Water
Three-fourth of the earth’s surface is covered with water but only a small propor on of it
accounts for freshwater, that can be put to use. Water is a renewable resource.
Water Scarcity and the Need for Water Conserva on and Management
The availability of water resources varies over space and me.
Water scarcity is caused by over-exploita on, excessive use and unequal access to water
among different social groups.
Water resources are being over-exploited to expand irrigated areas for dry-season
agriculture.
In some areas, water is sufficiently available to meet the needs of the people. But those
areas s ll suffer from water scarcity due to bad quality of water.
The need of the hour is to conserve and manage our water resources:
To safeguard ourselves from health hazards.
To ensure food security, con nua on of our livelihoods and produc ve ac vi es.
To prevent degrada on of our natural ecosystems.
Mul -Purpose River Projects and Integrated Water Resources Management
In ancient mes, we used to conserve water by construc ng sophis cated hydraulic structures
like dams built of stone rubble, reservoirs or lakes, embankments and canals for irriga on. We
have con nued this tradi on in modern India by building dams in most of our river basins.
Dams
A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, o en crea ng
a reservoir, lake or impoundment. “Dam” refers to the reservoir rather than the structure.
Uses/advantages of Dam:
Dams are built:
To impound rivers and rainwater that can be used later to irrigate agricultural fields.
For electricity genera on.
Water supply for domes c and industrial uses.
Flood control.
Recrea on, inland naviga on and fish breeding.
Side effects/ Dis-advantages of Crea ng Dams
Regula ng and damming of rivers affect their natural flow.
Poorer the habitats for the rivers’ aqua c life.
Fragment rivers make it difficult for aqua c fauna to migrate.
Dams created on the floodplains submerge the exis ng vegeta on and soil leading to its
decomposi on over a period of me.
Crea ng of large dams has been the cause of many new environmental movements like
the ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’ and the ‘Tehri Dam Andolan’ etc.
Many mes local people had to give up their land, livelihood and their control over
resources for the construc on of the dam.
Most of the objec ons to the projects arose due to their failure to achieve the purposes for
which they were built. Most of the dams were constructed to control floods but, these dams
have triggered floods. Dams have also caused extensive soil erosion. Excessive use of water has
resulted in earthquakes, caused water-borne diseases and pests and pollu on.
India’s Major Rivers and Dams on the map below:
Rain Water Harves ng
Rainwater harves ng is a simple method by which rainfall is collected for future usage. The
collected rainwater may be stored, u lised in different ways or directly used for recharge
purposes.
Different methods have been adopted in different areas for Rain Water Harves ng.
1. In hill and mountainous regions, people have built diversion channels like the ‘guls’ or
‘kuls’ of the Western Himalayas for agriculture.
2. “Roo op rainwater harves ng” is commonly prac sed to store drinking water,
par cularly in Rajasthan.
3. In the flood plains of Bengal, people developed inunda on channels to irrigate their
fields.
4. In arid and semi-arid regions, agricultural fields were converted into rain-fed storage
structures that allowed the water to stand and moisten the soil such as ‘khadins’ in
Jaisalmer and ‘Johads’ in other parts of Rajasthan.
5. The tankas are part of the well-developed roo op rainwater harves ng system and are
built inside the main house or the courtyard. This is mainly prac sed in Rajasthan,
par cularly in Bikaner, Phalodi and Barmer areas for saving the rainwater. Many houses
have constructed underground rooms adjoining the ‘tanka’ to beat the summer heat as
it would keep the room cool.
Tamil Nadu is the first state in India which has made roo op rainwater harves ng
structure compulsory to all the houses across the state. There are legal provisions to punish
the defaulters.
SARDAR SAROVAR DAM
ATAL BHUJAL YOJANA