Principles of Water Resources Engineering: Version 2 CE IIT, Kharagpur

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Module

1
Principles of Water
Resources Engineering
Version 2 CE IIT, Kharagpur
Lesson
1
Surface and Ground
Water Resources
Version 2 CE IIT, Kharagpur
Instructional Objectives
After completion of this lesson, the student shall know about
1. Hydrologic cycle and its components
2. Distribution of earth’s water resources
3. Distribution of fresh water on earth
4. Rainfall distribution in India
5. Major river basins of India
6. Land and water resources of India; water development potential
7. Need for development of water resources

1.1.0 Introduction
Water in our planet is available in the atmosphere, the oceans, on land and
within the soil and fractured rock of the earth’s crust Water molecules from one
location to another are driven by the solar energy. Moisture circulates from the
earth into the atmosphere through evaporation and then back into the earth as
precipitation. In going through this process, called the Hydrologic Cycle (Figure
1), water is conserved – that is, it is neither created nor destroyed.

Figure 1. Hydrologic cycle

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The earth’s total water content in the hydrologic cycle is not equally distributed
(Figure 2).

Figure 2. Total global water content

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Figure 3. Global fresh water distribution

Again, the fresh water distribution is highly uneven, with most of the water locked
in frozen polar ice caps.

The hydrologic cycle consists of four key components


1. Precipitation
2. Runoff
3. Storage
4. Evapotranspiration

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1.1.1 Precipitation
Precipitation occurs when atmospheric moisture becomes too great to remain
suspended in clouds. It denotes all forms of water that reach the earth from the
atmosphere, the usual forms being rainfall, snowfall, hail, frost and dew. Once it
reaches the earth’s surface, precipitation can become surface water runoff,
surface water storage, glacial ice, water for plants, groundwater, or may
evaporate and return immediately to the atmosphere. Ocean evaporation is the
greatest source (about 90%) of precipitation.

Rainfall is the predominant form of precipitation

The distribution of precipitation for our country as recorded by the India


Meteorological Department (IMD)

The average annual rainfall is estimated as 1170 mm over the country, but
varies significantly from place to place. In the northwest desert of Rajasthan,
the average annual rainfall is lower than 150 mm/year.

The year can be divided into four seasons:


• The winter or northeast monsoon season from January to February.
• The hot season from March to May.
• The summer or south west monsoon from June to September.
• The post – monsoon season from October to December.

The monsoon winds advance over the country either from the Arabian Sea or
from the Bay of Bengal.

1.1.2 Runoff
Runoff is the water that flows across the land surface after a storm event. As
rain falls over land, part of that gets infiltrated the surface as overland flow. As
the flow bears down, it notches out rills and gullies which combine to form
channels. These combine further to form streams and rivers.

The geographical area which contributes to the flow of a river is called a river or a
watershed. The following are the major river basins of our country,

1. Indus (Figure 8)
2. Ganges (Figure 9)
3. Brahmaputra (Figure 10)
1.1.3 Storage
Portion of the precipitation falling on land surface which does not flow out as
runoff gets stored as either as surface water bodies like Lakes, Reservoirs and
Wetlands or as sub-surface water body, usually called Ground water.

Ground water storage is the water infiltrating through the soil cover of a land
surface and traveling further to reach the huge body of water underground. As

mentioned earlier, the amount of ground water storage is much greater than that
of lakes and rivers. However, it is not possible to extract the entire groundwater
by practicable means. It is interesting to note that the groundwater also is in a
state of continuous movement – flowing from regions of higher potential to lower.
The rate of movement, however, is exceptionally small compared to the surface
water movement.

The following definitions may be useful:

Lakes: Large, naturally occurring inland body of water


Reservoirs: Artificial or natural inland body of water used to store water to meet
various demands.
Wet Lands: Natural or artificial areas of shallow water or saturated soils that
contain or could support water–loving plants.

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1.1.4 Evapotranspiration
Evapotranspiration is actually the combination of two terms – evaporation and
transpiration. The first of these, that is, evaporation is the process of liquid
converting into vapour, through wind action and solar radiation and returning to
the atmosphere. Evaporation is the cause of loss of water from open bodies of
water, such as lakes, rivers, the oceans and the land surface. It is interesting to
note that ocean evaporation provides approximately 90 percent of the earth’s
precipitation. However, living near an ocean does not necessarily imply more
rainfall as can be noted from the great difference in the amount of rain received
between the east and west coasts of India.

