Carol elsa

Our ancient religious texts and epics give a good
insight into the water storage and conservation
systems that prevailed in those days.
Over the years rising populations, growing
industrialization, and expanding agriculture have
pushed up the demand for water. Efforts have been
made to collect water by building dams and
reservoirs and digging wells; some countries have
also tried to recycle and desalinate (remove salts)
water. Water conservation has become the need of
the day. The idea of ground water recharging by
harvesting rainwater is gaining importance in many
cities.

Rainwater harvesting
This has become a very popular method of conserving
water especially in the urban areas. Rainwater harvesting
essentially means collecting rainwater on the roofs of
building and storing it underground for later use. Not
only does this recharging arrest groundwater depletion, it
also raises the declining water table and can help
augment water supply. Rainwater harvesting and artificial
recharging are becoming very important issues. It is
essential to stop the decline in groundwater levels, arrest
sea-water ingress, i.e. prevent sea-water from moving
landward, and conserve surface water run-off during the
rainy season.
.

In December 2010, the United Nations General
Assembly declared 2013 as the United Nations
International Year of Water Cooperation . In
reflection of this declaration, the 2013 World Water
Day, which will take place on 22 March 2013, also
will be dedicated to water cooperation
The objective of this International Year is to raise
awareness, both on the potential for increased
cooperation, and on the challenges facing water
management in light of the increase in demand
for water access, allocation and services. The
Year will highlight the history of successful water
cooperation initiatives, as well as identify
burning issues on water education, water

The project Area 'Bunga' is a small hamlet in
Ambala district of Haryana situated in the foothills
of Shivalik range in North India. The Average
rainfall of the area is about 1100 mm, 80% of
which is received during June – August.
Denudation of pastures and woodlands, low
productivity of land and animals and poverty are
some of the major problems of the area. Hence an
Integrated Water Shed Management Project was
taken up in the village.
The project comprised of construction of check
dams for water harvesting, soil erosion control
methods through planting of natural trees and
grasses and digging of trenches at right angles to
slopes for containment of sediment as well as
promotion of concept of social fencing.

According to the Delhi Jal Board’s website, their
current water supply does not meet the calculated
demand. As documented by a researcher with the
Centre for Science and Environment, Delhi is
dependent on neighboring states for its water supply.
Delhi has grown in size and population immensely
within the last 25 years. A majority of the residents
fall into economically backward classes
The issue of water has been taken up by a variety of
groups within civil society in Delhi. These include but
are not limited to NGOs, informal and formal
sangathans or groups, Resident Welfare
Associations, individuals, professionals, and
students.

This slide focuses on peoples’ movements around water in
New Delhi, the capital city of India. New Delhi is characterized
by water “issues.” A majority of the city’s 18 million residents
have to queue up for water supplied by the government or
private tankers, as piped supplies are either defunct or
unavailable. The water supplied by the Delhi authorities is
discolored or odorous, and thus considered unsafe for drinking.
Everyday conflicts around water are common.
These realities, coupled with the fact that water is a basic
need, makes it easy to talk to city residents about water. In one
conversation, a lady said she was surprised to hear that the
Yamuna River, Delhi’s primary source of water, is dead.

•Environmentalists, NGOs and even Delhi’s
current chief minister Shiela Dixit advocate
putting water back into the ground and raising
the groundwater table by rainwater harvesting.
Others are focusing on pollution, toxics, industry
and waste, or fighting legal cases and protesting
to maintain the Delhi ridge as a groundwater
recharge zone. Even more are working on
awareness and campaigning to bring the
Yamuna back to life. Since rivers are a spiritual
entity within the Indian context, religious and
spiritual groups form a large part of those
working for the life of the river.
•To a citizen who does not have access to water,
dam-building seems integral to access water. At
the same time, people who are protesting the
negative social and environmental impacts of
dams are asking for a more environmentally just
alternative to dams.
•Womens groups, NGOs, sangathans and
activist groups are working in Jhuggi Jhompadis
(slum clusters) to raise issues of womens’ safety
and sanitation, access to water, and water
quality.

