INTRODUCTION 
Water, water everywhere, not a single drop ot drink. These lines show the concern over deficiency of water resources. Now a days water is becoming an important natural resources because the demand of water is constantly rising because of rising population and development of living standard of the people. This chapter deals with various concepts related to water resources with causes of deficiency and methods of replenishment.

Important terms :
    •    Dam :  A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment.
    •    Multi-purpose project : A multi-purpose project is a large scale hydro project other including dams for water retention, canals for irrigation, water                processing and pipelines to supply water to cities and power generation.
    •    Rainwater harvesting : Rainwater harvesting is gathering, accumulating and storing of rainwater for different uses.
    •    Guls or Kuls : In hilly and mountainous regions, people built diversion channels like the ‘Guls’ or ‘Kuls’ of Western Himalayas for agriculture.
    •    Inundation canal : It is meant to direct flood waters during the rainy season.
    •    Drip irrigation : It is a type of irrigation in which water gets dropped in the form of drips close to roots of the plants in order to conserve the                     moisture.

WATER SOME FACTS AND FIGURES    
96.5 percent of the total volume of world’s water ts estimated to exist as oceans and only 2.5 per cent as freshwater. Nearly 70 per cent of this freshwater occurs as ice sheets and glaciers in Antarctica, Greenland and the mountainous regions of the world, while a little less than 30 per cent is stored as groundwater in the world’s aquifers.
    India receives nearly 4 per cent of the global precipitation and ranks 133 in the world in terms of water availability per person per annum.
    The total renewable water resources of India are estimated at 1,897 sq km per annum.
    Water scarcity & the need for water conservation & management.
    Shortage of water is called water scarcity
    The moment we speak of water shortages, we immediately associate it with 
    regions having low rainfall or with those that are drought prone. We instantaneously visualise the deserts of Rajasthan. 
    But water scarcity in most cases is caused by over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access to water among different social groups.

Illustration 1
    What is the major source of fresh water ?
Solution
    Precipitation, surface run off, ground water

Illustration 3
    How can we say that water is a renewable resource?
Solution
    Water keeps on rotating in a hydrological cycle, so it is termed as renewable resource.

causes of water scarcity
1. Water scarcity may be an outcome of large and growing population and consequent greater demands for water, and unequal access to it. A large population means more water not only for domestic use but also to produce more food.
2.  Hence. to facilitate higher food-grain production, water resources are being over-exploited to expand irrigated areas and dry-season agriculture.
3. Most 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.
4. Post-independent India witnessed intensive industrialisation and urbanisation.The ever-increasing number of industries has made matters worse by exerting pressure on existing freshwater resources. 
5. Industries, apart from being heavy users of water, also require power to run them. Much of this energy comes from hydroelectric power. Today, in India hydroeclectric power contributes approximately 22 per cent of the total electricity produced.
6. Moreover. multiplying urban centres with large and dense populations and urban lifestyles have not  only   added to water and energy requirements but have further aggrevated the problem. 
7. In the housing societies or colonies in these cities, most of these have their own groundwater pumping devices to meet their water needs. Not surprisingly, that fragile water resources are being over-exploited and have caused their depletion in several of these cities.
1. This scarcity may be due to bad quality of water.
2. Lately, there has been a growing concern that even if 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.

Need of the hour is to conserve and manage our water resources, to safeguard ourselves from health hazards, to ensure food security, continuation of our livelihoods and productive activities and also to prevent degradation of our natural ecosystems. Over exploitation and mismanagement of water resources will impoverish this resource and cause ecological crisis that may have profound impact on our lives.
They were traditionally built to impound rivers and rainwater that could be used later to irrigate agricultural fields. 
 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 .
Hence, dams are now referred to as multi-purpose projects where the many uses of the impounded water are integrated with one another.
For example, in the Sutluj-Beas river basin, the Bhakra -Nangal project water is being used both for hydel power production and irrigation. Similarly, the Hirakud project In the Mahanadi basin integrates conservation of water with flood control.
A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment. 
 Based on structure and the materials used, dams are classified as timber dams, embankment dams or mason dams, with several subtypes.
 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.
Multi-purpose projects, launched after Independence with their integrated water resources management approach, were thought of as the vehicle that would lead the nation to development and progress, over coming the handicap of its colonial past. Jawaharlal Nehru proudly proclaimed the dams as the ‘temples of modern India’, the reason being that it would Integrate development of agriculture and the village economy with rapid industrialisation and growth of the urban economy.

Illustration 4
    How is large population a major factor for increasing demand of water ?
Solution
    A large population leads to increasing demand of water due to
    (i)    More demand for domestic use like cooking, drinking, bathing, washing etc.
    (ii)    Pressure for producing more and more crops leads to heavy demand for irrigation.
    (iii)    For providing employment development of industries which require more water.

Illustration 5
    For which purpose is water being exploited to the maximum extent?
Solution
    Water is being used for irrigation which is highest among all the uses of water.

opposition of multi purpose projects
    1.    Regulating and damming of rivers affect their natural flow causing poor sediment flow.
    2.    Excessive sedimentation at the bottom of the reservoir.
    3.    Rockier stream beds.
    4.    Poorer habitats for the rivers’ aquatic life. 
    5.    Dams also fragment rivers making it difficult for aquatic fauna to migrate, especially for spawning.
    6.    The reservoirs that are created on the floodplains also submerge the existing vegetation and soil leading to its decomposition over a period of                  time.
    7.    Dams have been unsuccessful in controlling floods.
    8.    Dams cause large scale displacement of local communities.
Multi-purpose projects and large dams have also been the cause of many new social movements like the ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan” and the Tehri Dam Andolan” etc. Resistance to these projects has primarily been due to the large-scale displacement of local communities. 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.
Narmada Bachao Andolan or Save Narmada Movement is a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) that mobilised tribal people, formers environmentalists and human rights activists against the Sardar Sarovar Dam being built across the Narmada river in Gujarat. 
Irrigation has also changed the cropping pattern of many regions with farmers shifting to water intensive and commercial crops. This has great ecological consequences like salinisation of the soil. At the same time, it has transformed the social landscape i.e. increasing the social gap between the richer landowners and the landless poor. 