Transpiration is the process by which water molecules leaves the body of a living
plant and escapes to the atmosphere. The water is drawn up by the plant root
system and part of that is lost through the tissues of plant leaf (through
the stomata).

Evapotranspiration, therefore, includes all evaporation from water and land


surfaces, as well as transpiration from plants.

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1.1.5 Water resources potential
1.1.5.1 Surface water potential:

The average annual surface water flows in India has been estimated as 1869
cubic km. This is the utilizable surface water potential in India. But the amount
of water that can be actually put to beneficial use is much less due to severe
limitations posed by Physiography, topography, inter-state issues and the
present state of technology to harness water resources economically. The recent
estimates made by the Central Water Commission, indicate that the water
resources is utilizable through construction of structures is about 690 cubic km
(about 36% of the total). One reason for this vast difference is that not only does
the whole rainfall occur in about four months a year but the spatial and temporal
distribution of rainfall is too uneven due to which the annual average has very
little significance for all practical purposes.

Monsoon rain is the main source of fresh water with 76% of the rainfall occurring
between June and September under the influence of the southwest monsoon.
The average annual precipitation in volumetric terms is 4000 cubic km. The
average annual surface flow out of this is 1869 cubic km, the rest being lost in
infiltration and evaporation.

1.1.5.2 Ground water potential:

The potential of dynamic or rechargeable ground water resources of our country


has been estimated by the Central Ground Water Board to be about 432 cubic
km.

Ground water recharge is principally governed by the intensity of rainfall as also


the soil and aquifer conditions. This is a dynamic resource and is replenished
every year from natural precipitation, seepage from surface water bodies and
conveyance systems return flow from irrigation water, etc.

The highlighted terms are defined or explained as under:

Utilizable surface water potential: This is the amount of water that can be
purpose fully used, without any wastage to the sea, if water storage and
conveyance structures like dams, barrages, canals, etc. are suitably built at
requisite sites.

Central Water Commission: Central Water Commission is an attached office of


Ministry of Water Resources with Head Quarters at New Delhi. It is a premier
technical organization in the country in the field of water resources since 1945.

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The commission is charged with the general responsibility of initiating,
coordinating and furthering, in consultation with the State Governments
concerned, schemes for control, conservation and utilization of water resources
throughout the country, for purpose of flood control, irrigation, navigation,
drinking water supply and water power development.

Central Ground Water Board: It is responsible for carrying out nation-wide


surveys and assessment of groundwater resources and guiding the states
appropriately in scientific and technical matters relating to groundwater. The
Central Ground Water Board has generated valuable scientific and technical data
through regional hydro geological surveys, groundwater exploration, resource
and water quality monitoring and research and development. It assists the States
in developing broad policy guidelines for development and management of
groundwater resources including their conservation, augmentation and protection
from pollution, regulation of extraction and conjunctive use of surface water and
ground water resources. The Central Ground Water Board organizes Mass
Awareness Programmes to create awareness on various aspects of groundwater
investigation, exploration, development and management.

Ground water recharge: Some of the water that precipitates, flows on ground
surface or seeps through soil first, then flows laterally and some continues to
percolate deeper into the soil. This body of water will eventually reach a
saturated zone and replenish or recharge groundwater supply. In other words,
the recuperation of groundwater is called the groundwater recharge which is
done to increase the groundwater table elevation. This can be done by many
artificial techniques, say, by constructing a detention dam called a water
spreading dam or a dike, to store the flood waters and allow for subsequent
seepage of water into the soil, so as to increase the groundwater table. It can
also be done by the method of rainwater harvesting in small scale, even at
individual houses. The all India figure for groundwater recharge volume is 418.5
cubic km and the per capita annual volume of groundwater recharge is 412.9
cubic m per person.

1.1.6 Land and water resources of India


The two main sources of water in India are rainfall and the snowmelt of glaciers
in the Himalayas. Although reliable data on snow cover in India are not
available, it is estimated that some 5000 glaciers cover about 43000 km2 in the
Himalayas with a total volume of locked water estimated at 3870 km3.
considering that about 10000 km2 of the Himalayan glacier is located within
India, the total water yield from snowmelt contributing to the river runoff in India
may be of the order of 200 km3/year. Although snow and glaciers are poor
producers of fresh water, they are good distributors as they yield at the time of
need, in the hot season.

