WATER

The overall volume

of water on the Earth
is of around
1.400.000.000 cubic
kilometers, 97% of
which is sea or
brackish water.
This amounts to a
percentage of 1%
usable to Man. But
even this small
amount is rapidly
decreasing...

Out of the remaining 39

million cubic kilometers
of fresh water, only 10
million
are usable (the rest
"All too often, water is treated as an
infinite free good. Yet even where
supplies are sufficient or plentiful, they
are increasingly at risk from pollution
and rising demand…Fierce national
competition over water resources has
prompted fears that water issues
contain the seeds of violent conflict.“

UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan

WATER
AS A

RESOURCE
 I.1. WATER

What is water? More than

an element, it is the “fons
et origo”: the source and
origin of all life.
Chemically, water is a
compound of hydrogen and
oxygen, its molecule
consists of two atoms of
hydrogen and one atom of
oxygen - H2O. However, its
chemical and physical
properties still remain a
mystery in many ways.
 I.2. WATER AROUND THE WORLD
Despite the fact that it is an intrinsic part of the world, water is
actually quite ill distributed geographically.

23 countries in the world hold 66% of all the usable

water available. In these, 70% of all water is used
for agriculture, 20% for industry and only 10% for
domestic and public consumption.
I.3. DESERTIFICATION
I.3. DESERTIFICATION
 I.3. DESERTIFICATION

Arid regions account for

31% of all the land on the
planet and 40% of these
regions are affected by
the process of
desertification.
Considering also the fact
that the sea level is slowly
rising, it is clear that the
inequitable distribution of
water across the planet is
a problem which is
becoming ever more
serious.
I.3. DESERTIFICATION

But water is
omnipresent and
eternal: Mankind is
simply spoiling
 I.4. RISKING A RESOURCE
Water is not an infinite resource, though we often rashly
consider it so.

In parallel
While the quantity
with these of water
available on earth
demographic and remains
constant, demand
economic trends, pollution
has
–been
whether
increasing:
urban, over
industrial
the
next
or agricultural
20 years, inneeds
originwill
–
continue totorise
continues havealong
a with
populationimpact
sustained growthon and
the
industrialand
quantity development.
quality of
Since water.
fresh it has already
Oil spillsbeen
and
reduced
runoff sewerage
by half over
account
the
pastthe
for 50slow
years
destruction
through this of
increased
this element.demand,
disparities in water
resource distribution are
 I.4. RISKING A RESOURCE
Water is not only the origin and motor of life: for many species,
it is its very environment and habitat.

Rain forests are in grave danger of

disappearing in the next decades.
Coral reefs are threatened by
pollution and over-exposure to
human activity. The future does
not bode well for the thousands of
animal species on water-heavy
environments.
 I.5. WATER IN OUR BODY

W 70% C
ATER ofONSUMPTION
your body is (per day):
water
.(approx.
drinking55 water
to 60(1.5 liters)
litres) - without it,
.you
water in food
would (0.9 liters)
be poisoned to death by
.your
waterownproduced during the
waste products.
metabolism of food (0.6 liters)
 95% of the time when you are
W DISPOSAL
ATER or
foggy unclear(per due: to lack
it isday)
.of
respiration
water. (0.5 liters)
Dehydration
.sweating is the number 0.9
and transpiration: one
trigger of daytime fatigue,
liters
.nausea,
urine (1.5headaches,
liters) lethargy and
.constipation.
feces (0.1 liters)
Thousands
WATER USE (per risk
day)kidney
: damage,
.impaired liver 1
Saliva: about function
liter and urinary
.tract infection
Gastric by not drinking
juice: between 2 and 2.5 liters
.enough
Bile: 0.5plain
liters water.
Just a 5% drop
.Pancreatic juice:in body
0.7 water
liters
.will cause up
Intestinal to a 30%about
secretion: loss of
3 liters
.energy in the average
Blood contains between person.
3 and 4 liters
of water.
 I.5.1 CONSUMING WATER

Water can be tasted, just like

wine, and has its own
characteristics:
TEMPERATURE: Contrary to popular
belief, mineral water is not better when
cold. Its optimum state is at room
temperature: 15º to 18º degrees
Celsius.
SHELF-LIFE: Water is very susceptible to
contamination from air contact. When
open, drink a water bottle within a
maximum period of 48 hours. Still or
sparkiling waters in plastic containers
should be consumed in 2 years’ time at
most.
KEEP IT SAFE: Keep water away from direct sunlight (e.g. on a
car’s dashboard) and, obviously, never put it next to cleaning
or toxic products. And NEVER freeze mineral water bottles.
Why do
we feel so
comfort
able ne
ar w at e
r?
 I.6 THERMAL BATHS
Water is both therapeutic and comforting: our body and
mind responds very positively to its presence and touch.

Spas, with their thermal waters,

enjoy tremendous success, and are
often recommended for health
purposes. The mineral substances
carried by the moving, bubbling
waters are slowly absorbed by the
bathers, and water naturally relaxes
muscles.
In Portugal, there are many
famous thermal spas,
including Castelo de Vide,
Caldas da Rainha, Vidago
and Gerês.
WATER AND THE ARTS
 II.1 WATER AND LITERATURE
"Surely the sea / is the most beautiful face in our
universe," the poet Mary Oliver declares. And rightly so.