The dams create conflicts between people wanting different uses and benefits from the same water resources. In Gujarat, the Sabarmati-basin farmers were agitated and almost caused a riot over the higher priority given to water supply in urban areas, particularly during droughts. He water disputes are also becoming common.
1.  Ironically, the dams that were constructed to control  floods have triggered floods due to sedimentation in the reservoir. Moreover, the big dams have mostly been unsuccessful in controlling floods at the time of excessive rainfall. 
The release of water from dams during heavy rains aggravated the flood situation in Maharashtra and Gujarat in 2006. 
2.   The floods have not only devastated life and property but also caused extensive soil erosion. 
3.   Sedimentation also meant that the flood plains were deprived of silt, a natural fertiliser, further adding on to the problem of land degradation. 
4.  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.

Illustration 9
    Which multipurpose project has been opposed by social and environment activist Medha Patkar ?
Solution
    Sardar Sarover Project on Narmada and the movement was termed as Narmada Bachao Andolan.

Illustration 10
    If local people are not being benifiting from multipurpose projects them who is benifited ?
Solution
    The landowners and large farmers, industrialists and a few urban centers are being benifitted.

 

INTRODUCTION 
Water, water everywhere, not a single drop ot drink. These lines show the concern over deficiency of water resources. Now a days water is becoming an important natural resources because the demand of water is constantly rising because of rising population and development of living standard of the people. This chapter deals with various concepts related to water resources with causes of deficiency and methods of replenishment.

Important terms :
    •    Dam :  A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment.
    •    Multi-purpose project : A multi-purpose project is a large scale hydro project other including dams for water retention, canals for irrigation, water                processing and pipelines to supply water to cities and power generation.
    •    Rainwater harvesting : Rainwater harvesting is gathering, accumulating and storing of rainwater for different uses.
    •    Guls or Kuls : In hilly and mountainous regions, people built diversion channels like the ‘Guls’ or ‘Kuls’ of Western Himalayas for agriculture.
    •    Inundation canal : It is meant to direct flood waters during the rainy season.
    •    Drip irrigation : It is a type of irrigation in which water gets dropped in the form of drips close to roots of the plants in order to conserve the                     moisture.

WATER SOME FACTS AND FIGURES    
96.5 percent of the total volume of world’s water ts estimated to exist as oceans and only 2.5 per cent as freshwater. Nearly 70 per cent of this freshwater occurs as ice sheets and glaciers in Antarctica, Greenland and the mountainous regions of the world, while a little less than 30 per cent is stored as groundwater in the world’s aquifers.
    India receives nearly 4 per cent of the global precipitation and ranks 133 in the world in terms of water availability per person per annum.
    The total renewable water resources of India are estimated at 1,897 sq km per annum.
    Water scarcity & the need for water conservation & management.
    Shortage of water is called water scarcity
    The moment we speak of water shortages, we immediately associate it with 
    regions having low rainfall or with those that are drought prone. We instantaneously visualise the deserts of Rajasthan. 
    But water scarcity in most cases is caused by over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access to water among different social groups.

Illustration 1
    What is the major source of fresh water ?
Solution
    Precipitation, surface run off, ground water

Illustration 3
    How can we say that water is a renewable resource?
Solution
    Water keeps on rotating in a hydrological cycle, so it is termed as renewable resource.

causes of water scarcity
1. Water scarcity may be an outcome of large and growing population and consequent greater demands for water, and unequal access to it. A large population means more water not only for domestic use but also to produce more food.
2.  Hence. to facilitate higher food-grain production, water resources are being over-exploited to expand irrigated areas and dry-season agriculture.
3. Most 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.
4. Post-independent India witnessed intensive industrialisation and urbanisation.The ever-increasing number of industries has made matters worse by exerting pressure on existing freshwater resources. 
5. Industries, apart from being heavy users of water, also require power to run them. Much of this energy comes from hydroelectric power. Today, in India hydroeclectric power contributes approximately 22 per cent of the total electricity produced.
6. Moreover. multiplying urban centres with large and dense populations and urban lifestyles have not  only   added to water and energy requirements but have further aggrevated the problem. 
7. In the housing societies or colonies in these cities, most of these have their own groundwater pumping devices to meet their water needs. Not surprisingly, that fragile water resources are being over-exploited and have caused their depletion in several of these cities.
1. This scarcity may be due to bad quality of water.
2. Lately, there has been a growing concern that even if 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.

Need of the hour is to conserve and manage our water resources, to safeguard ourselves from health hazards, to ensure food security, continuation of our livelihoods and productive activities and also to prevent degradation of our natural ecosystems. Over exploitation and mismanagement of water resources will impoverish this resource and cause ecological crisis that may have profound impact on our lives.
They were traditionally built to impound rivers and rainwater that could be used later to irrigate agricultural fields. 
 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 .
Hence, dams are now referred to as multi-purpose projects where the many uses of the impounded water are integrated with one another.
For example, in the Sutluj-Beas river basin, the Bhakra -Nangal project water is being used both for hydel power production and irrigation. Similarly, the Hirakud project In the Mahanadi basin integrates conservation of water with flood control.
A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment. 
 Based on structure and the materials used, dams are classified as timber dams, embankment dams or mason dams, with several subtypes.
 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.
Multi-purpose projects, launched after Independence with their integrated water resources management approach, were thought of as the vehicle that would lead the nation to development and progress, over coming the handicap of its colonial past. Jawaharlal Nehru proudly proclaimed the dams as the ‘temples of modern India’, the reason being that it would Integrate development of agriculture and the village economy with rapid industrialisation and growth of the urban economy.

Illustration 4
    How is large population a major factor for increasing demand of water ?
Solution
    A large population leads to increasing demand of water due to
    (i)    More demand for domestic use like cooking, drinking, bathing, washing etc.
    (ii)    Pressure for producing more and more crops leads to heavy demand for irrigation.
    (iii)    For providing employment development of industries which require more water.

Illustration 5
    For which purpose is water being exploited to the maximum extent?
Solution
    Water is being used for irrigation which is highest among all the uses of water.

opposition of multi purpose projects
    1.    Regulating and damming of rivers affect their natural flow causing poor sediment flow.
    2.    Excessive sedimentation at the bottom of the reservoir.
    3.    Rockier stream beds.
    4.    Poorer habitats for the rivers’ aquatic life. 
    5.    Dams also fragment rivers making it difficult for aquatic fauna to migrate, especially for spawning.
    6.    The reservoirs that are created on the floodplains also submerge the existing vegetation and soil leading to its decomposition over a period of                  time.
    7.    Dams have been unsuccessful in controlling floods.
    8.    Dams cause large scale displacement of local communities.
Multi-purpose projects and large dams have also been the cause of many new social movements like the ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan” and the Tehri Dam Andolan” etc. Resistance to these projects has primarily been due to the large-scale displacement of local communities. 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.
Narmada Bachao Andolan or Save Narmada Movement is a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) that mobilised tribal people, formers environmentalists and human rights activists against the Sardar Sarovar Dam being built across the Narmada river in Gujarat. 
Irrigation has also changed the cropping pattern of many regions with farmers shifting to water intensive and commercial crops. This has great ecological consequences like salinisation of the soil. At the same time, it has transformed the social landscape i.e. increasing the social gap between the richer landowners and the landless poor. 

