Water: A Precious Resource

“Jal Hai, To Kal Hai”

 “If you have water, you can think of the future”

Do you know that 22 March is celebrated as the world water day?

We celebrate water day every year to attract the attention of everybody towards the importance of conserving water. The amount of water recommended by the United Nations for drinking, washing, cooking and maintaining proper hygiene is a minimum of 50 litres per person per day. This amount is about two and a half buckets of water per person per day.

Water shortage has become a matter of concern throughout the world. It is estimated that in a few years from now more than one third of the people in the world could face water scarcity.

Notes: Year 2003 was observed as the International Year of Freshwater to make people aware of this dwindling natural resource.

Roughly 0.006% of all water found on the earth is available for our use.

How Much Water is Available ?

About 71% of the earth’s surface is covered with water. Almost all the water on the earth is contained in the seas and oceans, rivers, lakes, ice caps, as groundwater and in the atmosphere.

However, most of this water is not fit for human consumption. The water that is fit for use is freshwater.

Earth Appears Blue From Space.

Forms of Water 

Earth has been maintained for millions of years by various processes which make the water cycle.

When water circulates through the water cycle it can be found in all the three forms, i.e., solid, liquid

and gas—at any given time somewhere on the earth. 

• The solid form, snow and ice, is present as ice caps at the poles of the earth, snow-covered mountains and glaciers. 
• Liquid water is present in oceans, lakes, rivers, and even underground. 
• The gaseous form is the water vapour present in the air around us. 

The continuous cycling of water among its three forms keeps the total amount of water on the earth constant even when the whole world is using it.

Groundwater As An Important Source of water

If we dig a hole in the ground near a water body we may find that the soil is moist. The moisture in the soil indicates the presence of water underground. If we dig deeper and deeper, we would reach a level where all the space between particles of soil and gaps between rocks are filled with water. The upper limit of this layer is called the water table. 

The water table varies from place to place, and it may even change at a given place. The water table may be at a depth of less than a metre or may be several metres below the ground. The water found below the water table is called groundwater.

The rainwater and water from other sources such as rivers and ponds seeps through the soil and fills the empty spaces and cracks deep below the ground. The process of seeping of water into the ground is called infiltration. The groundwater thus gets recharged by this process. 

At places the groundwater is stored between layers of hard rock below the water table. This is known as an aquifer. Water in the aquifers can be usually pumped out with the help of tube wells or hand pumps.

Depletion of Water Table

Water drawn from under the ground gets replenished by seepage of rainwater. The water table does not get affected as long as we draw as much water as is replenished by natural processes. However, water table may go down if the water is not sufficiently replenished. This may happen due to many reasons. 

• Increase in population, industrial and agricultural activities are some common factors affecting water table. 
• Scanty rainfall is another factor that may deplete the water table. 
• Yet another factor affecting water table could be deforestation and decrease in the effective area for seepage of water.

Increasing population

Increasing population creates demand for construction of houses, shops, offices, roads and pavements. This decreases the open areas like parks, and playgrounds. This, in turn, decreases the seepage of rainwater into the ground.

On the one hand we are consuming more groundwater, and on the other we are allowing lesser water

to seep into the ground. This results in depletion of water table.

Increasing industries

Water is used by all the industries. Almost everything that we use needs water somewhere in its production process. The number of industries is increasing continuously. Water used by most of the industries is drawn from the ground.

Agricultural activities

A majority of farmers in India depend upon rains for irrigating their crops. Irrigation systems such as canals are there only in a few places. Even these systems may suffer from lack of water due to erratic rainfall. Therefore, farmers have to use groundwater for irrigation. Population pressure on agriculture

forces increasing use of groundwater day by day. This results in depletion of water table. 

Distribution of Water

The distribution of water over the globe is quite uneven due to a number of factors. Some places have good amount of rain and are water-rich. On the other hand, there are deserts which have scanty rainfall. India is a vast country and the rainfall is not the same everywhere. 

Some regions have excessive rains while some others have very little rainfall. Excessive rains cause floods, whereas the absence of rains results in droughts. Therefore, some regions in our country may have floods while others may suffer from droughts at the same time.

Water Management

In many places a regular supply of water is provided by a well-planned pipe system. When the civic authorities supply water through pipes not all of it may reach the destination. You might have seen water supply pipes leaking and a lot of water gushing out of the pipes. It is the responsibility of the civic authorities to prevent such wastage of precious water.

Mismanagement or wastage may take place at the level of individuals also. All of us, knowingly or unknowingly, waste water while brushing teeth, shaving, bathing, washing and during many other activities. Leaking taps is another source of huge water wastage.

We waste water as though we do not need water the next time! We have seen that most of the water that we get as rainfall just flows away. This is a waste of precious natural resource. The rainwater can be used to recharge the groundwater. This is referred to as water harvesting or rainwater harvesting.

We have at many places in India an age old practice of water storage and water recharge like the bawris. Bawri was the traditional way of collecting water. With time the bawris fell into disuse and garbage started piling in these reservoirs. 

However, because of the acute water shortage, people in these areas have had to rethink. The bawris are being revived. Today the situation is that inspite of scanty rains these places are managing their water needs well. 

A farmer using water in the field can also use water economically. Maybe you have heard of drip irrigation. Drip irrigation is a technique of watering plants by making use of narrow tubing's which deliver water directly at the base of the plant.


A Case Study:

Bhujpur in the Kutch area of Gujarat has a very erratic rainfall. The only source of freshwater lies underground because rivers in this area do not have water throughout the year. Over the years, demand for water has grown. The withdrawal of groundwater has far exceeded recharge. As a result the water table has gone down alarmingly.

In 1989, the villagers along with a non-governmental organisation, decided to harvest rainwater. Eighteen check-dams were built on the Rukmavati river and its many tributaries. The water so collected increased percolation through the soil and recharged the aquifers.

According to farmers, the wells have water now and the water that flowed into the sea and was wasted has become available for irrigation.

Effect of Water Scarcity on Plants:

Just imagine the consequences if water is not available to plants!

The green character of the planet shall be lost. This may mean the end of all life, for a world without plants shall mean no food, no oxygen, not enough rain, and innumerable other problems.

A Successful Initiatives:

Rajasthan is a hot and dry place. The challenge of natural scarcity of water was met by a successful experiment. A band of social workers has transformed a dry area in the Alwar district into a green place. They have revived five dried-up rivers — Arveri, Ruparel, Sarsa, Bhagani and Jahazwali by constructing water harvesting structures.