It is water in the form of the sea

that has most captured the
imagination of authors. The sea
"keeps eternal whisperings around /
Desolate shores," the poet John
Keats observed, and those "eternal
whisperings" have been deciphered
by writers for centuries, from
Homer and Daniel Defoe to Walt
Whitman and Edgar Alan Poe and
Joseph Conrad, from Samuel Taylor
Coleridge's "The Rime of the
Ancient Mariner" and Herman
 II.3.1 WATER AND MUSIC
Water has inspired countless composers and is very
much present in most of the music that “echoes through
the ages”.
Throughout history, water inspired composers as
musical inspiration: as the backdrop for opera and
musical theater, as an image to be represented in
musical sound, or a natural sound imitated in music.
Musical Theater
Imagery and
of Water
Opera
Throughout history, composers
Frederic Chopin – Prelude, op. 28, no.
have
John been
Adams
15, “The –asked to of
The Death
Raindrop” write music
Klinghoffer
toGillbert
be "played
Claude –upon
and Sullivan
Debussy the water."
La –Cathédral
Gondoliers
Venetian
Englouté, Lamusicians
Mer, Refletscomposed
de l’eau
Pietro Mascagni – Iris
brass
Mauricemusic
Ravel –for
Jeux barges.
d’eau The most
celebrated
Cole Porter – piece
Anything ofGoes
such music
Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No.
was composed
6, movement
Rodgers 4 "The inThunderstorm"
and Hammerstein
England,
– South
by
Handel,
Pacific for a 1717
Bedrich Smetana – “Theparty
Moldau”forfrom Ma
George
Vlast I upon
Antonio Vivaldi – 2the Thames.
concerti, RV 253 and
433, “La Tempesta di mare”
 II.3.2. WATERY INSTRUMENTS
Water is not only an inspiration and an imagery resource
to music – it can also shape its very sound.

Water Organ or Hydraulis

Produces sound using pressure
generated by falling water as the
energy source.
Water Drums
Existent in many cultures and in many
forms. Basically a drum within a drum,
with the inner instrument being filled
with various amounts of water.

Water Gong
Modern use of traditional gongs and
tam-tams. The instrument was struck
and then lowered into a tub of water
which lowered its pitch.
 II.4. WATER AND PAINTING
Water is omnipresent in all forms of artistic expression. Painting
is no exception. Water is more than a liquid: it’s a symbol, an
icon, a metaphor. It is anything that the artist desires.

Water is more frequently

seen as a symbol of change
and cleansing, mainly of:

 TRANSFORMATION
 PURIFICATION
 LIFE & YOUTH
 PASSAGE
 DESTRUCTION / TRANQUILITY
 MOTION
 II.4.1 THE WATERS OF YOUTH
A form of immortality is the chance to become youthful
again.

Bathing or imbibing the

waters of the Fountain of
Life conferred immortality.
It is said the Alexander the
Great, who travelled to the
world's end, was searching
for the fountain of
Belief in the existance of a
immortality.
"Fountain of Youth" was so
strong that in 1513, the
governor of Puerto Rico,
Ponce de Leon, set off with
three ships to find it in the
land of Bimini (instead he
Lucas Cranach The Elder, The Fountaindiscovered Florida).
of Youth, c. 1516
 II.4.2. WATER: TRANSFORMATION
Water as the cause of physical transformation or
metamorphosis.

An example of water being

used to transform is the Greek
mythological story, told by
Ovid in the Metamorphoses, of
the hunter goddess Artemis
(Diana) and the mortal hunter
Actaeon.
Artemis (Diana) has many
connections with water, being
a female goddess, having a
special aura of mystery and
psychological uncertainty
about her and controlling the
tides.
 II.4.3. THE WATERS OF PASSAGE
Fountains and rivers share the symbolism of the origin
of life.

Thomas Cole, The Voyage of Life: Youth,

1842
 II.4.3. THE WATERS OF PASSAGE
Fountains and rivers share the symbolism of the origin
of life.

Thomas Cole, The Voyage of Life: Manhood,

1842
 II.4.3. THE WATERS OF PASSAGE
Fountains and rivers share the symbolism of the origin
of life.
The flow of a river to the
sea may signify the flow
A river can also symbolize a
of life from birth to
barrier separating two death. A winding stream
different realms. In ancient is a symbol of the
Egypt, the dead pharaoh tortuous course of human
was carried across the Nile, life. To descend a river
from east to west, to be can also be understood
buried. The idea of passing as symbolic of life's
from the side of life to the journey down the "River
side of death, is also found of Life“.
in classical belief of the
souls of the dead having to
be rowed across the river
Styx to the underworld by
the ferryman Charon.