The dams create conflicts between people wanting different uses and benefits from the same water resources. In Gujarat, the Sabarmati-basin farmers were agitated and almost caused a riot over the higher priority given to water supply in urban areas, particularly during droughts. He water disputes are also becoming common.
1.  Ironically, the dams that were constructed to control  floods have triggered floods due to sedimentation in the reservoir. Moreover, the big dams have mostly been unsuccessful in controlling floods at the time of excessive rainfall. 
The release of water from dams during heavy rains aggravated the flood situation in Maharashtra and Gujarat in 2006. 
2.   The floods have not only devastated life and property but also caused extensive soil erosion. 
3.   Sedimentation also meant that the flood plains were deprived of silt, a natural fertiliser, further adding on to the problem of land degradation. 
4.  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.

Illustration 9
    Which multipurpose project has been opposed by social and environment activist Medha Patkar ?
Solution
    Sardar Sarover Project on Narmada and the movement was termed as Narmada Bachao Andolan.

Illustration 10
    If local people are not being benifiting from multipurpose projects them who is benifited ?
Solution
    The landowners and large farmers, industrialists and a few urban centers are being benifitted.

 

INTRODUCTION 
Water, water everywhere, not a single drop ot drink. These lines show the concern over deficiency of water resources. Now a days water is becoming an important natural resources because the demand of water is constantly rising because of rising population and development of living standard of the people. This chapter deals with various concepts related to water resources with causes of deficiency and methods of replenishment.

Important terms :
    •    Dam :  A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment.
    •    Multi-purpose project : A multi-purpose project is a large scale hydro project other including dams for water retention, canals for irrigation, water                processing and pipelines to supply water to cities and power generation.
    •    Rainwater harvesting : Rainwater harvesting is gathering, accumulating and storing of rainwater for different uses.
    •    Guls or Kuls : In hilly and mountainous regions, people built diversion channels like the ‘Guls’ or ‘Kuls’ of Western Himalayas for agriculture.
    •    Inundation canal : It is meant to direct flood waters during the rainy season.
    •    Drip irrigation : It is a type of irrigation in which water gets dropped in the form of drips close to roots of the plants in order to conserve the                     moisture.

WATER SOME FACTS AND FIGURES    
96.5 percent of the total volume of world’s water ts estimated to exist as oceans and only 2.5 per cent as freshwater. Nearly 70 per cent of this freshwater occurs as ice sheets and glaciers in Antarctica, Greenland and the mountainous regions of the world, while a little less than 30 per cent is stored as groundwater in the world’s aquifers.
    India receives nearly 4 per cent of the global precipitation and ranks 133 in the world in terms of water availability per person per annum.
    The total renewable water resources of India are estimated at 1,897 sq km per annum.
    Water scarcity & the need for water conservation & management.
    Shortage of water is called water scarcity
    The moment we speak of water shortages, we immediately associate it with 
    regions having low rainfall or with those that are drought prone. We instantaneously visualise the deserts of Rajasthan. 
    But water scarcity in most cases is caused by over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access to water among different social groups.

Illustration 1
    What is the major source of fresh water ?
Solution
    Precipitation, surface run off, ground water

Illustration 3
    How can we say that water is a renewable resource?
Solution
    Water keeps on rotating in a hydrological cycle, so it is termed as renewable resource.

causes of water scarcity
1. Water scarcity may be an outcome of large and growing population and consequent greater demands for water, and unequal access to it. A large population means more water not only for domestic use but also to produce more food.
2.  Hence. to facilitate higher food-grain production, water resources are being over-exploited to expand irrigated areas and dry-season agriculture.
3. Most 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.
4. Post-independent India witnessed intensive industrialisation and urbanisation.The ever-increasing number of industries has made matters worse by exerting pressure on existing freshwater resources. 
5. Industries, apart from being heavy users of water, also require power to run them. Much of this energy comes from hydroelectric power. Today, in India hydroeclectric power contributes approximately 22 per cent of the total electricity produced.
6. Moreover. multiplying urban centres with large and dense populations and urban lifestyles have not  only   added to water and energy requirements but have further aggrevated the problem. 
7. In the housing societies or colonies in these cities, most of these have their own groundwater pumping devices to meet their water needs. Not surprisingly, that fragile water resources are being over-exploited and have caused their depletion in several of these cities.
1. This scarcity may be due to bad quality of water.
2. Lately, there has been a growing concern that even if 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.

Need of the hour is to conserve and manage our water resources, to safeguard ourselves from health hazards, to ensure food security, continuation of our livelihoods and productive activities and also to prevent degradation of our natural ecosystems. Over exploitation and mismanagement of water resources will impoverish this resource and cause ecological crisis that may have profound impact on our lives.
They were traditionally built to impound rivers and rainwater that could be used later to irrigate agricultural fields. 
 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 .
Hence, dams are now referred to as multi-purpose projects where the many uses of the impounded water are integrated with one another.
For example, in the Sutluj-Beas river basin, the Bhakra -Nangal project water is being used both for hydel power production and irrigation. Similarly, the Hirakud project In the Mahanadi basin integrates conservation of water with flood control.
A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment. 
 Based on structure and the materials used, dams are classified as timber dams, embankment dams or mason dams, with several subtypes.
 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.
Multi-purpose projects, launched after Independence with their integrated water resources management approach, were thought of as the vehicle that would lead the nation to development and progress, over coming the handicap of its colonial past. Jawaharlal Nehru proudly proclaimed the dams as the ‘temples of modern India’, the reason being that it would Integrate development of agriculture and the village economy with rapid industrialisation and growth of the urban economy.