Conclusion
The Delhi government has attempted privatization of the city’s
water supply since 2005. While a fierce peoples’ campaign
defeated privatization efforts in 2005, the Delhi Jal Board has
recently handed over parts of its water distribution and monitoring
duties in South Delhi (the neighborhoods of Malviya Nagar and
Vasant Vihar) to a private company affiliated with the Tata Group.
The campaign to stop the privatization of water in Delhi in 2005
was initiated by Parivartan, an NGO run by Arvind Kejrival (who is
.
currently bringing a new party into India’s politics).

Delhi is an old city with a rich history of water management. But
Delhi’s river is dead, and water governance is corrupt and
inaccessible. Those with less are subjected to longer queues for
water; children skip school and women face severe safety and
sanitation issues. Thus, the task facing Delhi’s civil society and
the government is enormous.

All types of electricity generation consume water
either to process the raw materials used in the
facility or fuel, constructing and maintaining the
plant, or to just generate the electricity itself.
Renewable power sources as photovoltaic solar and
wind power, which require little water to produce
energy, require water in processing the raw materials
to build the turbines and solar panels

In the US, about 2 US gallons (7.6 L) of water is
evaporated to create one Kilowatt hour(kWh) of
energy This water is consumed in thermoelectric
plants which are power plants converting waste
heat into electrical power and evaporated in
reservoirs for hydroelectric plants. An average of
18 gal (68 L) of fresh water is evaporated to
generate 1 kWh of electricity at a Hydroelectric
plant.

Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity
generated by hydropower; the production of
electrical power through the use of the gravitational
force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely
used form of renewable energy, accounting for 16
percent of global electricity generation.
Hydropower is produced in 150 countries, with the
Asia-Pacific region generating 32 percent of global
hydropower in 2010. China is the largest
hydroelectricity producer, with 721 terawatt-hours of
production in 2010, representing around 17 percent
of domestic electricity use. The cost of
hydroelectricity is relatively low, making it a
competitive source of renewable electricity.
India is endowed with economically exploitable and
viable hydro potential assessed to be about 84,000
MW at 60% load factor. In addition, 6780 MW in
terms of installed capacity from Small, Mini, and
Micro Hydel schemes have been assessed.
India ranks 5th in terms of exploitable hydropotential on global scenario.

.Hydro is a flexible source of electricity since
plants can be ramped up and down very quickly to
adapt to changing energy demands.

.The major advantage of hydroelectricity is
elimination of the cost of fuel.

.Hydroelectric plants have long economic lives,
with some plants still in service after 50–100
years. Operating labour cost is also usually low, as
plants are automated and have few personnel on
site during normal operation.

.Where a dam serves multiple purposes, a
hydroelectric plant may be added with relatively
low construction cost, providing a useful revenue
stream to offset the costs of dam operation. It has
been calculated that the sale of electricity from
the Three Gorges Dam will cover the construction
costs after 5 to 8 years of full generation.
Since hydroelectric dams do not burn fossil fuels,
they are claimed to not directly produce CO2.

Large reservoirs required for the operation of hydroelectric power stations result
in submersion of extensive areas upstream of the dams, destroying biologically
rich and productive lowland and riverine valley forests, marshland and
grasslands. The loss of land is often exacerbated by habitat fragmentation of
surrounding areas caused by the reservoir.[
Lower positive impacts are found in the tropical regions, as it has been noted
that the reservoirs of power plants in tropical regions produce substantial
amounts of methane. This is due to plant material in flooded areas decaying in
an anaerobic environment, and forming a methane, a greenhouse gas.
There is also a need to relocate people.
.

Groundwater sustainability relates to the
development and use of groundwater to
meet current and future purposes without
causing unacceptable consequences
Ground water is a critical component of the
nation’s water resources. Globally, ground
water resources dwarf surface water
supplies. Approximately 25 percent of the
earth’s total fresh water supply is stored as
ground water, while less than 1% is stored in
surface water resources, such as rivers,
lakes, and soil moisture. The rest of the
freshwater supply is locked away in polar
ice and glaciers.
Twenty-six of 28 state agencies responding
to a National Ground Water Association
(NGWA) survey perceive current or
anticipate ground water supply shortages at
a statewide or local level in the next 20
years.

