HKBK COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Course: Conservation of Natural Resources (BCV755B)
)
MODULE
2 WATER
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HKBK COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Course: Conservation of Natural Resources (BCV755B)
)
Module 2: Water
Water: Global water resources, Indian water resources, Resources system planning. Water use
sectors- domestic, industrial, agriculture. Water deficit and water surplus basins in India,
equitable distribution, Inter-basin water transfers, Interlinking of rivers Himalayan component,
peninsular component, issues involved. Ground water, its potential in India, conjunctive use,
recharge of ground water. Contamination of ground water, sea water ingress, problems and
solutions.
Water
Water is an important resource available to the living organisms. It’s a cradle of life on Earth.
Life started on earth in water and is surviving due to the presence of water on the Earth.
There are two main sources of water: surface water and groundwater.
◗ Surface Water is found in lakes, rivers, and reservoirs.
◗ Groundwater lies under the surface of the land, where it travels through and fills
openings in the rocks.
The rocks that store and transmit groundwater are called aquifers. Groundwater must be
pumped from an aquifer to the earth's surface for use
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HKBK COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Course: Conservation of Natural Resources (BCV755B)
)
Sources of Water
1. Rain Water
2. Surface Water
3. Ground Water
4. Water obtained from reclamation
1. Rain water
a. From the roofs of the houses and dwellings – collected and stored in underground tank or
cistern for individual supply
b. From Prepared catchments – given a suitable lining and slope, collected in small
reservoirs for community supply
2. Surface Water
a. From rivers by continuous draft – without any diversion works.
b. From river diversions- routed through canal into treatment plant.
c. From reservoir storage
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HKBK COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Course: Conservation of Natural Resources (BCV755B)
)
d. From direct intake from natural lakes
3. Ground Water
a. From natural springs
b. From wells and bore wells
c. From infiltration galleries
d. From river side radial collector wells
4. Water obtained from reclamation
a. Desalination
b. Re-use of treated waste water
Global Water Resources
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HKBK COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Course: Conservation of Natural Resources (BCV755B)
)
Rivers in India
◗ India is blessed with many rivers. Land slope determines the river to which the rain
falling on an area will eventually flow. A river basin, also called catchment area of the
river, is the area from which the rain will flow into that particular river. The shape and
size of the river basin is determined by the topography. Following are the major river
basins groups in India.
◗ Indus system
This comprises the river Indus and its tributaries like the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas
and Sutlej. These originate in the North and generally flow in a West or South-West
direction to eventually flow into Arabian Sea through Pakistan.
◗ Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghana system
The main river Ganga and its tributaries like the Yamuna, Sone, Gandak, Kosi and many
others; similarly main rivers Brahmaputra, Meghna and their tributaries. All these
eventually flow into Bay of Bengal, through Bangladesh. Some of the tributaries of these
rivers are larger than other independent rivers. e.g. Yamuna, a tributary of Ganga, has a
larger catchment area than the Tapi, a small peninsula river.
◗ Rivers of Rajasthan and Gujrat
Mahi, Sabarmati, Luni etc. These are rivers of arid regions, they carry relatively little
flow, some of them flow to Arabian Sea through Gujrat while some are land-locked
and their flow is lost through percolation and evaporation in the vast arid regions.
◗ East Flowing Peninsular Rivers
The important membes of this group are :Damodar, Mahanadi, Brhamanai, Baitrani,
Subarnarekha, Krishna-Godavari and Kaveri. The all flow in to Bay of Bengal at
various places along the Eastern coast of India.
◗ West Flowing Peninsular Rivers
Narmada and Tapi. These originate in Central India and flow in a Western direction to
meet Arabian Sea south of Gujrat.
◗ Western Coast Rivers
A large number of rivers in the Western Coast – i.e. coastal Maharashtra and Karnatka,
and entire Kerala. These rivers are small in length but carry a significant amount of water
due to very high rainfall in western ghats. They drain only 3 % of the India’s land area
but carry 11 % of India’s water resources
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HKBK COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Course: Conservation of Natural Resources (BCV755B)
)
Uses of Water
Productive use: water is primarily used for irrigation of food crops, fodder crops, medicinal
herbs, etc. Consumptive use: water is consumed in exhaustive quantities for domestic purposes
such as drinking, cooking, washing etc. water find its application in almost all the processes in
industries, starting from the manufacturing processes to housekeeping activities. Commercial
use: Water consumed for carrying out commercial and recreational activities.