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The total surface flow, including regenerating flow from ground water and the
flow from neighbouring countries is estimated at 1869 km3/year, of which only
690 km3 are considered as utilizable in view of the constraints of the present
technology for water storage and inter – state issues. A significant part (647.2
km3/year) of these estimated water resources comes from neighbouring
countries; 210.2 km3/year from Nepal, 347 km3/year from China and 90
km3/year from Bhutan. An important part of the surface water resources leaves
the country before it reaches the sea: 20 km3/year to Myanmar, 181.37 km3/year
to Pakistan and 1105.6 km3/year to Bangladesh (“Irrigation in Aisa in Figures”,
Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, Rome, 1999;
http://www.fao.org/ag/agL/public.stm). For further information, one may also
check the web-site “Earth Trends” http://elearthtrends.wri.org.

The land and water resources of India may be summarized as follows.


Geographical area 329 million
hectare
Natural runoff (Surface water and ground water) 1869 cubic
km/year
Estimated utilizable surface water potential 690 cubic
km/year
Ground water resources 432 cubic
km/year
Available ground water resource for irrigation 361 cubic
km/year
Net utilizable ground water resource for irrigation 325 cubic
km/year

1.1.7 International indicators for comparing water resources


potential
Some of the definitions used to quantify and compare water resource potential
internationally are as follows:

1. Internal Renewable Water Resources (IRWR): Internal Renewable


Water Resources are the surface water produced internally, i.e., within a
country. It is that part of the water resources generated from endogenous
precipitation. It is the sum of the surface runoff and groundwater recharge
occurring inside the countries' borders. Care is taken strictly to avoid
double counting of their common part. The IRWR figures are the only
water resources figures that can be added up for regional assessment and
they are being used for this purpose.

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2. Surface water produced internally: Total surface water produced
internally includes the average annual flow of rivers generated from
endogenous precipitation (precipitation occurring within a country's
borders). It is the amount of water produced within the boundary of a
country, due to precipitation. Natural incoming flow originating from
outside a country’s borders is not included in the total.

3. Groundwater recharge: The recuperation of groundwater is called the


groundwater recharge. This is requisite to increase the groundwater table
elevation. This can be done by many artificial techniques, say, by
constructing a detention dam called a water spreading dam or a dike, to
store the flood waters and allow for subsequent seepage of water into the
soil, so as to increase the groundwater table. It can also be done by the
method of rainwater harvesting in small scale, even at individual houses.
The groundwater recharge volume is 418.5 cubic km and the per capita
annual volume of groundwater recharge is 412.9 cubic m per person.

4. Overlap: It is the amount of water quantity, coinciding between the


surface water produced internally and the ground water produced
internally within a country, in the calculation of the Total Internal
Renewable Water Resources of the country. Hence, Overlap = Total
IRWR- (Surface water produced internally + ground water produced
internally). The overlap for Indian water resources is 380 cubic km.

5. Total internal Renewable Water Resources: The Total Internal


Renewable Water Resources are the sum of IRWR and incoming flow
originating outside the countries' borders. The total renewable water
resources of India are 1260.5 cubic km.

6. Per capita Internal Renewable Water Resources: The Per capita annual
average of Internal Renewable Water Resources is the amount of average
IRWR, per capita, per annum. For India, the Per capita Internal
Renewable Water Resources are 1243.6 cubic m.

7. Net renewable water resources: The total natural renewable water


resources of India are estimated at 1907.8 cubic km per annum, whereas
the total actual renewable water resources of India are 1896.7 cubic km.

8. Per capita natural water resources: The present per capita availability of
natural water, per annum is 1820 cubic m, which is likely to fall to 1341
cubic m, by 2025.

9. Annual water withdrawal: The total amount of water withdrawn from the
water resources of the country is termed the annual water withdrawal. In
India, it amounts 500000 to million cubic m.

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10. Per capita annual water withdrawal: It is the amount of water withdrawn
from the water resources of the country, for various purposes. The per
capita annual total water withdrawal in India is 592 cubic m per person.

The above definitions have been provided by courtesy of the following web-site:
http://earthtrends.wri.org/text/theme2vars.htm.

1.1.8 Development of water resources


Due to its multiple benefits and the problems created by its excesses, shortages
and quality deterioration, water as a resource requires special attention.
Requirement of technological/engineering intervention for development of water
resources to meet the varied requirements of man or the human demand for
water, which are also unevenly distributed, is hence essential.

