The document discusses the importance of water resources for various uses including agriculture, industry, and domestic purposes, highlighting both surface and groundwater. It addresses issues like overutilization, pollution, and conflicts over water resources due to increasing demand and unequal distribution. The document also explores management strategies, including local management practices and the construction of dams, which while beneficial, also present significant environmental and social challenges.

1. BY
KARTHIKEYAN.M
II ECE @ KAMARAJ COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
AND TECHNOLOGY

2. DEFINITION:
Water resources are natural resources of
waterthat are potentially useful. Uses of water
include agricultural, industrial, household,
recreational and environmental activities. All
living things require water to grow and reproduce

4. FRESH WATER RESOURCES
Surface water Under ground water
Standing Water bodies Flowing water bodies
lakes Reservoirs Estuaries Streams Rivers

5. GROUND WATER refers to any source
of water that lies beneath the soil
layer. Ground water can exist in the
soil itself or between rocks and other
materials. Most communities obtain
their water from underground
aquifers, or rock formations capable
of holding large amounts of
freshwater. Only 3 percent of the
water on earth is considered
freshwater, with a mere 30 percent of
that small amount being found as
groundwater. Pollution, seawater
contamination and overuse threaten
this valuable resource.

6. SURFACE WATER:
Sources of surface water can include any above-
ground collection of water such as rivers, lakes, ponds
and oceans. Some sources of surface water are also
fed by underground aquifers. Surface water accounts
for 80 percent of the water humans use.

7. Types of Aquifers
 Unconfined Aquifers:
An unconfined aquifer is formed when water collects over a less
permeable rock or compact clay.They are recharged by water
percolating down from the above surface through permeable
material.

8.  Confined aquifer:
A confined aquifer is formed when water collects over a
impermeable rock.It is sandwiched between two layers
of impermeable rock.They are recharged only in those
areas where the aquifer intersects the land surface.

10. Uses:
Consumptive use:
 Here water is completely utilized and it is reused.
Example:
 In domestic application,industry and irrigation.
Non consumptive use:
 Here water is not completely utilized and it is reused.
Example:
 Hydro power plant

11. Other important uses of water:
1.Water is mainly used for domestic purposes like drinking, cooking,
bathing and washing etc.
2. Water is also used for commercial purposes like hotels, theatres,
educational institutions, offices, etc.
3. Another important use of water is for irrigation, like agriculture .
Almost 60-70 % of the fresh water is used for irrigation.
4.20-30 % of the total fresh water is used for so many industrial
operations like refineries, iron and steel, paper and pulp industries.
5. Water is very essential for the sustainance of all the living organisms.
6. Water also plays a key role in sculpting the earth's surface,
moderating climate and diluting pollutants.

13. Over utilization of water:
• The rapid increase in population and industrial
growth have increased the demand for water
resources.Due to increase of ground water usage,the
annual extraction of ground water is in the far excess
than the natural recharge

14. Effects on over utilization of water:
i. Decrease of ground water
ii. Ground subsidence
iii. Lowering of water table
iv. Intrusion of salt water
v. Earthquake and landslides
vi. Drying up of wells
vii. Pollution of water

15. Remedial measures:
I. Use less water for luxury purpose.
2. We should reduce our use of chemicals and dispose
of them properly
3. More comprehensive research and additional funding
can help with ground water depletion.
4. Find alternative sources of water.
5. The pumping of ground water should be regulated.

16. Floods:
• a flood is an overflow of water,
whenever the magnitude of flow
of water exceeds the carrying
capacity of the channel within its
banks.

17. Drought:
• Drought is nothing but scarcity
of water, which occur
due to inadequate rainfall, late
arrival of rains and excessive
withdrawal of ground water

18. Conflicts of water:
• Water is so essential for our existence and is fast
becoming a scarce resource. Freshwater is
considered to be the most issue environmental issue
of this century. Nearly 1.2 billion people do not have
access to safe drinking water .
• Thus due to increase in population and decrease in
water resources, conflicts over water starts.