Many uses of water include agricultural, industrial, household, recreational and environmental
activities. Virtually all of these human uses require fresh water. The framework for allocating
water resources to water users (where such a framework exists) is known as water rights
◗ Agricultural:
It is estimated that 69% of world-wide water use is for irrigation. In some areas of the world
irrigation is necessary to grow any crop at all, in other areas it permits more profitable crops to
be grown or enhances crop yield.
◗ Industrial
It is estimated that 15% of world-wide water use is industrial. Major industrial users include
power plants, which use water for cooling or as a power source (i.e. hydroelectric plants), ore
and oil refineries, which use water in chemical processes, and manufacturing plants, which use
water as a solvent. The portion of industrial water usage that is consumptive varies widely, but as
a whole is lower than agricultural use
◗ Household Drinking water
It is estimated that 15% of world-wide water use is for household purposes. These include
drinking water, bathing, cooking, sanitation, and gardening. Basic household water requirements
have been estimated at around 50 liters per person per day, excluding water for gardens.
◗ Recreation
Recreational water use is usually a very small but growing percentage of total water use.
Recreational water use is mostly tied to reservoirs. If a reservoir is kept fuller than it would
otherwise be for recreation, then the water retained could be categorized as recreational usage.
Other examples are anglers, water skiers, nature enthusiasts and swimmers.
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HKBK COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Course: Conservation of Natural Resources (BCV755B)
)
Water Deficit
India has 1/6th of the global population and 1/25th of world’s water resources, but the water
availability is highly uncertain both in time and space due to its peculiar monsoonal climate.
About 70 % of the population directly or indirectly depends on agriculture, in the back drop of
economic growth from industrialization. The urban population in the country is increasing at
faster rate which requires the establishment of basic infrastructure, amenities and increase in
food production. It is essential to convert rain fed crops into irrigation crops
The irrigation commission in 1972 has identified 67 drought prone districts comprising 326
taluks located in 8 states having an area of 49.73 M Ha. The revised study made by Central
Water Commission (CWC) in 2006 reveals that 51.12 M Ha area is drought affected in 74
districts. Thus in comparison to total geographical area of the country about 1/6th is drought
prone area
As per international standards per capita water requirement is 1700 m3 per year. If the
availability is less than 1000 m3, it is considered as water scarcity. If it ranges between 1000-
1700 m3 it is treated as water stressed. India with present availability of about 1600 m3 is under
water stress condition
Inter Basin Water Transfer
The concept of the Inter basin water transfer is to be explored and implemented to ensure
uniform distribution of available natural water resource and to mitigate the consequences of
hydrologic extremes of floods and droughts.
The implementation of Inter basin water transfer is the need of the hour for the overall
development of a country like India in which population is growing at an alarming rate. Also the
Inter basin water transfer helps to prevent the formation of deltas along the coast line and
migration of people from drought affected region
In India the monsoons are highly orographic causing floods in North and North Eastern region
and drought in other areas. The solution for storage and transfer lies in much talked about
interlinking of rivers or inter basin water transfer. As the Govt. of India is spending huge amount
of money every year towards the relief of floods and drought, it is worthwhile to spend on inter
basin and intra basin water transfer schemes keeping long term benefits in view. Moreover the
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HKBK COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Course: Conservation of Natural Resources (BCV755B)
)
inter basin water transfer is the only solution to maintain regional balance in all sectors like
Agricultural, Industrial, Power generation, Domestic, Navigation etc
Examples of Inter basin water transfer in India
◗ Periyar - Vaigai project (Kerala state 1985)
◗ Kurnool – - Cuddapah Canal ( Andhra Pradesh 1863-1870)
◗ Parambikulam - Aliyar project (1962-82)
◗ Telugu – - Ganga project
◗ Beas – - Sutlej Link (1983)
◗ Indira Gandhi Nahar project ( Rajasthan canal, 1958)
◗ Sarada - Sahayak Project (1960 )
◗ Ramganga – - Ganga Link (1978)
◗ Tungabhadra – - Pennar project
◗ Mahi project
◗ Tehri Multipurpose project
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HKBK COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Course: Conservation of Natural Resources (BCV755B)
)
Inter linking of Rivers
NWDA (National Water Development Agency) was formed in 1980 to further investigate and
explore the possibilities of interlinking of rivers. The broad objectives of NWDA are
1. To promote systematic and scientific study of interlinking of rivers.
2. To carryout detailed study, survey, investigations of Peninsular and Himalayan rivers.
3. To identify possible water transfer projects/links to carry water from surplus basin to
deficit one after meeting the existing and proposed needs.