The development of water resources, though a necessity, is now pertinent to be


made sustainable. The concept of sustainable development implies that
development meets the needs of the present life, without compromising on the
ability of the future generation to meet their own needs. This is all the more
important for a resource like water. Sustainable development would ensure
minimum adverse impacts on the quality of air, water and terrestrial environment.
The long term impacts of global climatic change on various components of
hydrologic cycle are also important.

India has sizeable resources of water and a large cultivable land but also a large
and growing population to feed. Erratic distribution of rainfall in time and space
leads to conditions of floods and droughts which may sometimes occur in the
same region in the same year. India has about 16% of the world population as
compared to only 4% of the average annual runoff in the rivers.

With the present population of more than 1000 million, the per capita water
availability comes to about 1170 m3 per person per year. Here, the average does
not reflect the large disparities from region to region in different parts of the
country. Against this background, the problems relating to water resources
development and management have been receiving critical attention of the
Government of India. The country has prepared and adopted a comprehensive
National Water Policy in the year 1987, revised in 2002 with a view to have a
systematic and scientific development of it water resources. This has been dealt
with in Lesson 1.3, “Policies for water resources development”.

Some of the salient features of the National Water Policy (2002) are as follows:
• Since the distribution of water is spatially uneven, for water scarce areas,
local technologies like rain water harvesting in the domestic or community
level has to be implemented.

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• Technology for/Artificial recharge of water has also to be bettered.
• Desalination methods may be considered for water supply to coastal
towns.

1.1.9 Present water utilization in India


Irrigation constitutes the main use of water and is thus focal issue in water
resources development. As of now, irrigation use is 84 percent of total water
use. This is much higher than the world’s average, which is about 65 percent. For
advanced nations, the figure is much lower. For example, the irrigation use of
water in USA is around 33 percent. In India, therefore, the remaining 16 percent
of the total water use accounts for Rural domestic and livestock use, Municipal
domestic and public use, Thermal-electric power plants and other industrial uses.
The term irrigation is defined as the artificial method of applying water to crops.
Irrigation increases crop yield and the amount of land that can be productively
farmed, stabilizes productivity, facilitates a greater diversity of crops, increases
farm income and employment, helps alleviate poverty and contributes to regional
development.

1.1.10 Need for future development of water resources


The population of India has been estimated to stabilize by about 2050 A.D. By
that time, the present population of about 1000 million has been projected to be
about 1800 million (considering the low, medium and high estimates of 1349
million 1640 million and 1980 million respectively). The present food grain
availability of around 525 grams per capita per day is also presumed to rise to
about 650 grams, considering better socio-economic lifestyle (which is much less
than the present figures of 980 grams and 2850 grams per capita per day for
China and U.S.A., respectively). Thus, the annual food grain requirement for
India is estimated to be about 430 MT. Since the present food grain production is
just sufficient for the present population, it is imperative that additional area
needs to be brought under cultivation. This has been estimated to be 130 Mha
for food crop alone and 160 Mha for all crops to meet the demands of the country
by 2050 A.D.

Along with the inevitable need to raise food production, substantial thrust should
be directed towards water requirement for domestic use. The national agenda for
governance aims to ensure provision of potable water supply to every individual
in about five years time. The National Water Policy (2002) has accorded topmost
water allocation priority to drinking water. Hence, a lot of technological
intervention has to be made in order to implement the decision. But this does not

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mean that unlimited funds would be allocated for the drinking water sector. Only
20% of urban demand is meant for consumptive use . A major concern will
therefore be the treatment of urban domestic effluents.
Major industrial thrust to steer the economy is only a matter of time. By
2050, India expects to be a major industrial power in the world. Industry needs
water fresh or recycled. Processing industries depend on abundance of water. It
is estimated that 64 cubic km of water will be needed by 2050 A.D. to sustain the
industries. Thermal power generation needs water including a small part that is
consumptive. Taking into account the electric power scenario in 2050 A.D.,
energy related requirement (evaporation and consumptive use) is estimated at
150 cubic km.

Note:
Consumptive use: Consumptive use is the amount of water lost in evapo-
transpiration from vegetation and its surrounding land to the atmosphere,
inclusive of the water used by the plants for building their tissues and to carry on
with their metabolic processes. Evapo-transpiration is the total water lost to the
atmosphere from the vegetative cover on the land, along with the water lost from
the surrounding water body or land mass.

1.1.11 Sustainable water utilisation


In summary, the development of water resources potential should be such that in
doing so there should not be any degradation in the quality or quantity of the
resources available at present. Thus the development should be sustainable for
future.

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