19. Causes of water conflicts:
1. Conflict through use
2. Construction of dams or power stations
3. Conflict through pollution

20. Conflict through use:
• Unequal distribution of water has often led to inter-state or
international disputes.
• Examples
(a) International conflicts
(i) India and Pakistan fight over the rights to water from the Indus
(ii) Mexico and USA have come in conflict over the Colorado river.
(iii) Iran and Iraq contest for the water from Shatt-al-Arab water
(iv) India and Bangladesh are fighting for Brahmaputra river.
(b) National conflicts
• Sharing of Cauvery water between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
• Sharing of Krishna water between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh
• Sharing of Siruveni water between Tamilnadu and Kersla

21. Construction of dams or power stations:
• For hydroelectric power generation, dams are built
across the rivers, which initiates conflict between the
states

22. Conflict through pollution:
• Besides theproduction of electricity and
shipping,rivers and lakes are also used for industrial
purpose. Not only they act as reservoirs for the
supply of fresh water but also as a means of
disposing of waste water and industrial rubbish. With
the increasing decline in the quality of the water
crossing borders, the problem of cleaning the water
takes on an international dimension (conflict).

23. Management of conflicts over water:
• Efforts are mainly concentrated to enact laws to check
these practices to control water pollution.
• The conflicts over sharing of river water in the country
has been studied by many organizations and several
solutions are suggested. The interlinking of rivers has
been one such solution.
• Demand for Nationalisation of water (rivers) needs
serious consideration. Therefore power must be given to
National Water Authority and River Basin Authority for
equitable distribution of basin water.

24. Local managers:
• In India, even today, there are several villages where
water management is done by the local managers
and not irrigation department.

25. Types of local managers:
1.Neerkatti:
• In South India, a neerkatti manages the traditional
tanks very efficiently. They give preference to the
• tail end fields and decide percapita allocation of
water based on the stock of available water in the
tank and irrigation needs

26. 2.Havaldars:
• In Maharashtra, a havaldar manages and resolve
conflicts by overseeing the water channels from main
canal to the distributory canals.

27. 3.Churpun:
• In Ladakh, a churpun is empowered over allocation
of available water

28. Case study:
• Conflicts on Indian river:
• According to a United Nations (UN) report, fresh water is
gradually becoming a matter of serious concern. Nearly one
billion people worldwide still lack adequate supply of clean
drinking water and nearly two billion people do not get water
for proper sanitation.
• According to Central Control Board, 90% of the water supplied
in India to the towns and cities is polluted, out of which only
1.6% gets treated. According to the Ministry of Environment
and Forests (MEF), most of the rivers in India are polluted
mainly because of direct inflow of untreated sewage.

29. The cauvery water dispute:
• The Cauvery river water is an important
conflict between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Tamilnadu, occupying the downstream region
of the river, wants water-use regulated in the
upstream. But, the upstream state Karnataka
refuses to do so. The river water is almost
fully utilized and both the states have
increasing demands for agriculture and
industry. The consumption of water is more in
Tamilnadu than Karnataka the catchment area
is more rocky.
• The Cauvery water Dispute Tribunal was set
up on 2 June 1990, which directed Karnataka
to ensure that 205 TMO of water was made
available in Mettur dam every year.
• The above problem may be reduced by
proper selection of crop varieties, optimum
use of water, better rationing, sharing
patterns.

30. Dams:

31. • Dams are built across the river inorder to store
waterfor irrigation, hydroelectric power generation
and flood control.
• Most of the dams are built to serve for more than
one purposecalled "multi purpose dams" These dams
are called as theTemples of modern India by the
country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

32. Benefits of constructing dams:
• Dams are built to control flood and store flood water
• Sometimes dams are used for diverting part or all of the
water from river into a channel.
• Dams are used mainly for drinking and agricultural
purposes.
• Dams are built for generating electricity.
• Dams are used for recreational purpose
• Navigation and fishery can be developed in the dam
areas

33. Problems of constructing dams:
• Upstream problems:
• Displacement of tribal people.
• Loss of non-forest land
• Loss of forests, flora and fauna
• Landslips, sedimentation and siltation occurs
• Stagnation and waterlogging around reservoir retards plant growth.
• Breeding of vectors and spread of vector-borne diseases.
• Reservoir induced seismicity (RIS) causes earthquakes
• Navigation and aquaculture activities can be developed in the dam
area.

34. Down stream problems:
• Water logging and salinity due to over irrigation.
• Reduced water flow and silt deposition in rivers
• Salt water intrusion at river mouth
• Since the sediments carrying nutrients get deposited in
the reservoir, the fertility of the land along the river gets
reduced.
• Sometimes, due to structural defects the dam may
collapse suddenly and destroy many organisms.
• Salt water intrusion at river mouth.