Illustration 4
    How is large population a major factor for increasing demand of water ?
Solution
    A large population leads to increasing demand of water due to
    (i)    More demand for domestic use like cooking, drinking, bathing, washing etc.
    (ii)    Pressure for producing more and more crops leads to heavy demand for irrigation.
    (iii)    For providing employment development of industries which require more water.

Illustration 5
    For which purpose is water being exploited to the maximum extent?
Solution
    Water is being used for irrigation which is highest among all the uses of water.

opposition of multi purpose projects
    1.    Regulating and damming of rivers affect their natural flow causing poor sediment flow.
    2.    Excessive sedimentation at the bottom of the reservoir.
    3.    Rockier stream beds.
    4.    Poorer habitats for the rivers’ aquatic life. 
    5.    Dams also fragment rivers making it difficult for aquatic fauna to migrate, especially for spawning.
    6.    The reservoirs that are created on the floodplains also submerge the existing vegetation and soil leading to its decomposition over a period of                  time.
    7.    Dams have been unsuccessful in controlling floods.
    8.    Dams cause large scale displacement of local communities.
Multi-purpose projects and large dams have also been the cause of many new social movements like the ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan” and the Tehri Dam Andolan” etc. Resistance to these projects has primarily been due to the large-scale displacement of local communities. 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.
Narmada Bachao Andolan or Save Narmada Movement is a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) that mobilised tribal people, formers environmentalists and human rights activists against the Sardar Sarovar Dam being built across the Narmada river in Gujarat. 
Irrigation has also changed the cropping pattern of many regions with farmers shifting to water intensive and commercial crops. This has great ecological consequences like salinisation of the soil. At the same time, it has transformed the social landscape i.e. increasing the social gap between the richer landowners and the landless poor. 

The dams create conflicts between people wanting different uses and benefits from the same water resources. In Gujarat, the Sabarmati-basin farmers were agitated and almost caused a riot over the higher priority given to water supply in urban areas, particularly during droughts. He water disputes are also becoming common.
1.  Ironically, the dams that were constructed to control  floods have triggered floods due to sedimentation in the reservoir. Moreover, the big dams have mostly been unsuccessful in controlling floods at the time of excessive rainfall. 
The release of water from dams during heavy rains aggravated the flood situation in Maharashtra and Gujarat in 2006. 
2.   The floods have not only devastated life and property but also caused extensive soil erosion. 
3.   Sedimentation also meant that the flood plains were deprived of silt, a natural fertiliser, further adding on to the problem of land degradation. 
4.  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.

Illustration 9
    Which multipurpose project has been opposed by social and environment activist Medha Patkar ?
Solution
    Sardar Sarover Project on Narmada and the movement was termed as Narmada Bachao Andolan.

Illustration 10
    If local people are not being benifiting from multipurpose projects them who is benifited ?
Solution
    The landowners and large farmers, industrialists and a few urban centers are being benifitted.

 

INTRODUCTION 
Water, water everywhere, not a single drop ot drink. These lines show the concern over deficiency of water resources. Now a days water is becoming an important natural resources because the demand of water is constantly rising because of rising population and development of living standard of the people. This chapter deals with various concepts related to water resources with causes of deficiency and methods of replenishment.

Important terms :
    •    Dam :  A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment.
    •    Multi-purpose project : A multi-purpose project is a large scale hydro project other including dams for water retention, canals for irrigation, water                processing and pipelines to supply water to cities and power generation.
    •    Rainwater harvesting : Rainwater harvesting is gathering, accumulating and storing of rainwater for different uses.
    •    Guls or Kuls : In hilly and mountainous regions, people built diversion channels like the ‘Guls’ or ‘Kuls’ of Western Himalayas for agriculture.
    •    Inundation canal : It is meant to direct flood waters during the rainy season.
    •    Drip irrigation : It is a type of irrigation in which water gets dropped in the form of drips close to roots of the plants in order to conserve the                     moisture.

WATER SOME FACTS AND FIGURES    
96.5 percent of the total volume of world’s water ts estimated to exist as oceans and only 2.5 per cent as freshwater. Nearly 70 per cent of this freshwater occurs as ice sheets and glaciers in Antarctica, Greenland and the mountainous regions of the world, while a little less than 30 per cent is stored as groundwater in the world’s aquifers.
    India receives nearly 4 per cent of the global precipitation and ranks 133 in the world in terms of water availability per person per annum.
    The total renewable water resources of India are estimated at 1,897 sq km per annum.
    Water scarcity & the need for water conservation & management.
    Shortage of water is called water scarcity
    The moment we speak of water shortages, we immediately associate it with 
    regions having low rainfall or with those that are drought prone. We instantaneously visualise the deserts of Rajasthan. 
    But water scarcity in most cases is caused by over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access to water among different social groups.

Illustration 1
    What is the major source of fresh water ?
Solution
    Precipitation, surface run off, ground water

Illustration 3
    How can we say that water is a renewable resource?
Solution
    Water keeps on rotating in a hydrological cycle, so it is termed as renewable resource.

causes of water scarcity
1. Water scarcity may be an outcome of large and growing population and consequent greater demands for water, and unequal access to it. A large population means more water not only for domestic use but also to produce more food.
2.  Hence. to facilitate higher food-grain production, water resources are being over-exploited to expand irrigated areas and dry-season agriculture.
3. Most 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.
4. Post-independent India witnessed intensive industrialisation and urbanisation.The ever-increasing number of industries has made matters worse by exerting pressure on existing freshwater resources. 
5. Industries, apart from being heavy users of water, also require power to run them. Much of this energy comes from hydroelectric power. Today, in India hydroeclectric power contributes approximately 22 per cent of the total electricity produced.
6. Moreover. multiplying urban centres with large and dense populations and urban lifestyles have not  only   added to water and energy requirements but have further aggrevated the problem. 
7. In the housing societies or colonies in these cities, most of these have their own groundwater pumping devices to meet their water needs. Not surprisingly, that fragile water resources are being over-exploited and have caused their depletion in several of these cities.
1. This scarcity may be due to bad quality of water.
2. Lately, there has been a growing concern that even if 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.

