas The following resources and fact sheets are useful:

● Work sheet: Investigating a local river and catchment area 2 3 2 3 4 ● Australian Government Waterwatch Australia: Information on water quality www. Learning experiences and geographical skills waterwatch.org.au/monitoring.html ● Group study on the water quality in a local river and catchment area. Students gather qualitative and quantitative data on the abiotic and biotic factors of the river and catchment area.

Managing catchments

Key ideas The following resources and fact sheets are useful:

● Work sheet: Investigating the effects of human 4 5 67 activities on a river catchment area

● International Rivers: People, water and life Learning experiences and geographical skills www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/234 ● Individual response to predict the short and long term, environmental, social and economic implications of one of the proposed scenarios.

Make your water mark! Senior Geography Useful resources Water and the environment

Web address Learning experiences available

Gold Coast City Council These websites contain information about: goldcoastcity.com.au ● Catchment areas.

Griffi th University science on the GO! ● Apparatus can be borrowed from Griffi th scienceonthego@griffi th.edu.au University Gold Coast campus.

Healthy Waterways This website contains information about: www.healthywaterways.org search for 'report card' ● Catchments.

Queensland Government This website contains excellent information about speciﬁ c catchment areas in Queensland. www.derm.qld.gov.au It contains historic and recent data, in table and graph format, about:

● Water level, ﬂ ow and conductivity.

● Water quality: turbidity, metal ions, hardness, pH, dissolved oxygen, sulphates, nitrates and temperature.

Queensland Government This website contains excellent information about Queensland: www.derm.qld.gov.au ● Aerial photographs.

● Surveying maps.

● Digital topographic data.

● Satellite imagery.

Make your water mark! Useful resources continued Senior Geography - Information for teachers

Web address Learning experiences available

United States geological survey: This website contains interesting resources including: Water science for schools ● Water cycle diagram. http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/mearthall.html ● Rivers and streams.

● Measuring stream ﬂ ow.

● Groundwater quality.

Please note: It is an American website so information would have to be changed to ﬁ t the Australian situation.

Waterwatch Australia This website includes information on monitoring water quality and record sheets for ﬁ eld work. www.waterwatch.org.au/ www.waterwatch.org.au/publications/module3/index.html

Make your water mark! Senior Worksheet: Geography Global and local catchment areas Water and the environment

General objectives

K Ap Rc

Introduction Task

River catchments across the world vary in size and complexity. Compare and contrast the elements (such as location, The Nile River, in Africa, has a length of 6695 kilometres topography, geology, tributaries, vegetation) of your local (www.geography.about.com/od/specifi cplacesofi nterest/a/ catchment area with two global river catchment areas. nile.htm) and has two main tributaries - the Blue Nile and ● Study the elements of each catchment area the White Nile (www.newint.org/issue273/facts.html). by gathering a variety of data and information The Amazon River, in South America, is slightly smaller in from a wide selection of resources. length to the River Nile, at a length of 6280 kilometres (www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/RiverSeasons/), ● Develop skills to collect, organise, identify, interpret and but the Amazon River is the largest river in the world in analyse data from the chosen river catchment areas. terms of drainage area and volume of water (www.newint. ● Discuss the similarities and differences between org/issue273/facts.html). The Amazon River drains about your chosen river catchment areas. 40 per cent of the South American continent (www. earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/RiverSeasons/). ● Discuss processes that may affect the location, distribution and arrangement of catchment areas globally and locally. In Australia, the Murray River fl ows just over 2500 kilometres from the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales. The Murray ● Produce maps for each river catchment area Darling Basin is about one seventh of the size of Australia to illustrate the location, tributaries, soil (http://murrayriver.com.au/about-the-murray/murray-darling- type, vegetation cover and land use. basin). In contrast the Nerang River catchment, in southeast ● Produce a written report that incorporates your Queensland, has a smaller catchment area than the three fi ndings, maps, tables and illustrations. rivers listed above. The Nerang River catchment covers an area of 400 square kilometres (www.bom.gov.au/hydro/ fl ood/qld/brochures/south_coast/nerang.shtml), and fl ows through the Hinze Dam before entering the Southport Broadwater. The catchment area of the Nerang River includes native bushland and pastureland for dairy and beef cattle (goldcoast.qld.gov.au/t_standard2.aspx?pid=8886).

Every river and catchment area has varying topography, drainage patterns and geology. Soil types and weather inﬂ uence the ecosystem of the river catchment, amount of vegetation cover and land use opportunities. The land and water resources within each catchment have a complex and interactive relationship.

