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Water Resources
Created @October 7, 2022 1:00 AM
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three-fourth of the earth’s surface is covered with water
but only a small proportion of it accounts for freshwater that can be put to use.
This freshwater is mainly obtained from surface run off and ground water that is
continually being renewed and recharged through the
hydrological cycle. All water moves within the hydrological cycle ensuring that water
is a renewable resource
WATER SCARCITY AND THE NEED FOR WATER
CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT
Reasons for water scarcity
Quantitive
1. large and growing population: water scarcity may be an outcome of large and
growing population and consequent greater demands for water, and unequal access
to it.
a) A large population requires more water not only for domestic use but also to produce
more food.
b) To facilitate higher food-grain production, water resources are being over-exploited to
expand irrigated areas for dry-season agriculture.
c)Irrigated agriculture is the largest consumer of water.
d) SOLUTION: Now it is needed to revolutionize the agriculture through developing
drought resistant crops and dry farming techniques.
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2. Wells and tube-wells :farmers have their own wells and tube-wells in their farms for
irrigation to increase their produce it may lead to falling groundwater levels, adversely
affecting water availability and food security of the people.
3. Industrialisation:
a) Industries, apart from being heavy users of water, also require power to run them.
b) Much of this energy comes from hydroelectric power.
c)In India hydroelectric power contributes approximately 22 per cent of the
total electricity produced.
4. Urbanisation:
Multiplying urban centres with large and dense populations and urban lifestyles have not
only added to water and energy requirements but have further aggravated the problem.
5. Housing centres:
The housing societies or colonies in the cities, you would find that most of these have their
own groundwater pumping devices to meet their water needs. Not surprisingly, we find
that fragile water resources are being over-exploited and have caused their depletion in
several of these cities.
Qualitative:
1. Water is sufficiently available to meet the needs of the people, but, the area still
suffers from water scarcity. This scarcity may be due to bad quality of water
2. There is ample water to meet the needs of the people, much of it may be polluted by
domestic and industrial wastes, chemicals, pesticides and fertilisers used in
agriculture, thus, making it hazardous for human use.
The need for water concervation and management
1. Over exploitation and mismanagement of water resources will
impoverish this resource and cause ecological crisis that may have profound impact
on our lives.
2. to safeguard ourselves from health hazards,
2. to ensure food security,
3. continuation of our livelihoods and productive activities.
4. to prevent degradation of our natural ecosystems.
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Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
1. Government of India has accorded highest priority to improve the quality of life and
enhance ease of living of people especially those living in rual areas by announcing
the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
2. The Goal of JJM is to enable every rural household get assured
supply of potable piped water at a service level
of 55 litres per capita per day regularly on long-term basis by ensuring functionality of
the tap water connections.
MULTI -PURPOSE RIVER PROJECTS AND
INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
hydraulic stuctures in ancient india
Archaeological and historical records show that from ancient times we have been
constructing sophisticated hydraulic structures like dams built of stone rubble, reservoirs
or lakes, embankments and canals for irrigation.
1. In the first century B.C., Sringaverapura near Allahabad had sophisticated water
harvesting system channelling the flood water of the river Ganga.
2. During the time of Chandragupta Maurya, dams, lakes and irrigation systems were
extensively built.
3. Evidences of sophisticated irrigation works have also been found in Kalinga, (Odisha),
Nagarjunakonda (Andhra Pradesh), Bennur (Karnataka), Kolhapur (Maharashtra), etc.
4. In the 11th Century, Bhopal Lake, one of the largest artificial lakes of its time was built.
5. In the 14th Century, the tank in Hauz Khas, Delhi was constructed by Iltutmish for
supplying water to Siri Fort area.
What are dams?
1. A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often
creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment. “Dam” refers to the reservoir rather than
the structure.
2. Most dams have a section called a spillway or weir over which or through which it is
intended that water will flow either intermittently or continuously.
Classification of dams
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1. Dams are classified according to structure, intended purpose or height.
2. Based on structure and the materials used, dams are classified as
timber dams, embankment dams or masonry dams, with several subtypes..