Need of the hour is to conserve and manage our water resources, to safeguard ourselves from health hazards, to ensure food security, continuation of our livelihoods and productive activities and also to prevent degradation of our natural ecosystems. Over exploitation and mismanagement of water resources will impoverish this resource and cause ecological crisis that may have profound impact on our lives.
They were traditionally built to impound rivers and rainwater that could be used later to irrigate agricultural fields. 
 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 .
Hence, dams are now referred to as multi-purpose projects where the many uses of the impounded water are integrated with one another.
For example, in the Sutluj-Beas river basin, the Bhakra -Nangal project water is being used both for hydel power production and irrigation. Similarly, the Hirakud project In the Mahanadi basin integrates conservation of water with flood control.
A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment. 
 Based on structure and the materials used, dams are classified as timber dams, embankment dams or mason dams, with several subtypes.
 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.
Multi-purpose projects, launched after Independence with their integrated water resources management approach, were thought of as the vehicle that would lead the nation to development and progress, over coming the handicap of its colonial past. Jawaharlal Nehru proudly proclaimed the dams as the ‘temples of modern India’, the reason being that it would Integrate development of agriculture and the village economy with rapid industrialisation and growth of the urban economy.

Illustration 4
    How is large population a major factor for increasing demand of water ?
Solution
    A large population leads to increasing demand of water due to
    (i)    More demand for domestic use like cooking, drinking, bathing, washing etc.
    (ii)    Pressure for producing more and more crops leads to heavy demand for irrigation.
    (iii)    For providing employment development of industries which require more water.

Illustration 5
    For which purpose is water being exploited to the maximum extent?
Solution
    Water is being used for irrigation which is highest among all the uses of water.

opposition of multi purpose projects
    1.    Regulating and damming of rivers affect their natural flow causing poor sediment flow.
    2.    Excessive sedimentation at the bottom of the reservoir.
    3.    Rockier stream beds.
    4.    Poorer habitats for the rivers’ aquatic life. 
    5.    Dams also fragment rivers making it difficult for aquatic fauna to migrate, especially for spawning.
    6.    The reservoirs that are created on the floodplains also submerge the existing vegetation and soil leading to its decomposition over a period of                  time.
    7.    Dams have been unsuccessful in controlling floods.
    8.    Dams cause large scale displacement of local communities.
Multi-purpose projects and large dams have also been the cause of many new social movements like the ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan” and the Tehri Dam Andolan” etc. Resistance to these projects has primarily been due to the large-scale displacement of local communities. 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.
Narmada Bachao Andolan or Save Narmada Movement is a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) that mobilised tribal people, formers environmentalists and human rights activists against the Sardar Sarovar Dam being built across the Narmada river in Gujarat. 
Irrigation has also changed the cropping pattern of many regions with farmers shifting to water intensive and commercial crops. This has great ecological consequences like salinisation of the soil. At the same time, it has transformed the social landscape i.e. increasing the social gap between the richer landowners and the landless poor. 

The dams create conflicts between people wanting different uses and benefits from the same water resources. In Gujarat, the Sabarmati-basin farmers were agitated and almost caused a riot over the higher priority given to water supply in urban areas, particularly during droughts. He water disputes are also becoming common.
1.  Ironically, the dams that were constructed to control  floods have triggered floods due to sedimentation in the reservoir. Moreover, the big dams have mostly been unsuccessful in controlling floods at the time of excessive rainfall. 
The release of water from dams during heavy rains aggravated the flood situation in Maharashtra and Gujarat in 2006. 
2.   The floods have not only devastated life and property but also caused extensive soil erosion. 
3.   Sedimentation also meant that the flood plains were deprived of silt, a natural fertiliser, further adding on to the problem of land degradation. 
4.  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.

Illustration 9
    Which multipurpose project has been opposed by social and environment activist Medha Patkar ?
Solution
    Sardar Sarover Project on Narmada and the movement was termed as Narmada Bachao Andolan.

Illustration 10
    If local people are not being benifiting from multipurpose projects them who is benifited ?
Solution
    The landowners and large farmers, industrialists and a few urban centers are being benifitted.

 

INTRODUCTION 
Water, water everywhere, not a single drop ot drink. These lines show the concern over deficiency of water resources. Now a days water is becoming an important natural resources because the demand of water is constantly rising because of rising population and development of living standard of the people. This chapter deals with various concepts related to water resources with causes of deficiency and methods of replenishment.

Important terms :
    •    Dam :  A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment.
    •    Multi-purpose project : A multi-purpose project is a large scale hydro project other including dams for water retention, canals for irrigation, water                processing and pipelines to supply water to cities and power generation.
    •    Rainwater harvesting : Rainwater harvesting is gathering, accumulating and storing of rainwater for different uses.
    •    Guls or Kuls : In hilly and mountainous regions, people built diversion channels like the ‘Guls’ or ‘Kuls’ of Western Himalayas for agriculture.
    •    Inundation canal : It is meant to direct flood waters during the rainy season.
    •    Drip irrigation : It is a type of irrigation in which water gets dropped in the form of drips close to roots of the plants in order to conserve the                     moisture.

WATER SOME FACTS AND FIGURES    
96.5 percent of the total volume of world’s water ts estimated to exist as oceans and only 2.5 per cent as freshwater. Nearly 70 per cent of this freshwater occurs as ice sheets and glaciers in Antarctica, Greenland and the mountainous regions of the world, while a little less than 30 per cent is stored as groundwater in the world’s aquifers.
    India receives nearly 4 per cent of the global precipitation and ranks 133 in the world in terms of water availability per person per annum.
    The total renewable water resources of India are estimated at 1,897 sq km per annum.
    Water scarcity & the need for water conservation & management.
    Shortage of water is called water scarcity
    The moment we speak of water shortages, we immediately associate it with 
    regions having low rainfall or with those that are drought prone. We instantaneously visualise the deserts of Rajasthan. 
    But water scarcity in most cases is caused by over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access to water among different social groups.

Illustration 1
    What is the major source of fresh water ?
Solution
    Precipitation, surface run off, ground water

Illustration 3
    How can we say that water is a renewable resource?
Solution
    Water keeps on rotating in a hydrological cycle, so it is termed as renewable resource.

causes of water scarcity
1. Water scarcity may be an outcome of large and growing population and consequent greater demands for water, and unequal access to it. A large population means more water not only for domestic use but also to produce more food.
2.  Hence. to facilitate higher food-grain production, water resources are being over-exploited to expand irrigated areas and dry-season agriculture.
3. Most 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.
4. Post-independent India witnessed intensive industrialisation and urbanisation.The ever-increasing number of industries has made matters worse by exerting pressure on existing freshwater resources. 
5. Industries, apart from being heavy users of water, also require power to run them. Much of this energy comes from hydroelectric power. Today, in India hydroeclectric power contributes approximately 22 per cent of the total electricity produced.
6. Moreover. multiplying urban centres with large and dense populations and urban lifestyles have not  only   added to water and energy requirements but have further aggrevated the problem. 
7. In the housing societies or colonies in these cities, most of these have their own groundwater pumping devices to meet their water needs. Not surprisingly, that fragile water resources are being over-exploited and have caused their depletion in several of these cities.
1. This scarcity may be due to bad quality of water.
2. Lately, there has been a growing concern that even if 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.

