1: Water All Around Us
In Part One of this text, we’ll explore the basics of water supply and demand. We’ll review the water cycle, explore basic concepts in water management, introduce surface water and groundwater rights, and then introduce the ideas of stakeholders in water projects. Part One is divided into these four sections:
- The Water Cycle
- Water Management Concepts
- Water Rights
- Stakeholder Concepts
For many of you, the Water Cycle will not be a new concept. But now you will need to frame it differently. Rather than considering it as a scientific concept, you'll have to see the interface between science and society and between supply and demand.
Water management concepts will take the water cycle further as you learn how different sources of groundwater and surface water supplies are identified and used both separately and together. There are benefits and drawbacks to each type of source of water.
Water rights are important to all aspects of the water supply. While we can't make you an attorney, you'll understand the basic types of water rights in California by the end of this section.
And lastly, in Part One, you'll finish with an examination of typical stakeholders in different water issues. Stakeholders aren't just a concept from business theory. They are critical to how we get things done in the water industry. You'll look at a few real-life examples of the consequences of working with (or neglecting) stakeholders in the water industry.
Thumbnail: Hydraulic Gold Mining by Carlton Wakins. (Public Domain)