3. According to the height, dams can be categorised as large
dams and major dams or alternatively as low dams, medium height dams and high
dams.
Why are dams called mutipurpose projects?
1. Dams were traditionally built to impound rivers and rainwater that could be used later
to irrigate agricultural fields.
2. Today, dams are built not just for irrigation but for electricity generation, water supply
for domestic and industrial uses, flood control, recreation, inland navigation and fish
breeding.
3. dams are now referred to as multi-purpose projects where the many uses of the
impounded water are integrated with one another.
4. EG.-
1. in the Sutluj-Beas river basin, the Bhakra – Nangal project water is being used both for
hydel power production and irrigation.
2 . the Hirakud project in the Mahanadi basin integrates conservation of water with flood
control.
Jawaharlal Nehru proudly proclaimed the dams as the ‘temples of
modern India’
1. the vehicle that would lead the nation to development and progress, overcoming the
handicap of its colonial past.
2. it would integrate development of agriculture and the village economy with rapid
industrialisation and growth of the urban economy.
OPPOSITION OF MULTIPURPOSE PROJECTS
1. Regulating and damming of rivers affect their natural flow causing poor
sediment flow and excessive sedimentation at the bottom of the reservoir,
i) resulting in rockier stream beds.
ii) poorer habitats for the rivers’ aquatic life.
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iii) Dams also fragment rivers making it difficult for aquatic fauna to migrate,
especially for spawning.
iv) The reservoirs that are created on the floodplains also submerge
the existing vegetation and soil leading to its decomposition over a period of time.
2. Multi-purpose projects and large dams have also been the cause of many new
environmental movements like the ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’ and the ‘Tehri
Dam Andolan’etc.
i) Resistance to these projects has primarily been due to the large-scale displacement of
local communities.
ii) Local people often had to give up their land, livelihood and their meagre access and
control over resources for the greater good of the nation.
ii) The local people are not benefiting from such projects, it benefits the landowners and
large farmers, industrialists and few urban centres.
3. Irrigation has also changed the cropping pattern of many regions with farmers
shifting to water intensive and commercial crops.
i) This has great ecological consequences like salinisation of the soil.
ii) At the same time, it has transformed the social landscape i.e.
increasing the social gap between the richer landowners and the landless poor.
4. The dams create conflicts between people wanting different uses and benefits
from the same water resources.
i) In Gujarat, the Sabarmati-basin farmers were agitated and almost caused a riot over the
higher priority given to water supply in urban areas.
5. Inter-state water disputes are also becoming common with
regard to sharing the costs and benefits of the multi-purpose project.
i) Krishna-Godavari Dispute.
ii) Kaveri Dispute
6. Most of the objections to the projects arose due to their failure to achieve the
purposes for which they were built.
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i) Ironically, the dams that were constructed to control floods have
triggered floods due to sedimentation in the reservoir.
ii) Moreover, the big dams have mostly been unsuccessful in controlling floods at the time
of excessive rainfall.
iii) the release of water from dams during heavy rains aggravated the flood
situation in Maharashtra and Gujarat in 2006
Negative Impacts of multipurpose projects
1. The floods have not only devastated life and property but also caused extensive soil
erosion.
2. Sedimentation also meant that the flood plains were deprived of silt, a natural fertiliser,
further adding on to the problem of land degradation.
3. It was also observed that the multi-purpose projects induced
earthquakes, caused water-borne diseases and pests and pollution resulting from
excessive use of water.
krishna - Godavari Dispute
Do you know that the Krishna-Godavari dispute is due to the objections raised by
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh governments? It is regarding the diversion
of more water at Koyna by the Maharashtra government for a multipurpose project. This
would reduce downstream flow in their states with adverse consequences for agriculture
and industry.
NARMADA BACHAO ANDOLAN
1. ‘save Narmada Movement’ is a Non-Governmental Organisation.
2. It moblilised tribal people, farmers, environmentalist and human rights activists against
the sardar sarovar dam built across the Narmada river in Gujrat.