Need of the hour is to conserve and manage our water resources, to safeguard ourselves from health hazards, to ensure food security, continuation of our livelihoods and productive activities and also to prevent degradation of our natural ecosystems. Over exploitation and mismanagement of water resources will impoverish this resource and cause ecological crisis that may have profound impact on our lives.
They were traditionally built to impound rivers and rainwater that could be used later to irrigate agricultural fields. 
 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 .
Hence, dams are now referred to as multi-purpose projects where the many uses of the impounded water are integrated with one another.
For example, in the Sutluj-Beas river basin, the Bhakra -Nangal project water is being used both for hydel power production and irrigation. Similarly, the Hirakud project In the Mahanadi basin integrates conservation of water with flood control.
A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment. 
 Based on structure and the materials used, dams are classified as timber dams, embankment dams or mason dams, with several subtypes.
 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.
Multi-purpose projects, launched after Independence with their integrated water resources management approach, were thought of as the vehicle that would lead the nation to development and progress, over coming the handicap of its colonial past. Jawaharlal Nehru proudly proclaimed the dams as the ‘temples of modern India’, the reason being that it would Integrate development of agriculture and the village economy with rapid industrialisation and growth of the urban economy.

Illustration 4
    How is large population a major factor for increasing demand of water ?
Solution
    A large population leads to increasing demand of water due to
    (i)    More demand for domestic use like cooking, drinking, bathing, washing etc.
    (ii)    Pressure for producing more and more crops leads to heavy demand for irrigation.
    (iii)    For providing employment development of industries which require more water.

Illustration 5
    For which purpose is water being exploited to the maximum extent?
Solution
    Water is being used for irrigation which is highest among all the uses of water.

opposition of multi purpose projects
    1.    Regulating and damming of rivers affect their natural flow causing poor sediment flow.
    2.    Excessive sedimentation at the bottom of the reservoir.
    3.    Rockier stream beds.
    4.    Poorer habitats for the rivers’ aquatic life. 
    5.    Dams also fragment rivers making it difficult for aquatic fauna to migrate, especially for spawning.
    6.    The reservoirs that are created on the floodplains also submerge the existing vegetation and soil leading to its decomposition over a period of                  time.
    7.    Dams have been unsuccessful in controlling floods.
    8.    Dams cause large scale displacement of local communities.
Multi-purpose projects and large dams have also been the cause of many new social movements like the ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan” and the Tehri Dam Andolan” etc. Resistance to these projects has primarily been due to the large-scale displacement of local communities. 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.
Narmada Bachao Andolan or Save Narmada Movement is a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) that mobilised tribal people, formers environmentalists and human rights activists against the Sardar Sarovar Dam being built across the Narmada river in Gujarat. 
Irrigation has also changed the cropping pattern of many regions with farmers shifting to water intensive and commercial crops. This has great ecological consequences like salinisation of the soil. At the same time, it has transformed the social landscape i.e. increasing the social gap between the richer landowners and the landless poor. 

The dams create conflicts between people wanting different uses and benefits from the same water resources. In Gujarat, the Sabarmati-basin farmers were agitated and almost caused a riot over the higher priority given to water supply in urban areas, particularly during droughts. He water disputes are also becoming common.
1.  Ironically, the dams that were constructed to control  floods have triggered floods due to sedimentation in the reservoir. Moreover, the big dams have mostly been unsuccessful in controlling floods at the time of excessive rainfall. 
The release of water from dams during heavy rains aggravated the flood situation in Maharashtra and Gujarat in 2006. 
2.   The floods have not only devastated life and property but also caused extensive soil erosion. 
3.   Sedimentation also meant that the flood plains were deprived of silt, a natural fertiliser, further adding on to the problem of land degradation. 
4.  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.

Illustration 9
    Which multipurpose project has been opposed by social and environment activist Medha Patkar ?
Solution
    Sardar Sarover Project on Narmada and the movement was termed as Narmada Bachao Andolan.

Illustration 10
    If local people are not being benifiting from multipurpose projects them who is benifited ?
Solution
    The landowners and large farmers, industrialists and a few urban centers are being benifitted.

 

INTRODUCTION 
Water, water everywhere, not a single drop ot drink. These lines show the concern over deficiency of water resources. Now a days water is becoming an important natural resources because the demand of water is constantly rising because of rising population and development of living standard of the people. This chapter deals with various concepts related to water resources with causes of deficiency and methods of replenishment.

Important terms :
    •    Dam :  A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment.
    •    Multi-purpose project : A multi-purpose project is a large scale hydro project other including dams for water retention, canals for irrigation, water                processing and pipelines to supply water to cities and power generation.
    •    Rainwater harvesting : Rainwater harvesting is gathering, accumulating and storing of rainwater for different uses.
    •    Guls or Kuls : In hilly and mountainous regions, people built diversion channels like the ‘Guls’ or ‘Kuls’ of Western Himalayas for agriculture.
    •    Inundation canal : It is meant to direct flood waters during the rainy season.
    •    Drip irrigation : It is a type of irrigation in which water gets dropped in the form of drips close to roots of the plants in order to conserve the                     moisture.

WATER SOME FACTS AND FIGURES    
96.5 percent of the total volume of world’s water ts estimated to exist as oceans and only 2.5 per cent as freshwater. Nearly 70 per cent of this freshwater occurs as ice sheets and glaciers in Antarctica, Greenland and the mountainous regions of the world, while a little less than 30 per cent is stored as groundwater in the world’s aquifers.
    India receives nearly 4 per cent of the global precipitation and ranks 133 in the world in terms of water availability per person per annum.
    The total renewable water resources of India are estimated at 1,897 sq km per annum.
    Water scarcity & the need for water conservation & management.
    Shortage of water is called water scarcity
    The moment we speak of water shortages, we immediately associate it with 
    regions having low rainfall or with those that are drought prone. We instantaneously visualise the deserts of Rajasthan. 
    But water scarcity in most cases is caused by over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access to water among different social groups.