Thomas Cole, The Voyage of Life: Old Age,

1842
 II.4.4. BOTTICELLI’S “VENUS”

Aphrodite (Venus)
was the daughter of
In the Middle Ages, Uranus, whose sexual
certain symbols of organs, cut into
antique Venus, such as pieces by Kronos, fell
roses, were attributed to into the oceans.
the Virgin Mary. Aphrodite was born
from the spray
produced by this fall.
The winged couple, Zephyrus, the wind of
Zephyrus and his the west, saw the
companion, Chloris (or goddess surge out of
Flora), goddess of flowers the waters and led
and fertility. her to Cyprus on a
The shell was also a Christian symbol huge conch shell.
representing female sensuality There the Hours (the
The painting is in and
triptych form. It
fertility. The notion Seasons) clothed her
breaksofwith
fertility is also
the classical static posture
represented by before taking her to
ofthe
thewater
paintedof subjects,
the instead electing
oceans, the giver of life. Olympus, the home of
dynamic movement.
BOTTICELLI, Sandro, “The Birth of Venus” the gods.
(1486)
 II.5. LEONARDO DA VINCI

One large scale but never

realized plan was for a
Leonardo navigable canal linking
da Vinci was
fascinatedFlorence to the sea. In
with water,
describingMilan,
it as he
theworked on a
system of locks and
“vetturale di natura”,
paddle wheels for
believing washing
it to be to the
the streets. He
world what blood
also had is to our
plans for
bodies. He observed
draining the its
unhealthy
motion. He studiedofstorms
marshes the Val di
and streams, the erosion
Chiana.
these caused; all to
control and harness this
element’s power.
RELIGION &
MYTHOLOGY
"In the beginning, God created
the heavens and the earth. The
earth was without form and
void, and darkness was upon
the face of the deep; and the
Spirit of God was moving over
the face of the waters" (Gen.
1:1-2).
 III.1. RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY

In religion, water is used as a symbol and as a ritual object. The

use of water is laden with symbolic content, as well as its
function.

In virtually all of the

religions of the world,
water is present in some
form. Whether as a
cleansing and purifying
element, involved in deep
and mystical rituals, or as
an anthropomorphosized
symbol of
destruction/creation, the
widespread appreciation of
water in all religions is a
credit to its inherent value
to Humanity.
 III.2. CHRISTIANITY
Baptism is one of the most important rituals of the Christian
church, but water is also a major symbolic force in Christendom.

Holy water is water

Baptism is which
a symbolis blessed
of
for use inliberation
certain rites,
fromespecially
the at
the Easter Vigil. The of
oppression custom of
sin that
sprinklingseparates
people with water at mass
us from
began in God. 
the 9th century.
Catholics believe that
the stain of the original sin
is actually removed upon
Washingthe in water
baptism ritual. In most
could alsoWestern churches today
symbolically remove
the rite is performed by
spiritual pouring
dirt and water
guilt. over the
In the Bible,
headPontius
three times (affusion)
Andrea del Verrocchio Pilate is famous for
and sometimes sprinkling
"washingwater
Baptism of Christ, 1472-75 his hands" of head
over the
 III.3. OTHER RELIGIONS
Water plays a major role in most major religions, especially in
certain rites and celebrations.

HINDUISM
All water is sacred to Hinduism. Burial grounds are always
located near rivers. Holy places are generally on the banks
of rivers, or other sites near water. Washing and cleansing
are also extremely important for Hindus.
ISLAMISM
Similar to Hinduism, Islamism also ritualizes the processes
of washing and cleansing (tahara), especially before
carrying out religious duties like the salat (worship).
Fountains are sometimes found in mosques.
JUDAISM
Significant stories of the Great Flood and the parting of the
Red Sea reveal an intimate connection of Judaism with
water. There are also many rituals involving water,
including the mikveh, a ritual bath used for cleansing after
contact with a dead body or after menstruation.
 III.4.1 WATER AND MYTHOLOGY
Water harbours many mysteries. What lies beneath the
surface of the waters? Men have speculated and wondered
– and told tales…
Since the dawn of time,
monsters and fantastic
creatures have been
associated with water and,
in particular, the sea.
Adamastor is a myth
deeply enrooted in
Portuguese culture, but
there are sea “monsters”
far more realistic...
 III.4.2 MERMAIDS AND SIRENS
Almost every civilization has believed that life began in the
sea and so water has been identified as female and
associated with women.
More than just common In mythology, the
demonic entities, treacherousness of water
mermaids and sirens is personified as alluring
represent an embodiment and irresistible women
of the spirit of water, without souls who lure
wrapping it in a feminine unwary men to a watery
sensuality: the mystery, death. They may appear
the danger, the seductive as mermaids, sirens,
allure, treading the fine undines, ladies of the
line between physical lake, nixies, or water
passion and unspeakable nymphs.
peril.
John William Waterhouse, A John William Waterhouse, The Siren,
Mermaid, c. 1901 c. 1900
 III.4.2 MERMAIDS AND SIRENS
Mermaids and sirens are omnipresent in classic mythology
and play a significant role in more recent traditional
folklore, namely Celtic.

When Hylas, a Greek

prince, went to fetch
water from the sacred
spring of Pegae, he was
lured into the water by
the water nymphs and
drowned.
To resist the song of
the sirens, Ulysses
filled the ears of his
crew members with
wax so they couldn't
hear and had himself
THE END