Importance of Groundwater

Groundwater is the major source of

drinking water in both urban and
rural India. Besides, it is
an important source of water for the
agricultural and the industrial sector.
... It gives special attention to drinking
water for both humans and animals
over its other uses.
• Groundwater, which is in aquifers below the
surface of the Earth, is one of the Nation's
most important natural resources.
• Groundwater is the source of about 33 percent
of the water that county and city water
departments supply to households and
businesses (public supply).
• Ground water has made significant contributions
to the growth of India's Economy and has been
an important catalyst for its socio economic
development.
 Advantages of Ground Water

• Drinking
• Irrigation
• Availability and Locality
• Low cost
• No evaporation losses
• Renewable.
 Disadvantages of Ground Water
• Depletion from over pumping
• Subsidence
• Pollution
• Saltwater intrusion
• Reduced water flow.
 The Hydrological Cycle
( The Water Cycle )

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 The hydrological cycle is the system which
describes the distribution and movement of water
between the earth and its atmosphere. The model
involves the continual circulation of water between
the oceans, the atmosphere, vegetation and land.

The water cycle is driven

by energy from the sun.
The water cycle has four stages:
storage, evaporation,
precipitation, and run-off.
Describing the Cycle:
…transpiration is essentially
evaporation of water from plant
leaves.
( In other words, it’s
like plants sweating.)
 The warm, moist air (containing water vapour)
rises and, as it cools, this process is called
condensation. When a large amount of water vapor
condenses, it results in the formation of clouds.
 Wind energy; ‘advection’
may move
land surfaces where … clouds over

…precipitation occurs, when the water in the clouds

gets too heavy, the water falls back to the earth -- either
as rain or snow depending on altitude.
 The rainwater flows, either over the
ground ( run off ) into rivers and back to the
ocean, or…

… infiltrates downwards through

the soil rocks where it is returned
to the oceans through
groundwater flow.
Usually the water cycle is in balance, and
the amount of precipitation falling will
slowly soak into the ground and
eventually reach the rivers. However, if
rain falls for a long period of time or if
the ground is already soaked or saturated
with water then the chance of flooding is
increased.
The hydrological cycle is a good example of a
closed system: the total amount of water is the
same, with virtually no water added to or lost from
the cycle.
Water just moves from one storage type to
another.
Water evaporating from the oceans is balanced
by water being returned through precipitation and
surface run off.