Illustration 1
    What is the major source of fresh water ?
Solution
    Precipitation, surface run off, ground water

Illustration 3
    How can we say that water is a renewable resource?
Solution
    Water keeps on rotating in a hydrological cycle, so it is termed as renewable resource.

causes of water scarcity
1. Water scarcity may be an outcome of large and growing population and consequent greater demands for water, and unequal access to it. A large population means more water not only for domestic use but also to produce more food.
2.  Hence. to facilitate higher food-grain production, water resources are being over-exploited to expand irrigated areas and dry-season agriculture.
3. Most 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.
4. Post-independent India witnessed intensive industrialisation and urbanisation.The ever-increasing number of industries has made matters worse by exerting pressure on existing freshwater resources. 
5. Industries, apart from being heavy users of water, also require power to run them. Much of this energy comes from hydroelectric power. Today, in India hydroeclectric power contributes approximately 22 per cent of the total electricity produced.
6. Moreover. multiplying urban centres with large and dense populations and urban lifestyles have not  only   added to water and energy requirements but have further aggrevated the problem. 
7. In the housing societies or colonies in these cities, most of these have their own groundwater pumping devices to meet their water needs. Not surprisingly, that fragile water resources are being over-exploited and have caused their depletion in several of these cities.
1. This scarcity may be due to bad quality of water.
2. Lately, there has been a growing concern that even if 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.

Need of the hour is to conserve and manage our water resources, to safeguard ourselves from health hazards, to ensure food security, continuation of our livelihoods and productive activities and also to prevent degradation of our natural ecosystems. Over exploitation and mismanagement of water resources will impoverish this resource and cause ecological crisis that may have profound impact on our lives.
They were traditionally built to impound rivers and rainwater that could be used later to irrigate agricultural fields. 
 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 .
Hence, dams are now referred to as multi-purpose projects where the many uses of the impounded water are integrated with one another.
For example, in the Sutluj-Beas river basin, the Bhakra -Nangal project water is being used both for hydel power production and irrigation. Similarly, the Hirakud project In the Mahanadi basin integrates conservation of water with flood control.
A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment. 
 Based on structure and the materials used, dams are classified as timber dams, embankment dams or mason dams, with several subtypes.
 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.
Multi-purpose projects, launched after Independence with their integrated water resources management approach, were thought of as the vehicle that would lead the nation to development and progress, over coming the handicap of its colonial past. Jawaharlal Nehru proudly proclaimed the dams as the ‘temples of modern India’, the reason being that it would Integrate development of agriculture and the village economy with rapid industrialisation and growth of the urban economy.

Illustration 4
    How is large population a major factor for increasing demand of water ?
Solution
    A large population leads to increasing demand of water due to
    (i)    More demand for domestic use like cooking, drinking, bathing, washing etc.
    (ii)    Pressure for producing more and more crops leads to heavy demand for irrigation.
    (iii)    For providing employment development of industries which require more water.

Illustration 5
    For which purpose is water being exploited to the maximum extent?
Solution
    Water is being used for irrigation which is highest among all the uses of water.

opposition of multi purpose projects
    1.    Regulating and damming of rivers affect their natural flow causing poor sediment flow.
    2.    Excessive sedimentation at the bottom of the reservoir.
    3.    Rockier stream beds.
    4.    Poorer habitats for the rivers’ aquatic life. 
    5.    Dams also fragment rivers making it difficult for aquatic fauna to migrate, especially for spawning.
    6.    The reservoirs that are created on the floodplains also submerge the existing vegetation and soil leading to its decomposition over a period of                  time.
    7.    Dams have been unsuccessful in controlling floods.
    8.    Dams cause large scale displacement of local communities.
Multi-purpose projects and large dams have also been the cause of many new social movements like the ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan” and the Tehri Dam Andolan” etc. Resistance to these projects has primarily been due to the large-scale displacement of local communities. 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.
Narmada Bachao Andolan or Save Narmada Movement is a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) that mobilised tribal people, formers environmentalists and human rights activists against the Sardar Sarovar Dam being built across the Narmada river in Gujarat. 
Irrigation has also changed the cropping pattern of many regions with farmers shifting to water intensive and commercial crops. This has great ecological consequences like salinisation of the soil. At the same time, it has transformed the social landscape i.e. increasing the social gap between the richer landowners and the landless poor. 

The dams create conflicts between people wanting different uses and benefits from the same water resources. In Gujarat, the Sabarmati-basin farmers were agitated and almost caused a riot over the higher priority given to water supply in urban areas, particularly during droughts. He water disputes are also becoming common.
1.  Ironically, the dams that were constructed to control  floods have triggered floods due to sedimentation in the reservoir. Moreover, the big dams have mostly been unsuccessful in controlling floods at the time of excessive rainfall. 
The release of water from dams during heavy rains aggravated the flood situation in Maharashtra and Gujarat in 2006. 
2.   The floods have not only devastated life and property but also caused extensive soil erosion. 
3.   Sedimentation also meant that the flood plains were deprived of silt, a natural fertiliser, further adding on to the problem of land degradation. 
4.  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.

Illustration 9
    Which multipurpose project has been opposed by social and environment activist Medha Patkar ?
Solution
    Sardar Sarover Project on Narmada and the movement was termed as Narmada Bachao Andolan.

Illustration 10
    If local people are not being benifiting from multipurpose projects them who is benifited ?
Solution
    The landowners and large farmers, industrialists and a few urban centers are being benifitted.

 

INTRODUCTION 
Water, water everywhere, not a single drop ot drink. These lines show the concern over deficiency of water resources. Now a days water is becoming an important natural resources because the demand of water is constantly rising because of rising population and development of living standard of the people. This chapter deals with various concepts related to water resources with causes of deficiency and methods of replenishment.

Important terms :
    •    Dam :  A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment.
    •    Multi-purpose project : A multi-purpose project is a large scale hydro project other including dams for water retention, canals for irrigation, water                processing and pipelines to supply water to cities and power generation.
    •    Rainwater harvesting : Rainwater harvesting is gathering, accumulating and storing of rainwater for different uses.
    •    Guls or Kuls : In hilly and mountainous regions, people built diversion channels like the ‘Guls’ or ‘Kuls’ of Western Himalayas for agriculture.
    •    Inundation canal : It is meant to direct flood waters during the rainy season.
    •    Drip irrigation : It is a type of irrigation in which water gets dropped in the form of drips close to roots of the plants in order to conserve the                     moisture.

