What is the relationship between the urban water cycle and the natural water cycle?
This natural cycle still occurs in towns and cities but is impacted by people and development. The urban water cycle is ‘man made’ created to provide drinking water to homes and businesses, to remove wastewater and sewage, and redirect stormwater away from homes and businesses and into our waterways.
What are the steps of the urban water cycle in order?
The Eight Main Steps of the Urban Water Cycle
- Source. The water has to come from somewhere.
- Treatment. Because water taken from open bodies may contain harmful microorganisms, it has to be treated before it reaches us in our homes.
- Distribution.
- Storage.
- Use.
- Collection.
- Treatment.
- Discharge.
How are natural and man made sources of water different?
Natural sources of freshwater are naturally formed. Rainwater and the hydrological cycle generally recharges these sources of water. Man made sources are constructed by humans, and can harvest/capture, or generate water. A few of the main natural sources of water are:
How is the human water cycle related to the natural water cycle?
But water is also constantly moving through another cycle – the human water cycle – that powers our homes, hydrates our bodies, irrigates our crops and processes our waste. The tight connection between the human water cycle and natural water cycle makes them dependent on each other.
How is evaporation part of the natural water cycle?
The natural water cycle uses physical processes to move water from the surface of the earth to the atmosphere and back again. Evaporation is when the sun shines on water and heats it, turning it into gas called water vapour which rises into the air.
How does water come back to the Earth?
In the natural water cycle, water molecules evaporate and transpire from water on the Earth to the atmosphere, condense into clouds, come back to the Earth through precipitation, and then make their way back to water bodies though runoff and infiltration in nature.