Make your water mark! Worksheet: Senior Investigating a local river Geography and catchment area Water and the environment

General objectives

K Ap Rc

Introduction Task

There are many natural and human activities that can change a You have to produce a report, incorporating data tables, river catchment area and the quality of water within that area. maps and photographs, on the different abiotic and This includes global warming, change of land use, population biotic factors of a local river and catchment area. increase and industrial waste (www.water-pollution.org.uk/ causes.html). The World Commission on Water revealed that You should: 50 per cent of the world’s biggest rivers are seriously depleted ● Identify a local river catchment area and make decisions or polluted (www.worldwatercouncil.org/index.php?id=21) on where to gather data and how often to gather data. In Australia, the River Murray catchment area has highly ● Draw a map of the local river catchment area. saline groundwater, but the salinity has been increased due to human activities such as irrigation and vegetation ● Collect quantitative and qualitative data from clearance (www.dwlbc.sa.gov.au/murray/salinity/index. your chosen river catchment area (such as pH of html). The increased salinity has long-term effects on soil, air temperature, type of vegetation). drinking supplies, damage to fl oodplains and wetlands ● Identify different tests (physical, chemical and (www.dwlbc.sa.gov.au/murray/salinity/index.html). biological) that you can use to help determine The Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM) the quality of the water in your chosen river. is responsible for the quality of waterways in Queensland. ● Incorporate and refl ect on primary data collected. The Department of Natural Resources and Mines uses a range of indicators and sampling methods to assess ● Display all data in appropriate diagrams, the quality of the water. These include pH and dissolved fl ow charts and tables. oxygen. But there are many more tests that can be used ● Interpret and analyse the data to make judgements to assess the quality of water within a catchment area. regarding the quality of the local river and catchment area.

● Include maps, photographs and sketches.

● Include researched information collected from various resources. Have all information accurately referenced and all resources used displayed in a bibliography.

Make your water mark! Senior Geography Checklist Water and the environment

Phase and date Component of task Teacher’s comments and initials

Phase 1 Identifying different tests and collecting primary data about Date: the river and catchment area.

Phase 2 Collecting data

Date: ● Research information about task from articles with a local and global perspective.

● Evidence of bibliography being developed.

Phase 3 Development of report

Date: ● Analysing and evaluating information.

● Development of ideas and design for report.

Phase 4 Submission of ﬁ nal report

Date: ● Bibliography included.

Make your water mark! Worksheet: Senior Investigating the effects of human Geography activities in a river catchment area Water and the environment

General objectives

K Dp Rc

Introduction Scenario

There are many human activities that can change a 1. In a city of 80,000 people, 75 per cent have river catchment area and the quality of water within spear pumps (a pump that extracts groundwater) that area. This includes irrigation water for farming, to supplement their water supply. industrial development, recreational activities, over use of groundwater supplies, stream channel alteration and the 2. A site for a gypsum open pit quarry has been proposed to building of dams (http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-027-01/). be built two kilometres from a tributary to a river system.

The World Commission on Water has revealed that 50 per 3. A city is increasing in population and the council proposes cent of the world’s biggest rivers are seriously depleted or to build houses on 10 square kilometres of river ﬂ oodplain. polluted (www.worldwatercouncil.org/index.php?id=21). It shows that the destruction of natural rainforest and increased 4. A council has produced a proposal to build a dam to industrial logging has increased erosion on the banks of the form a reservoir that has a maximum storage capacity Amazon River in South America (www.newint.org/issue273/ of 10,100 Gigalitres (1 Gigalitre equals 1000 Megalitres) facts.html). The Three Gorges Dam, on the Yangtze River, on land currently used for agriculture and housing. was built to control ﬂ ooding, but it has been estimated that 300,000 farmers will lose their land (www.newint.org/ Task issue273/facts.html). Worldwide, an estimated 40–80 million people have been forcibly evicted from their lands to make You have to produce an essay that predicts the short way for large dams (internationalrivers.org/en/node/234). and long term, environmental, social and economic implications in response to one of the scenarios above. During the past 50 years there has been a global increase in the use of groundwater for agriculture, industrial Your essay should: and household use (www.water.usgs.gov/nrp/proj.bib/ ● discuss the impact that people have on the environment Publications/konikow.kendy.2005intro.html). Excessive groundwater depletion affects major areas of Australia, ● recognise the environmental, social and where groundwater is withdrawn at rates far beyond economic implications of the issue the replacement of water from the source aquifer (www. ● suggest strategies and solutions for the short irrigationfutures.org.au/contacts.asp?cntID=6310). This has term and long term implications of the issue caused water quality to deteriorate, irreversible damage to ecosystems and land subsidence (www.water.usgs.gov/ ● justify your alternate decision to ensure nrp/proj.bib/Publications/konikow.kendy.2005intro.html). sustainability in the river catchment area

● incorporate accurately referenced information from various sources.

