WATER RESOURCES

Activity 2-Flow chart

1. Properties of water 2. Water cycle 3. Water uses 4. Ground water usage 5. Overexploitation of water 6. Surface water usage 7. Floods 8. Droughts 9. Water conflicts 10.Water conflicts in india 11.Water management 12.Water conflicts in international 13.Big dams-benefits and problems

WATER RESOURCES
Properties of water Physical properties Chemical properties Hydrological cycle Water use and over-exploitation Water: A Precious Natural resource 97% Salty water 3% Fresh water 0.03% Readily available

Ground water
Fresh water in the form of Ground water Earlier ground water pure Later contamination sanitary landfills Aquifer: A layer of sediment or rock that is highly permeable and contains water eg. Sand, gravel Clay and granites not aquifers low permeability

TYPES OF AQUIFERS
Unconfined aquifer Overlaid by permeable earth materials and they are recharged by water seeping down from above in the form of rainfall and snow melt. Confined aquifer Sandwiched between two impermeable layers of rock or sediments and are recharged only in those areas where the aquifer intersects the land surface

 Ground water system

Effects of groundwater usage

Subsidence Ground water withdrawal is more than recharge, sediment in the aquifer. Problems - Damage in buildings, fracture in pipes, reverse of canal an dtidal flooding Lowering of water table Mining of ground water Arid and semi-arid regions for irrigating crop fields Decline in future agricultural production

Water logging - excessive irrigation salinity problems

 Intrusion of salt water

In coastal area rapid intrusion of salt water from sea No drinking water

Earthquake and landslides Drying up of wells Pollution of water

WATER RESOURCE PROBLEMS

FLOODS DROUGHTS

FLOODS
Overflow of water
Magnitude of flow of water exceeds the carrying capacity of the channel within its banks Heavy rainfall, melting of ice or snow CAUSES EFFECTS CONTROL MEASURES

Drought: A situation where rainfall occurs below normal level for prolonged periods and less than the evaporation, drought conditions are created Common in arid and semiarid areas
Caused by
Desertification by Deforestation and mining Over exploitation of water by erroneous agriculture methods
Use of excess well or canal water

Drought is defined as

Meteorological if precipitation fails for a long period Hydrological if the failure of precipitation causes a decrease in water level in water bodies Agricultural if crops fail due to lack of moisture in soil and lack of availability of water for irrigation Socioeconomic if the failed crops and lack of water cause decrease in economy and cause diseases to people.

Water conflicts
It is believed that in future water will cause many wars internally as well as between different countries. The main cause for water conflicts may explained as follows. Although plenty of water is available on earth, 97% of it is in oceans as salt water. Out of the remaining 3% nearly 2% is present in form of ice. This leaves only 1% of the water as freshwater available to humans for their use. This freshwater needs to be replenished every time after its use through Hydrological cycle. We are influencing the hydrological cycle in several ways. There are several anthropogenic causes like

Pollution, increase in population and excess withdrawal of ground water, changes in global climate, which are all adding adversely to the limited availability of fresh water and thus creating severe water scarcity.

Pollution and global climate changes effecting water cycle can extend beyond the boundaries of states and countries

 In order to meet the increasing needs for water, Countries are trying to constructing dams over rivers. That is causing water scarcity downstream. If the river extends beyond state or country boundaries, this causes conflicts between the states and countries. For all these causes, In future several conflicts, at national level as well as global level, are believed to occur over water.. Case studies:

 Water conflict in the Middle East: Jordan, Syria, and Israel Jordan River water share

Egypt and Sudan Nile river

War for water not for oil Indus water Pakistan and India (due to dams and barrages higher on river)

In India
Cauvery water dispute Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) - Sharing of Ravi-Beas water- Punjab and Haryana Krishna water dispute Andrapradesh and Tamilnadu Mullai periyar water

Conservation of our water resources

Stop wastage of water.
Stop leakage in taps Reduce the flow of water in the taps Close taps when not using.

Change agricultural methods

Build several small reservoirs

Instead of one big dam

Organic pesticides and fertilizers Drip irrigation

Soil management afforestation Treat waste water Rain water harvesting in urban areas Reduce water evaporation losses Industries should be made to treat their effluents before mixing with water bodies. Pricing water water cost should be paid by the consumer?

How many of these things can you do individually?