Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
1
RAINWATER AS THE
RESOURCE
1.1 THE WATER BALANCE AS A GUIDE FOR SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
In every portion of the planet, the cycle of water provides the same natural model:
The water resource is replenished with each season and the land surface responds
to this cycle of abundance or drought with a vegetative system that flourishes
and diminishes with the available rainfall. The hydrologic cycle is continuous,
but it is by no means constant, and every human habitat must recognize and
live within the limits and constraints of this dynamic process. Over the past 4.5
million years, our species has learned to live in balance with the water cycle; or
if it changes over time, migrate to other environments.
Unfortunately, over the past century, our modern society has not followed this
process in the building of our current communities. As our numbers increased
and spread across the land surface, we began to exploit rather than sustain our
land and water resources. During the past century, our control of energy sources
allowed us to neglect the principle of sustaining our habitat, and we gave little
thought as to how we built our modern cities, disregarding the local environment
and the natural limits of each place. Guided by a false confidence that we could
conquer any constraint or natural limitation, we have stripped and sculpted the
land to fit our perceived image of how we can best situate our structures. We
have exploited the available water resources, without careful consideration of
where we live in terms of natural topography and hydrology.
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