The rapidly declining groundwater table in Punjab–
one of the most agriculturally productive states and
the heart of green revolution belt in northern
India–is especially disturbing. As the epicenter of
the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 70s,
Punjab’s agricultural fecundity earned the state a
reputation as the breadbasket of India.
We estimate that the state is overdrawing its
groundwater resources by a shockingly unsustainable
45 percent over that replenished by rainfall every year.
Farmers who used to pump from 5 to 10 feet below the
surface are now drilling to depths of 200 to 300 feet. As
a result, the groundwater table is falling at
approximately a rate of 1 meter per year, as opposed
to just 18 cm per year during the mid-1980s. This
disturbing and remarkable increase in water usage has
come about from a number of changes in the
agricultural economy of Punjab, including a dramatic
increase in cropping intensity from the 1960s until
now.

The last few decades have seen mounting water
management challenges, particularly those
associated with increased reliance on groundwater
resources throughout the West. This growing
reliance on groundwater is due largely to the
expansion of permanent crops, more intensive
irrigation practices, increased urban and
environmental competition for water supplies, and
reduced surface-water supplies due to drought and
increasing regulatory restrictions.
GRA, in cooperation with the United States
Committee on Irrigation and Drainage
(USCID), a nonprofit international
professional society that aims to foster
sustainable, socially acceptable and
environmentally responsible irrigation,
drainage and flood control systems and
practices for providing food, clothing and
shelter to the people of the United States
and the World, are organizing a
Conference.

Burgeoning population and climate change are among the most critical
challenges facing the 21st century. Both have critical implications for
groundwater resources, especially in many developing countries where
resources are already under pressure. Due to low rainfall and high
evaporation in parts of the Middle East and North Africa, groundwater is
not being renewed, and groundwater laid down up to 10,000 years ago is
literally being mined for irrigation, often very inefficiently. Over recent
decades, groundwater levels have fallen dramatically in key grain-growing
regions like the American Great Plains and the North China Plain. As the
population grows and emerging economies like China and India demand
more food, especially water intensive meat products, agricultural demand
for water is set to increase. The rapid shift of population from the
countryside to the cities is also adding to this pressure; most old wells in
Beijing are now dry. Pollution from industry, agriculture and shanty towns
is destroying many groundwater resources; some could take 50 years to
clean up even with strict and immediate controls.
Thus this all leads to the urgent need to sustain groundwater.

Hard water is water that has high mineral
content( in comparison with ‘soft
water’).Hard drinking water is generally
not harmful to one's health. But can pose
serious problems in industrial settings. In
domestic settings, hard water is often
indicated by a lack of suds formation
when soap is agitated in water, and by
the formation of lime scale in kettles and
water heaters.
Water's hardness is determined by the
concentration of multivalent cations in
the water. Multivalent cations are cations
(positively charged metal complexes)
with a charge greater than 1+. Usually,
the cations have the charge of 2+.
Common cations found in hard water
include Ca2+ and Mg2+. These ions enter a
water supply by leaching from minerals
within an aquifer.

Disadvantages of Hard Water:
1. It is very difficult to wash clothes with
hard water as it requires more soap and
leaves a messy scum that cannot be washed
out easily.
2. When hard water is boiled at home or in
industries, it leaves deposits of calcium and
magnesium salts in kettles, hot-water pipes,
boilers and radiators. These deposits reduce
the efficiency of boilers, kettles and pipes
and can cause blockages and even bursting
of the boilers.

(a) By the use of soda:
Soda removes both temporary and permanent hardness. It is also inexpensive and
easy to use. This makes it the ideal substance for softening water in the home.
(b) Other softening agents in the home:
It is difficult for the housewife to be very precise in the use of soda and the water
softened by soda may often contain an excess of it, which even if it is slight, may
damage certain fabrics. Hence, other softening agents could be used. They are:
•Soap
• Caustic soda
• Solution of Ammonia
•Borax

(c) Removal of Permanent Hardness by the Base-Exchange
Process:
Base exchange process' is a chemical method by which, softening of
permanent hardness in water can be done on a large scale or for
household purposes. It is the most popular and effective means of
softening hard water. It was discovered by Dr. Robert Gans, who found
out the natural minerals called 'Zeolite', which is very effective in
softening water.
The Base-Exchange Process includes the following procedures:
The water passes through specially prepared zeolite- a sodium compound,
called base-exchange compound. it is has the property of being able to
exchange its sodium base for another. When hard water passes through
the zeolite, the hardening compounds of calcium and magnesium are
caught up by the zeolite and become compounds of sodium. Since sodium
salts in water do not precipitate out on heating or form soap curds the
water is called 'soft'.

Carol elsa

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