Water Resources

Water

• Water is a renewable resource

• Three-fourth of the earth’s surface is covered with water but only a small proportion of it
accounts for freshwater fit for use.
Some facts and Figures

• 96.5 percent of the total volume of world’s water is estimated to exist as oceans and only 2.5
per cent as freshwater.
• India receives nearly 4 percent of the global precipitation and ranks 133 in the world in terms
of water availability per person per annum.
• By 2025, it is predicted that large parts of India will join countries or regions having absolute
water scarcity.
Water Scarcity and need for water conservation and management

• The lack sufficient water as compared to its demand in a region is known as Water Scarcity.

• Causes of Water Scarcity are:

→ over-exploitation
→ excessive use and unequal access to water among different social groups.
→ Large population
Dams
• A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating
a reservoir, lake or impoundment.
Multi-purpose river projects

• Multi-purpose river projects large dams that serve several purposes in addition to impounding
the water of a river and used later to irrigate agricultural fields. For example, the Sutluj-Beas
river basin, the Bhakra–Nangal project etc.

Advantages of multi-purpose river projects are:

→ Electricity generation
→ Irrigation
→ Water supply for domestic and industrial uses
→ Flood control
→ Recreation
→ Inland navigation
→ Fish breeding
Disadvantages of Multi-purpose river projects are:
→ It affects the natural flow of river causing poor sediment flow and excessive sedimentation at
the bottom of the reservoir.
→ It destroys the habitats for the rivers’ aquatic life.

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→ It submerges the existing vegetation and soil if created on the floodplains.
→ It displaces the local people of the place where it is created.
→ These are unsuccessful in controlling floods at the time of excessive rainfall.
→ These projects induced earthquakes, caused water- borne diseases and pests and pollution
resulting from excessive use of water.
Movements against Mult-purpose river projects
• These projects cause of many new social movements like the ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’ and
the ‘Tehri Dam Andolan’ etc.
→ This is due to the large-scale displacement of local communities.
• Inter-state water disputes are also becoming common with regard to sharing the costs and
benefits of the multi-purpose project.
Rainwater Harvesting
• Rainwater Harvesting refers to the practice of storing and using of rainwater from the surface
on which it falls.
• In hill and mountainous regions, people built diversion channels like the ‘guls’ or ‘kuls’ of the
Western Himalayas for agriculture.
• In Rajasthan, ‘Rooftop rain water harvesting’ was commonly practised to store drinking water.
• In the flood plains of Bengal, people developed inundation channels to irrigate their fields.
• In arid and semi-arid regions, agricultural fields were converted into rain fed storage structures
that allowed the water to stand and moisten the soil.
• In the semi-arid and arid regions of Rajasthan, almost all the houses traditionally had
underground tanks or tankas for storing drinking water.

• How Tankas works:

→ Tankas were connected to the sloping roofs of the houses through a pipe.
→ Rain falling on the rooftops would travel down the pipe and was stored in these underground
‘tankas’.

NCERT EXERCISE QUESTIONS

1. Multiple choice questions.

(i) Based on the information given below classify each of the situations as ‘suffering from
water scarcity’ or ‘not suffering from water scarcity’.

(a) A region with high annual rainfall.

(b) A region having high annual rainfall and large population.

(c) A region having high annual rainfall but water is highly polluted.

(d) A region having low rainfall and low population.

Answer.

(a) A region with high annual rainfall – Not suffering from water scarcity
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(b) A region having high annual rainfall and large population – Suffering from water scarcity

(c) A region having high annual rainfall but water is highly polluted – Suffering from water
scarcity

(d) A region having low rainfall and low population – Not suffering from water scarcity

(ii) Which one of the following statements is not an argument in favour of multipurpose
river projects?

(a) Multi-purpose projects bring water to those areas which suffer from water scarcity.

(b) Multi-purpose projects by regulating water flow help to control floods.

(c) Multi-purpose projects lead to large scale displacements and loss of livelihood.

(d) Multi-purpose projects generate electricity for our industries and our homes.

