What are Water Resources ?

Water resources are the sources of water that are useful or potentially useful .Uses of water include agricultural, industrial , household , recreational and environmental activities .

Sources of FRESH WATER

SURFACE WATER
UNDER RIVER FLOW

GROUND WATER
DESALINATION FROZEN WATER

Water Resources in the Earth

Over two thirds of the earth's surface is covered with water, 97.2% of which is contained in the five oceans. The Antarctic ice sheet, containing 90% of all fresh water on the planet, is visible at the bottom. Atmospheric water vapour can be seen as clouds, contributing to the earth's albedo.

What is Water Scarcity ??

Water Scarcity involves water stress , water shortage or deficits . This concept has arisen only in recent times . Water Scarcity is known as the difficulty of obtaining sources of fresh water for use , because of depleting resources. So Water Scarcity is mainly the shortage of potable , unpolluted water within a region for the regions demand

CAUSES OF WATER SCARCITY

POPULATION
INNAPROPRIATE AGICULTURE

INDUSTRIALISATION
POLLUTION

OVER EXPLOITATION

WATER CONSERVATION
Water Conservation encompasses the policies , strategies to manage fresh water as a sustainable resource to protect the water environment and to meet the current and future demand .

GOALS OF WATER CONSERVATION

SUSTAINABILITY
To ensure availability for future generations , the withdrawal of fresh water from an ecosystem should not exceed its natural replacement rate

ENERGY CONSERVATION
Water pumping , delivery and waste water treatment facilities take up a significant amount of energy . In some areas , over 15% of the areas total consumed electricity Is for water treatment

HABITAT CONSERVATION
Reducing human water use helps to preserve fresh water habitats for local wildlife and migrating waterfowl , as well as reducing the need to build new dams and other water diversion infrastructures .

MULTI PURPOSE RIVER PROJECTS

Multipurpose river valley projects generally refer to large dams that serve several purposes in addition to impounding the water of a river Water for irrigation to a town or city , generating hydroelectricity , supply for industrial uses are the several purposes that multipurpose river projects help

POSITIVE ASPECTS
Providesk Eliminates flooding Provides power Provides drinking water Helps conserve water Provides water for agriculture Changes the ecology of the region positively Opens new areas for agriculture

NEGETIVE ASPECTS
They lead to displacement of human communities Disrupt fisheries Increase the risk of earthquakes Increase the speed of insect born diseases Devastate human lives and bio diversities Degrades the fertile agriculture soils due to

INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) has been defined as a co ordinated , goal directed process for controlling the development and use of river , lake , ocean , wetland , and other assets .

RAINWATER HARVESTING
Rainwater harvesting is know the accumulation and deposition of rainwater for reuse before it reaches the aquifer . Uses include water for gardening , water for livestock , water for irrigation , etc . In many places the water collected is just redirected to a deep pit with percolation . The harvested water is then used for drinking water as well if the storage is a tank that can be accesed and cleaned when it is needed by the person .

RAINWATER HARVESTING
ADVANTAGES
Money Saving

NO wastage of money on water tankers

NO shortage of water due to water cuts 24/7 supply of water Helps in reusing rainwater in a useful manner

Why is rain water harvested ??

To arrest ground water decline and augment ground water table
To beneficiate water quality in aquifers To conserve surface water runoff during monsoon To reduce soil erosion

To inculcate a culture of water conservation

RAIN WATER HARVESTING

1. SURFACE RUNOFF HARVESTING 2. ROOFTOP RAINWATER HARVESTING

SURFACE RUNOFF HARVESTING

In urban areas , rainwater flows away as surface runoff. The runoff could be caught and used for recharging aquifers by adopting appropriate methods

ROOFTOP RAINWATER HARVESTING

It is a system of catching rain water where it falls . In Rooftop harvesting the roof becomes the catchments , and the rainwater is collected from the roof of a house / building . It can either be stored in a tank or diverted to artificial recharge system . This method is less expensive and very effective and if implemented properly helps in augmenting ground water level of the area .