4. To prepare feasibility reports of various components of Himalayan and Peninsular rivers.
After thorough investigations NWDA proposed to transfer water through 12,500 Km length of
canal. As per NWDA, Inter basin water transfer is proposed in two components namely
(1) Himalayan component and
(2) Peninsular component.
1. Himalayan Component
This component mainly proposes to link Brahmaputra and its tributaries with the river
Ganga and Ganga with Mahanadi. In addition it also proposes to transfer surplus flows of
the Eastern tributaries of Ganga to the West. This component envisages construction of
canal systems and storage reservoirs on the principal tributaries of Ganga and
Brahmaputra rivers in India, Nepal and Bhutan. This component would provide
additional irrigation to about 22 MHa and power generation of about 30000 MW besides
flood control in Brahmaputra and Ganga basins
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HKBK COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Course: Conservation of Natural Resources (BCV755B)
)
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HKBK COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Course: Conservation of Natural Resources (BCV755B)
)
2. Peninsular Component
In this component a network of interconnected river basins of Peninsular India is
considered. NWDA carried out water balance studies of all the major river basins such as
Mahanadi , Godavari , Krishna ,Pennar , Cauvery , Vaigai, West flowing rivers of Kerala
, Karnataka , North of Bombay and South of Tapi and Southern tributaries of Yamuna to
find out water surplus and deficit basins. The 16 links of Peninsular component are given
below
◗ From Peninsular Component it is possible to irrigate about 13 M Ha and about 4000 MW
of Hydropower can be generated. The Peninsular component utilizes 69.6 TMCum of
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HKBK COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Course: Conservation of Natural Resources (BCV755B)
)
water. This component involves the construction of storage reservoirs at potential sites in
addition to the existing /ongoing reservoirs and a network of canals for water transfer
Merits of Inter Basin Water Transfer
1. Possible to utilize the water resources uniformly and economically to yield
Significant output.
2. Enhancement in Irrigation potential and power generation
3. Provides ample surface water to meet the growing needs of Domestic and Industries.
4. Scopes for Inland Navigation which reduces stress on existing communication system.
5. It minimizes the intensity of drought and floods.
6. It helps to increase per capita income
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HKBK COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Course: Conservation of Natural Resources (BCV755B)
)
7. Reduces the exploitation of ground water as surface water is made available in abundant.
8. Huge employment generation
9. Development of fisheries
10. Salinity control
11. Recreation facility
12. . Infrastructural development
13. Socio economic development
14. Considerable improvement in ground water potential
15. Control in migration
16. Conversion of barren land into cultivable land
17. Reduction in formation of further deltas in coastal zones.
18. Minimization of the relief expenditure towards floods and
droughts [Note: explain each point in your own words in a sentence
or two] Demerits of Inter Basin Water Transfer
1. Large area liable for submersion due to construction of reservoirs and canals
2. Adverse effects over ecological system
3. Difficult to solve Interstate or International water disputes
4. Legal problem in sharing the water
5. Cost of the project and recurring expenditure for maintenance are high
6. Water pollution in conveyance
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HKBK COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Course: Conservation of Natural Resources (BCV755B)
)
7. Loss of water in conveyance through the canals
8. Land acquisition and rehabilitation problems
9. Requires afforestation to compensate for loss in green
10. It is a long term project which may cause large variation in estimation
11. Serving for high altitude areas needs pumping of water which requires huge power
and maintenance.
12. Needs huge debate at micro level and macro level on the issue to convince the public.
13. Problems of soil erosion and sedimentation
14. In undulated zones it may required to construct large number of cross drainage works.
[Note: explain each point in your own words in a sentence or two]
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