Make your water mark! Senior Geography References Water and the environment

1. About.com: Geography (2007), Aswan Dam controls the Nile River. Retrieved March 2008 from www.geography.about.com/od/speciﬁ cplacesoﬁ nterest/a/nile.htm

2. Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology (2008), Flood warning system and the Nerang River. Retrieved March 2008 from www.bom.gov.au/hydro/ﬂ ood/qld/brochures/south_coast/nerang.shtml

3. Cooperation Research Centre for Irrigation Futures (2002), Sustainable institutional regimes for sustainable groundwater management in India and Australia: Implications for water policies. Retrieved March 2008 from www.irrigationfutures.org.au/contacts.asp?cntID=6310

4. Gold Coast City Council (no date), Gold Coast Waterwatch. Catchments and water quality results. Retrieved March 2008 from www.goldcoastwaterwatch.org/catchment.htm

5. Gold Coast City Council (2005), Our Living City Report. Chapter 2: A description of the Gold Coast area. Retrieved January 2008 from www.goldcoastwater.qld.gov.au/attachment/publications/our_living_city0405_chp2.pdf

6. Gold Coast City Council (2007), Dams and catchments. Retrieved March 2008 from www.goldcoastwater.com.au/t_gcw.asp?PID=137

7. Gold Coast City Council (2008), Hinze Dam. Retrieved March 2008 from www.goldcoastwater.com.au/t_gcw.asp?PID=139

8. Gold Coast City Council (2008), Hinze map. Retrieved March 2008 from www.goldcoastwater.com.au/attachment/hinze_map.pdf

9. Gold Coast and Hinterland Environment Council (2008), Welcome to Gecko. Retrieved March 2008 from www.gecko.org.au/index.php?index

10. Gold Coast Water (2007), Delivering a sustainable waterfuture, The Gold Coast Waterfuture Strategy 2006-2056. Retrieved January 2008 from www.goldcoastwater.qld.gov.au/attachment/goldcoastwater/GCWF_strategy_overview_Sep07.pdf

11. Healthy Waterways (2002), Education resources. Retrieved March 2008 from www. healthywaterways.org/PAGE191216PMWL1BPA.html

12. Independent on Sunday (2006), Death of the world’s rivers. Retrieved March 2008 from www. independent.co.uk/environment/death-of-the-worlds-rivers-469597.html

13. International rivers: People, water and life (2008), About rivers and dams. Retrieved March 2008 from www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/234

14. Murray River website (2007), Murray River facts and ﬁ gures. Retrieved March 2008 from www.murrayriver.com.au/information/facts.htm

15. NASA Earth Science Enterprise Data and Services (no date), Earth observatory: River seasons. Retrieved March 2008 from www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/RiverSeasons/

Make your water mark! References Senior Geography - Information for teachers

16. Queensland Government Environmental Protection Agency (2006), Caring for our water. Retrieved March 2008 from www.epa.qld.gov.au/environmental_management/water/caring_for_our_water/

17. Queensland Government Environmental Protection Agency (2006), Threatened Plants and Animals. Retrieved January 2008 from www.epa.qld.gov.au/nature_conservation/wildlife/threatened_plants_and_animals

18. Queensland Government, Department of Natural Resources and Water (2008), Water management: Catchment map. Retrieved March 2008 from www.nrw.qld.gov.au/water/monitoring/current_data/map_qld.php

19. Queensland Government, Department of Natural Resources and Water (2008), Fact sheets. Retrieved March 2008 from www.nrw.qld.gov.au/factsheets/index.php

20. Queensland Studies Authority (2007), Geography senior syllabus. Retrieved March 2008 from www.qsa.qld. edu.au/downloads/syllabus/snr_geography_07_syll.pdf21. Queensland Water Commission (2007), Water supply projects. Retrieved January 2008 from www.qwc.qld.gov.au/Projects

21. seqwater (2011). Leslie Harrison Dam map. Retrieved September 2011 from http:// www.seqwater.com.au/pubiic/catch-store-treat/dams/leslie-harrison-dam

22. United States geological survey (2001), A primer on water quality. Retrieved March 2008 from http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs-fs-027-01/

23. United States geological survey (2005), National research program: Konikow and Kendy, Groundwater depletion: A global problem: Hydrogeology Journal, v. 13, p. 317-320. Retrieved March 2008 from www.water.usgs.gov/nrp/proj.bib/Publications/konikow.kendy.2005intro.html

24. University of the Western Cape - The Department of Biodiversity and Conservation Biology (2001). Envirofacts: River catchments. Retrieved March 2008 from www.bcb.uwc.ac.za/Envfacts/facts/catchments.htm

25. Waterwatch Queensland ( 2008), Waterwatch: Communities caring for catchments. Retrieved March 2008 from www.qld.waterwatch.org.au/

Make your water mark! Senior Geography Appendices Water and the environment

Hinze Dam map