Water Resources
SOURCES OF WATER
96.5 per cent of the total volume of world’s water is estimated to exist as
oceans and only 2.5 per cent exists as fresh water. 70 per cent of the fresh
water occurs as ice sheets and glaciers in Antarctica, Greenland and the
mountainous regions of the world. Less than 30 per cent is stored as
groundwater in the world’s acquirers.
Fresh water is mainly obtained from surface run off and ground water. This is
continually being renewed and recharged through the hydrological cycle. All
the water moves within the hydrological cycle making water a renewable
resource.
Three fresh water sources are:
Precipitation—from rainfall; Surface water—in rivers, lakes, etc.; Ground
water—water stored in underground acquirers which gets recharged by
rainfall.
Water scarcity:
Water scarcity means shortage of water. It is usually associated with regions
having low rainfall or drought prone areas.
There are many other reasons which lead to scarcity of water:
Large growing population; In the agricultural sector, water resources are being
over-exploited to expand irrigated areas and dry- season agriculture; More
water required for irrigation purposes to facilitate higher food production, i. e.,
for doing multiple cropping and for HYV seeds.
There is greater demand for water with growing urbanization and
industrialization; An unequal access to water among different social groups;
The quality of water is deteriorating, i.e., getting polluted by domestic and
industrial wastes, chemical fertilizers and pesticides used in agriculture;
Excessive use of water by industries which also require water to generate
hydro-electric power to run them; and Over exploitation of water in the urban
areas.
Adverse effects of over-exploitation of ground water resources
Pumping out more water from under the ground may lead to falling
ground water levels.
It will adversely affect water availability.
This, in turn, will affect our agriculture and food security of the people.
Impoverishment of water resources may adversely affect the ecological
cycle.
Main causes of water pollution
Domestic wastes, especially urban sewers; industrial wastes are disposed off
in the water without proper treatment; chemical effluents from industries and
from agricultural sector; and many human activities, e.g., religious rituals and
immersing of idols, etc. in the water also pollute water.
Measures for water conservation
Do not overdraw the ground water, recharge it by techniques like
rainwater harvesting; tapping rainwater in reservoirs, watershed
development programmes, etc.
Avoid wastage of water at all levels and do not pollute the water.
Adopting water conserving techniques of irrigation, e.g., drip irrigation
and sprinklers etc., especially in dry areas.
Dam
A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the
flow, creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment. A dam is the reservoir and
not the whole structure.
Multipurpose river valley projects —‘The Temples of Modem India’:
Jawahar Lai Nehru proudly proclaimed that multipurpose projects are ‘The
Temples of Modem India’, because they were thought of as the vehicle that
would lead the nation to development and progress. He believed that these
projects with their integrated water resource management approach would
integrate development of agriculture and the village economy with rapid
industrialization and growth of the urban economy.
Advantages:
They bring water to those areas which suffer from water scarcity and
also provide water for irrigation;
These projects generate electricity for industries and our homes;
They help in controlling floods;
These projects can be used for recreation, inland navigation and fish
breeding.
Disadavantages:
Damming of rivers affects their natural flow causing poor sediment flow;
Excessive sedimentation at the bottom of the reservoir;
Lack of sediments results in (a) rockier stream bed and (b) poorer
habitat for the rivers aquatic life;
The reservoirs submerge the existing vegetation and soil, leading to its
decomposition over time;
They affect the fertility levels of the soil;
cause large scale displacement of local communities.
Traditional rainwater harvesting methods practiced in different parts of
the country:
In mountainous areas ‘Guls’ and ‘Kuls’ the diversion channels were built
for agriculture.
‘Rooftop rainwater harvesting’ was commonly practiced to store drinking
water, especially in Rajasthan.
Inundation channels for irrigation were developed in the flood plains of
West Bengal.
In arid and semi-arid regions, agricultural fields were converted into rain
fed storage structures, e.g., ‘Khadins’ in Jaisalmer and ‘Johads’ in other
parts of Rajasthan.
In semi-arid and arid regions of Rajasthan, particularly in Bikaner,
Phalodi and Banner, all the houses had underground tanks or ‘tankas’
built inside the house for storing drinking water. They were a part of the
well-developed rooftop rainwater harvesting system.
. Bamboo Drip Irrigation-It is a 200 year old system of tapping stream
And spring water by using bamboo pipes prevailed in Meghalaya.About
18-20 litres of water enters the bamboo pipe system,gets transported
over hundres of metres and finally reduces to 20-80 drops per minute at the
Site of the plant
‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’:
Narmada Bachao Andolan or Save Narmada Movement is an NGO that
mobilized tribal people, farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists
against the Sardar Sarovar Dam being built across the Narmada river in
Gujarat. The movement originally focused on environmental issues related to
submerging of trees under the dam water. Recently its aim has been to
enable the displaced poor people to get full rehabilitation facilities from the
government.
