What water tales to tell the world?

A forum to discuss how we spread the significance of the water cycle to the general public

Thu Nov 3rd 9-10:30am (Pacific Time) THE FIVE WATER TALES : Regenerative Water Alliance event.

zoom : https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4387884267?pwd=Qk1Ob0RIbjhEQzBCcWpyazFXVG1QUT09

We would like to invite your participation in a joint exploration about how we best tell the multiple tales of water to the world.
 
The tale of carbon is simple - greenhouse warming. Can we create some simple tales of water to tell the world? What can we be telling schools, organizations, businesses, government, the sustainability movement, the climate movement? How do we tell these tales as succinctly, clearly, and memorably as possible?
 
Here are a list of possible water tales (after the flier for the event). Do you have others to add to the list, or better ways of naming these narratives? We would like to hear your top 5 at this meeting. We would also like to synergize marketing efforts to spread these water tales to the general public, perhaps by creating a hashtag around each water tale. Below we list out 26 different water tales, with links to study further about each one.

A. Evapotranspiration cools earth

When vegetation and soil evapotranspires, there is a cooling effect at the earth’s surface similar to how sweating cools our bodies. The heat is transferred from the surface of the earth to the atmosphere. When liquid water in the vegetation is converted to water vapor, the water vapor takes that heat upward. When the water vapor condenses as clouds it releases that water high up in the air.

Green Water Cools https://greenwatercools.org

“Water evaporated from trees cools climate”

B. Small water cycle creates rain

The water vapor that flows in from the ocean comes from the large water cycle. Water evapotranspired from the land, which is part of the small water cycle, combines with the ocean moisture to create rain. When land is paved over, or soil degraded, the evaporanspiration becomes less, and there can be a loss of rain.

The small water cycle term was coined by Michal Kravcik and colleagues, and written up in a booklet “Water for the recovery of the climate : the new water paradigm”

This simple animation is a clear explanation of the small water cycle and how we can restore it

C. Tree roots and mycelia bring up groundwater to keep soil wet. A tree doesn’t just bring up water for itself, it passes that water to the whole landscape with the help of mycelia. This is a process called Hydraulic Redistribution. Keeping the water table high is important to keep our landscapes hydrated into the dry season.

The secret life of groundwater

D. Wetlands cleanse water

Wetlands purify article

E. Cities can recycle stormwater

Stormwater can be captured by wetlands to funnel to aquifers below, and then drawn back up by wells when needed. TED talk by UC Berkeley professor David Sedlak on this topic, see 6 minute mark

City wastewater can also be recycled instead of funneled out to the ocean.

Brad Lancaster has pioneered ways of guiding stormwater to help grow urban plants, rather than runoff to the ocean.

F. Organic soil absorbs more rainwater

For each 1% increase in organic matter in the soil, the soil can hold 3.7% more water.

Effect of soil organic matter on soil properties article

G. Slowing water keeps continents hydrated
Our modern industrial water systems with the urban stormwater drains, and farm tile drainage, coupled with degraded land , flows water off the land, and into ocean. This leaves less water on our continents, resulting in more wildfires, more droughts, and less groundwater.

H. Tile drainage wastes water

Tile drainage drains water from farms and releases it as runoff to oceans. This water could be retained in the landscape.

I. Wetlands humidify winds lessening wildfires

Hot dry winds often fan wildfires. If wetlands are restored that are in the path of these hot dry winds, then they can humidify the winds, and lessen wildfires.

J. Wetlands replenish groundwater
Modern society has drained many of our wetlands. Wetlands however are key instruments of how capturing rainwater and riverwater, and then guiding it to refill our aquifers.

K. Groundwater is our water bank

L. Groundwater increases the small water cycle

Tree roots and mycelia bring up groundwater to soil. The water then evapotranspires to create rain. So more groundwater means more rain in many areas. A paper by hydroclimatologist Francina Dominguez on this phenomena

M. Groundwater quenches wildfires

Tree roots and mycelia bring up groundwater to hydrate the landscape, if the water table is high enough. This hydration lessens wildfire.

N. Forests attract rain

“Trees in the forest make their own rain” article.

Biotic pump says that forests evapotranspire to create clouds. When those clouds are created there is a drop in pressure from water vapor turning into water droplets. The drop in pressure then attract ocean winds to blow towards the forest containing ocean water vapor. https://www.bioticregulation.ru/pump/pump.php Note: The biotic pump is a debated theory. For now, it is a hypothesis.

Here’s a nice animation about how the biotic pump can help draw in rain.

Forests can slow wind, making it easier for water vapor to condense into clouds.

How forests increase rain : Francina Dominguez interview

O. Biodiversity increases small water cycle

Biodiversity helps increase the soil organic content which then increases the ability of the land to absorb rainfall, which then increases evapotranspiration and the small water cycle.

P. Drought-fire-flood cycle , aka Watershed death cycle

Droughts increase fires which can increase floods which can increase drought

Solutions to droughts, fires, and floods

Zach Weiss has named this cycle the watershed death spiral

A video his group made about this.

Q. Beavers help hydrate the landscape and cool earth

Article

R. Dams block fish, sediment, wetlands, and groundwater

American Rivers article

S. Plants regulate heat via water

When its cool plants evapotranspire less, so less heat is transferred from surface of the earth into the atmosphere. When its hot, plants evapotranspire more, cooling the surface of the earth. So the plants act as a kind of thermostate, regulating the temperature on the surface of the earth.

NASA article

T. Animals changes soil which changes water cycle
Prairie dogs, donkeys, cows, ants, and many other animals affect the soil in ways that can make it easier for water to seep into the soil.

U. Ecological succession tends to increase small water cycle

As an ecosystem matures it has richer soil and more vegetation which helps to absorb the rainfall, increase groundwater, and evapotranspire water back up into atmosphere which increases the small water cycle.

Here is an article on ecological succession in the Natural Sequence Farming approach which helps restore the water cycle on lands.

V. Healthy ecosystems creates clouds which can cool earth

European Space Agency citing a paper on how forests create clouds which cool planet

X. Increasing small water cycle lessens urban heat domes.

Y. Increasing land evapotranspiration decreases hurricanes and extreme large rainfall.

This water tale is a hypothesis. Land evapotranspiration can help guide heat from the surface of the earth up into the atmosphere to help the earth system achieve a state of dynamic nonequilibrium. However if that land evapotranspiration is not happening, then that heat transfer may have to come via hurricanes and atmospheric rivers generated in the ocean.

In addition, Michal Kravcik says with cooler land surface that comes with more evapotranspiration, the hurricane would die off quicker when it hits land fall https://peopleandwater.international/project/hurricane-ida/
 
Z. Regenerative agriculture saves water

Article on how regenerative agriculture can mitigate drought.

Z2. Biorain corridor moisture hops rain inland.

In order for the small water cycle to continue moisture hopping rain inland, the rain needs to be absorbed into the land. If the land is degraded or paved over it wont do this. So you need to create a biorain corridor, a term invented by Alpha Lo. A biological corridor is a corridor for wildlife. A biorain corridor is a corridor for rain to move inland.

If you would like to submit an event, workshop, discussion, request for help, around regenerative water projects, we can print it up in future editions of this newsletter.