Water Resources

Water is a cyclic resource, as it is present in different states and in abundant supplies on the globe.

Though water is an abiotic component of the environment, it is not described as one since water carries many biotic components in it which is often crucial for the sustenance of life on earth. Hence, option (A) is incorrect.

Water is, indeed a renewable resource. Hence, option (B) is incorrect.

Water is not a biotic component of the environment rather a physical resource, thus option (C) is incorrect.

The river Ganga, with the highest catchment area in India, and the largest discharge has the highest replenishable ground water resource in the country.

The total water available from precipitation in the country in a year is about 4,000 cubic km.

Tamil Nadu, along with Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan has the highest utilisation of its groundwater in relation to its total groundwater potential.

Irrigation accounts for more proportion of water used than any other sectors in the country. India, being an agrarian economy, has always given high developmental priority to irrigation to increase agricultural production. Agriculture, thus, accounts for 89% of surface water and 92% of groundwater utilisation.

The share of Domestic sector is 9% in surface water utilisation, whereas industrial sector use 2% of surface water and 5% of ground water, which is lesser than the share of agriculture/irrigation.

It is true that water resources in India have been depleting very fast. The factors responsible are:

• Over-use of groundwater for irrigation has led to decline in groundwater table in certain regions. Withdrawals has increased concentration of other chemicals like fluoride and arsenic.

• Increasing population means per-capita availability of water is dwindling day-by-day.

• Available water resources are getting polluted with industrial, agricultural and domestic effluents.

Groundwater development in the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Tamil Nadu has been intense due to irrigated agriculture, this is because:

• Spatio-temporal variability in rainfall makes irrigation a necessary alternative for agriculture in the country.

• Irrigation makes multiple cropping possible.

• Irrigated lands have higher agricultural productivity than unirrigated land.

• HYV crops, introduced during the Green Revolution, required regular supply of moisture.

With the increase in population and sectoral shift in GDP, the share of agriculture sector in total water used in the country is expected to decline. In the process, the share of the domestic and industrial sectors is likely to increase.

Contaminated/Unclean water can have serious negative impacts if consumed. Contaminated water contains numerous foreign bodies, which once consumped can result in serious health problems. Diseases like Cholera, Typhoid, Dysentery and other serious illnesses can be life-threatening.

Indian landmass receives its water from three principle sources: The Monsoon, the Rivers and the Groundwater sources. The monsoon has a high spatial variation, and is concentrated in just one season. Thus, too much quantity of water is available within a short span of time. Without adequate infrastructure to capture and store the rainwater, the water ends up as surface run-off, resulting in flash floods in regions receiving rain and droughts in regions that does not receive rainfall. The monsoon is, thus, a highly unreliable source of water for the country. The rivers provide the majority of water for human needs in the country. However, one-third of rivers comprises 60% of the total surface water resources. Hence, there is uneven distribution of surface water across different geographies. For instance, Kerala is rich in water resources from rivers whereas the neighbouring Tamil Nadu has no significant river water resource. Groundwater forms the third source of water. The level of groundwater utilisation is relatively high in the river basins lying in north-western region and parts of south India. The ground water utilisation is very high in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, whereas the utilisation is very small in Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Kerala, etc. Hence, the three principle sources of water resource is highly erratic, seasonal and exhibit spatial variation over the length and breadth of the country.

Water is that resource that has enabled living organisms to exist on this planet, no wonder the Earth is called a blue planet. But this resource though renewable is in limited quantity. Our requirement, with increasing population and negligent water management, is slowly eating into the nature’s recycling capacity. We are using more than the nature can purify, at the same time we are rendering water difficult to recycle. All this means that, though renewable, water is slowly becoming scarce.

Seventy-one percentage of Earth is covered in water, but 69% of it is unfit for consumption – it is saline. Of the 3% freshwater, around 68% is inaccessible as it is locked in Glaciers and Ice Caps, 30% of freshwater is available as groundwater and the rest 1% is found in rivers. All the people, therefore, live on less than 1% of Earth’s water, and the later variable is fixed, added to this is the serious mismanagement of available freshwater. Thus, human population is bound to stretch the limits one day.

With over 7.6 Billion inhabitants, strain on water resource has been felt over the last few decades. Added to this is the variability of freshwater over time and space. Communities, regions and states from local level to international are disputing over sharing and control of water resources. The on-going conflict between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the sharing of Cauvery waters is a prime example. At the international level, the Indus Water Treaty has been a geopolitical leverage for India to pressurise Pakistan. Inland freshwater seas like Aral Seas and others have been dwindling in size. As someone had truthfully pointed out – the next World War will break out over the control of this scarce resource.

To know more

Human civilisation began around major river valleys, the prominent among them was the Mesopotamian Civilisation that grew around the rivers Euphrates and Tigris in the Middle East. To understand the strain on water, it is sufficient to look at the condition of these rivers. Attached is a link to an informative documentary on “Why Iraq’s Great Rivers are Dying”. (https://bit.ly/2XQK6ij)

Watershed management refers to the efficient management and conservation of surface and groundwater resources. It involves prevention of runoff and storage and recharge of groundwater through various methods like percolation tanks, recharge wells, etc. The aim is to bring about balance between natural resources on the hand and society on the other. The success of watershed development largely depends upon community participation.

Watershed management can play a significant role in sustainable development, but this can be effective only as long as people accept that freshwater is scarce and needs management. More than half the problems associated with water management can be addressed if we stop taking water resource for granted, especially in the urban cities where streams are polluted and negligent attitude results in wastage. Haryali, Neeru-Meeru, and Arvary Pani Sansad are conservation projects addressed to tackle water scarcity in rural regions. But huge quantum of water mismanagement happens in urban areas, which generally goes unnoticed. The Chennai floods of 2015 stands testimony to this.

Though watershed development projects in some areas have been successful in rejuvenating environment and economy, there are only a few success stories. There is a need to generate awareness regarding watershed development and management among people in the country. It is only through this integrated water resource management approach, can water availability be ensured on sustainable basis.