Water : a precious resource

Chapter 16
How much water is available

- 71% of earth is just water. However, all of this water is not drinkable.
- Almost all water on earth is stored in oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, ice
caps, groundwater and in the atmosphere.
- The water that is drinkable is stored as freshwater.
- If you imagine the amount of water to be filled in a bucket, 1/4th
tablespoon of water will represent the amount of fresh water.
Forms of water

- The water on earth is maintained using the water cycle.

- When the water goes through the water cycle it changes to three
different states of matter. The states of matter are, solid, liquid, and
gas.
- Solid : Ice
- Gas: Water vapour
- Liquid: Water
Forms of water

- Solid: Found in the form of snow and ice. It is found on ice caps in the
two poles of the earth, on top of mountains with snow and as glaciers
- Liquid: This is the normal form of water. It is present in oceans, lakes,
and rivers. It can even be found underground.
- Gas: Water vapour is present all around us. Steam is water vapour.
- Water is present in these three forms mainly and this allows the water
to go through the water cycle.
Ground Water

- The ground has a lot of water in it. If we dig really deep into the ground we will find
fresh water due to soil water and infiltration.
- The upper part of the layer is called the water table
- The depth of the water table depends on the amount of rain, and area. It may even
change for the same area.
- The water found below this water table is called groundwater
- Rain water and water from other sources such as rivers and ponds can seep through
the ground and fill the empty spaces and cracks below the ground
- The process of seeping of water into the ground is called infiltration.
- At places, the water is stored layers of hard rock and below the water table . This
called an aquifer.
Depletion of the water table

- The water table may go down do to over use or if the water table is not
sufficiently replenished / replaced by rain.
- This is due to increase of population, industries, decrease of seepage area,
agricultural activities, deforestation, and irregular/less rain.
Increase of population

- Increase in population means that people will need more houses, shops,
offices, pavements, and roads.
- This does not allow the rainwater to reach the soil as there are things such
as houses, pavements, and roads blocking the rain from going to the soil.
- This decreases the amount of infiltration and therefore decreases the
amount of water reaching the water table
- For construction, a lot of water is needed. As they cannot transport water
back and forth, they draw water out from the ground.
More Industries

- Water is very essential in all industries. Almost all industries require some
amount of water.
- Due to things such as globalization, the number of industries are increasing
day by day.
- Water that is used by industries is also drawn out from underground which
depletes the amount of ground water.
Agricultural activities

- Most farmers in India depend on rain water for irrigation (watering their
crops) of their crops. Irrigation systems such as canals are only present in a
few places
- Sometimes, due to less rain, these farmers have to use groundwater for
irrigation.
- As the population increases, the pressure of more crops and feeding the
population provokes these farmers to use more of the ground water
Distribution of water

- Some places have lots of rain like rainforests but some have really less rain,
like deserts
- India is a huge country and the north and south both have very very different
climates which means that the amount of rainfall won't be the same all over
india.
- A lot of rain can cause floods but too less rain can cause droughts.
Water Management

- Most of the rain water just flows away or evaporates as it cannot seep
through roads and pavement. It is also wasted due to open taps, leaky pipes
and unnecessary wastage of water.
- This rainwater can, however, be collected and used as drinking water ( after
being filtered ). This is called rain water harvesting.
- Many places in india use old techniques such as bawri’s.
- Drip irrigation also saves water as the water goes directly to the roots of the
water instead of being spread all over by sprinklers.
Effect of water scarcity on plants

- Plants will wilt up and die if they do not get enough water.
- Plants provide us with oxygen and also play a major role in the water
cycle.
- Therefore we must preserve plants and trees.