WATER SOME FACTS AND FIGURES    
96.5 percent of the total volume of world’s water ts estimated to exist as oceans and only 2.5 per cent as freshwater. Nearly 70 per cent of this freshwater occurs as ice sheets and glaciers in Antarctica, Greenland and the mountainous regions of the world, while a little less than 30 per cent is stored as groundwater in the world’s aquifers.
    India receives nearly 4 per cent of the global precipitation and ranks 133 in the world in terms of water availability per person per annum.
    The total renewable water resources of India are estimated at 1,897 sq km per annum.
    Water scarcity & the need for water conservation & management.
    Shortage of water is called water scarcity
    The moment we speak of water shortages, we immediately associate it with 
    regions having low rainfall or with those that are drought prone. We instantaneously visualise the deserts of Rajasthan. 
    But water scarcity in most cases is caused by over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access to water among different social groups.

Illustration 1
    What is the major source of fresh water ?
Solution
    Precipitation, surface run off, ground water

Illustration 3
    How can we say that water is a renewable resource?
Solution
    Water keeps on rotating in a hydrological cycle, so it is termed as renewable resource.

causes of water scarcity
1. Water scarcity may be an outcome of large and growing population and consequent greater demands for water, and unequal access to it. A large population means more water not only for domestic use but also to produce more food.
2.  Hence. to facilitate higher food-grain production, water resources are being over-exploited to expand irrigated areas and dry-season agriculture.
3. Most 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.
4. Post-independent India witnessed intensive industrialisation and urbanisation.The ever-increasing number of industries has made matters worse by exerting pressure on existing freshwater resources. 
5. Industries, apart from being heavy users of water, also require power to run them. Much of this energy comes from hydroelectric power. Today, in India hydroeclectric power contributes approximately 22 per cent of the total electricity produced.
6. Moreover. multiplying urban centres with large and dense populations and urban lifestyles have not  only   added to water and energy requirements but have further aggrevated the problem. 
7. In the housing societies or colonies in these cities, most of these have their own groundwater pumping devices to meet their water needs. Not surprisingly, that fragile water resources are being over-exploited and have caused their depletion in several of these cities.
1. This scarcity may be due to bad quality of water.
2. Lately, there has been a growing concern that even if 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.

Need of the hour is to conserve and manage our water resources, to safeguard ourselves from health hazards, to ensure food security, continuation of our livelihoods and productive activities and also to prevent degradation of our natural ecosystems. Over exploitation and mismanagement of water resources will impoverish this resource and cause ecological crisis that may have profound impact on our lives.
They were traditionally built to impound rivers and rainwater that could be used later to irrigate agricultural fields. 
 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 .
Hence, dams are now referred to as multi-purpose projects where the many uses of the impounded water are integrated with one another.
For example, in the Sutluj-Beas river basin, the Bhakra -Nangal project water is being used both for hydel power production and irrigation. Similarly, the Hirakud project In the Mahanadi basin integrates conservation of water with flood control.
A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment. 
 Based on structure and the materials used, dams are classified as timber dams, embankment dams or mason dams, with several subtypes.
 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.
Multi-purpose projects, launched after Independence with their integrated water resources management approach, were thought of as the vehicle that would lead the nation to development and progress, over coming the handicap of its colonial past. Jawaharlal Nehru proudly proclaimed the dams as the ‘temples of modern India’, the reason being that it would Integrate development of agriculture and the village economy with rapid industrialisation and growth of the urban economy.

Illustration 4
    How is large population a major factor for increasing demand of water ?
Solution
    A large population leads to increasing demand of water due to
    (i)    More demand for domestic use like cooking, drinking, bathing, washing etc.
    (ii)    Pressure for producing more and more crops leads to heavy demand for irrigation.
    (iii)    For providing employment development of industries which require more water.

Illustration 5
    For which purpose is water being exploited to the maximum extent?
Solution
    Water is being used for irrigation which is highest among all the uses of water.

opposition of multi purpose projects
    1.    Regulating and damming of rivers affect their natural flow causing poor sediment flow.
    2.    Excessive sedimentation at the bottom of the reservoir.
    3.    Rockier stream beds.
    4.    Poorer habitats for the rivers’ aquatic life. 
    5.    Dams also fragment rivers making it difficult for aquatic fauna to migrate, especially for spawning.
    6.    The reservoirs that are created on the floodplains also submerge the existing vegetation and soil leading to its decomposition over a period of                  time.
    7.    Dams have been unsuccessful in controlling floods.
    8.    Dams cause large scale displacement of local communities.
Multi-purpose projects and large dams have also been the cause of many new social movements like the ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan” and the Tehri Dam Andolan” etc. Resistance to these projects has primarily been due to the large-scale displacement of local communities. 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.
Narmada Bachao Andolan or Save Narmada Movement is a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) that mobilised tribal people, formers environmentalists and human rights activists against the Sardar Sarovar Dam being built across the Narmada river in Gujarat. 
Irrigation has also changed the cropping pattern of many regions with farmers shifting to water intensive and commercial crops. This has great ecological consequences like salinisation of the soil. At the same time, it has transformed the social landscape i.e. increasing the social gap between the richer landowners and the landless poor. 

The dams create conflicts between people wanting different uses and benefits from the same water resources. In Gujarat, the Sabarmati-basin farmers were agitated and almost caused a riot over the higher priority given to water supply in urban areas, particularly during droughts. He water disputes are also becoming common.
1.  Ironically, the dams that were constructed to control  floods have triggered floods due to sedimentation in the reservoir. Moreover, the big dams have mostly been unsuccessful in controlling floods at the time of excessive rainfall. 
The release of water from dams during heavy rains aggravated the flood situation in Maharashtra and Gujarat in 2006. 
2.   The floods have not only devastated life and property but also caused extensive soil erosion. 
3.   Sedimentation also meant that the flood plains were deprived of silt, a natural fertiliser, further adding on to the problem of land degradation. 
4.  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.

Illustration 9
    Which multipurpose project has been opposed by social and environment activist Medha Patkar ?
Solution
    Sardar Sarover Project on Narmada and the movement was termed as Narmada Bachao Andolan.

Illustration 10
    If local people are not being benifiting from multipurpose projects them who is benifited ?
Solution
    The landowners and large farmers, industrialists and a few urban centers are being benifitted.

 

Related Topic Name

1. Water conservation and Management
2. Rainwater Harvesting