7.5 water Lesson 3 CYP

How has water distribution changed in the Aral Sea region over time?

• Water used for cotton farming has decreased and the amount of water in the Aral Sea has increased.

• Water used for cotton farming has increased and the amount of water in the Aral Sea has decreased.

• Water used for cotton farming and the amount of water in the Aral Sea have both decreased.

 __________  in the Aral region caused the changes in water distribution in the Aral Sea region.

• Flooding - increased precipitation

• The number of fish

• Human activities

Human activities changed how people use water. This led to changes in how water is shared in the Aral Sea area. People built systems to bring water to help grow cotton. These systems took water from rivers that normally flowed into the Aral Sea. Because of this, the amount of water in the Aral Sea got smaller.

• True

• False

Imagine that new materials made by people mean we do not need as much cotton for clothes. This makes it hard for many cotton farms to stay in business or they have to grow much less cotton in the Aral Sea area.

• the amount of water in the Aral Sea would increase

• less water would be taken from the rivers to produce cotton

• both

In 2005, Kazakhstan built a dam that is 8 miles long. This dam helps to keep the northern Aral Sea separate from the southern part. They also fixed buildings to help the river, Syr Darya, flow naturally and to support the irrigation system. This system uses river water for farming. Because of these changes, the water levels in the Aral Sea went up. Wetlands and ecosystems along the river began to grow back, and there were more fish in the sea. These actions helped the fishing industry to recover and allowed fishing communities to return to the area. How did engineering help restore water resources.

• Introducing water storage systems

• Putting in new fish to improve the ecosystem

• Building dams and supporting the irrigation systems