Answer.

(c) Multi-purpose projects lead to large scale displacements and loss of livelihood

(iii) Here are some false statements. Identify the mistakes and rewrite them correctly.

(a) Multiplying urban centres with large and dense populations and urban lifestyles have
helped in proper utilisation of water resources.

(b) Regulating and damming of rivers does not affect the river’s natural flow and its
sediment flow.

(c) In Gujarat, the Sabarmati basin farmers were not agitated when higher priority was
given to water supply in urban areas, particularly during droughts.

(d) Today in Rajasthan, the practice of rooftop rainwater water harvesting has gained
popularity despite high water availability due to the Indira Gandhi Canal.

Answer.

(a) Multiplying urban centres with large and dense populations and urban lifestyles have resulted
in improper utilisation of water resources.

(b) Regulating and damming of rivers affect the river’s natural flow and its sediment flow.

(c) In Gujarat, the Sabarmati basin farmers were agitated when higher priority was given to water
supply in urban areas, particularly during droughts.

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(d) Today in Rajasthan, the practice of rooftop rainwater water harvesting popularity is declining
due to high water availability from Indira Gandhi Canal.

2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.

(i) Explain how water becomes a renewable resource.

(ii) What is water scarcity and what are its main causes?

(iii) Compare the advantages and disadvantages of multi-purpose river projects.

Answer.

(i) Water is a renewable resource as it gets renewed by water cycle that includes three processes -
evaporation, condensation and precipitation. The water that disappears from the surface of the
earth due to evaporation comes back in the form of rain. This process of water cycle is never
ending which makes it a renewable resource.

(ii) Scarcity of water is defined as a situation where there is lack of fresh water resources to
meet water demand. Growing population, over-exploitation and unequal distribution
of water among social groups are the main causes of water scarcity.

(iii) Advantages of multi-purpose river projects: They are useful for irrigation, electricity
generation, flood control, inland navigation, fish breeding, water supply for industrial and
domestic purposes and tourist attraction.

Disadvantages of multi-purpose river projects: The local flora and fauna get destroyed. Many
native villages are submerged. The natural flow of water is also affected.

3. Answer the following questions in about 120 words.

(i) Discuss how rainwater harvesting in semi-arid regions of Rajasthan is carried out.

(ii) Describe how modern adaptations of traditional rainwater harvesting methods are
being carried out to conserve and store water.

Answer.

(i) In the semi-arid and arid regions of Rajasthan, almost all the houses have traditionally
constructed tanks for storing drinking water. They are large and are a part of the well-developed
rooftop rainwater harvesting system. They are built inside the main house or the courtyard,
and are connected to the sloping roofs of the houses through a pipe. Rain falling on the rooftops
flows down through the pipe and gets stored in these tanks. The first spell of rain is not collected
as it cleans the roofs and the pipes. The rainwater from the next showers is then collected. The
rainwater can be stored in the tanks is considered as the most reliable source of water particularly

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in summers when most of the water sources are dried up. This stored water can be used till the
next rainy season.

(ii) Modern adaptations of traditional rainwater harvesting include:

 In the semi-arid and arid regions of Rajasthan 'Rooftop rainwater harvesting' is practiced
to store drinking water.
 In hills and mountainous regions, people build diversion channels like the ‘guls’ or ‘kuls’
of the Western Himalayas for agriculture.
 In arid and semi-arid regions, agricultural fields were converted into rain fed storage
structures that allowed the water to stagnate and moisten the soil like the ‘Khadins’ in
Jaisalmer and the ‘Johads’ in other parts of Rajasthan.
 In Gendathur village, Mysore, about 200 households have adopted the rooftop rainwater
harvesting method to conserve water.
 In Tamil Nadu, it has been made compulsory for all the houses to have rooftop rainwater
harvesting structures.
 In the flood plains of Bengal, people developed inundation channels to irrigate their
fields.
 Bamboo drip irrigation system is also being used in Meghalaya and other states in the
North-East of India.

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