3. It focused on the environmental issues related to trees that would be submerged
under the dam water.
4. Recently, it has focused its aim to rehabilate displaced people.
Tradition of rain water-harvesting system in ancient india
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1. In hill and mountainous regions, people built diversion channels like the ‘guls’ or ‘kuls’
of the Western Himalayas for agriculture.
2. Rooftop rainwater harvesting’ was commonly practised to store drinking water,
particularly in Rajasthan.
3. In the flood plains of Bengal, people developed inundation channels to irrigate their
fields.
4. 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 like the
‘khadins’ in Jaisalmer and ‘Johads’ in other parts of Rajasthan
Rooftop Harvesting
1. Rooftop rainwater is collected using a PVC pipe
2. Filtered using sand and bricks
3. Underground pipe takes water to sump for immediate usage
4. Excess water from the sump is taken to the well
5. Water from the well recharges the underground
6. Take water from the well (later)
Tankas
1. In the semi-arid and arid regions of Rajasthan, particularly in Bikaner, Phalodi and
Barmer, almost all the houses traditionally had underground tanks or tankas for
storing drinking water.
2. The tanks could be as large as a big room.
3. The tankas were part of the well-developed rooftop rainwater harvesting system and
were built inside the main house or the courtyard.
4. They 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’.
5. The first spell of rain was usually not collected as this would
clean the roofs and the pipes. The rainwater from the subsequent showers was then
collected.
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Advantages of Tankas
1. The rainwater can be stored in the tankas till the next rainfall making it an
extremely reliable source of drinking water when all other sources are dried up,
particularly in the summers.
2. Rainwater, or palar pani, as commonly referred to in
these parts, is considered the purest form of natural water.
3. Many houses constructed underground rooms adjoining the ‘tanka’
to beat the summer heat as it would keep the room cool.
Decline
Today, in western Rajasthan, sadly the practice of rooftop rainwater harvesting is on the
decline as plenty of water is available due to the perennial Indira Gandhi Canal though
some houses still maintain the tankas since they do not like the taste of tap water.
Gendathur model
1. In Gendathur, a remote backward village in Mysuru, Karnataka, villagers have
installed, in their household’s rooftop, rainwater harvesting system to meet their water
needs.
2. Nearly 200 households have installed this system and the
village has earned the rare distinction of being rich in rainwater.
3. Gendathur receives an annual precipitation of
1,000 mm, and with 80 per cent of collection
efficiency and of about 10 fillings, every house
can collect and use about 50,000 litres of water
annually.
4. From the 200 houses, the net amount
of rainwater harvested annually amounts to
1,00,000 litres.
Bamboo drip irrigation system
1. In Meghalaya, a 200 year old system of tapping stream and spring water by using
bamboo pipes is prevalent.
2. Bamboo pipes are used to divert perrennial springs on the hilltops to the lower
reaches by gravity.
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3. The channel sections made of bamboo, divert water to the plant site, where it is
distributed into branches.
4. if the pipes pass roads , they are taken high above the land on the tree branches.
5. Reduced channel sections and diversion units are used at the last stage of water
appplication.
6. the last channel section enables water to be dropped near the roots of the plant.
orange boxes
1. Sardar Sarovar Dam has been built over the Narmada River in Gujarat. This is one of
the largest water resource projects of India covering four states—Maharashtra,
Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. The Sardar Sarovar project would meet the
requirement of water in drought-prone and desert areas of Gujarat
2. Rooftop rainwater harvesting is the most common practice in Shillong, Meghalaya. It
is interesting because Cherapunjee and Mawsynram situated at a distance of 55 km.
from Shillong receive the highest rainfall in the world, yet the state capital Shillong
faces acute shortage of water. Nearly every household in the city has a rooftop
rainwater harvesting structure. Nearly 15-25 per cent of the total water requirement of
the household comes from rooftop water harvesting
3. Tamil Nadu is the first state in India which has made rooftop rainwater harvesting
structure compulsory to all the houses across the state. There are legal provisions to
punish the defaulters.
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