Water Resources Class 10 Notes | Geography Chapter 3 Class 10 Notes

Water Resources Class 10 Notes | Geography Chapter 3 Class 10 Notes. On this page, you can view notes for Water Resources Class 10 Notes | Geography Chapter 3 Notes Class 10.

Water Resources Class 10 Notes

Water

Three - fourth of the Earth's surface is covered with water but Only a small proportion of it accounts for freshwater that can be put to use water is a renewable resource.

Water scarcity and the Need for Water conservation and Management

• The availability of water resources varies over space and time.

•  Water scarcity is caused by over-exploitation, 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 still 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, Continuation of Our livelihoods, and productive activities.

• To prevent the degradation of our natural Ecosystems.

Multipurpose River projects and integrated water Resources Management

In ancient times, we used to conserve water by constructing sophisticated hydraulic structures like dams built of stone rubble, and reservoirs or taking embankments and canals for irrigation.

We have continued this tradition in modern India by building dams in most of our river basins.

Dams

Dams are a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs on retards the flow, often creating a reservoir or lake on impoundment " Dam" refers to the reservoir rather than the structure.

Uses of Dams

To impound rivers and rainwater that can be used later to irrigate agricultural fields

For electricity generation, water supply for Domestic and industrial uses, Flood Control, and fish breeding.

Side effects of creating dams

• Regulating and damming rivers affect their natural flow.

• Poorer the habitats for the river's aquatic life.

• Fragment river makes the migration of Aquatic fauna difficult.

• Dams Created on the floodplains submerge the Existing vegetation and soil leading to its decomposition over a period of time.

• Creating large dams has been the cause of many new Environmental movements like the ' Narmada Bachao Andolan ' and the Tehri Dam Andolan etc.

• Many times local people had to give up their land, livelihood, and control over resources for the construction of the dam.

Most of the objections to the project arise due to their failure to achieve the purpose for which they were built most of the dams were constructed to control floods but it these dams have triggered floods dams have also caused extensive soil erosion excessive use of water has resulted in earthquake water-borne diseases and pollution.

Major dams and rivers of India

Rainwater harvesting

Rainwater harvesting is a simple method by which rainfall is collected for future usage.

The collected rainwater may be stoned and Utilised in different ways OR directly used for recharge purposes.

Different methods have been adopted in different areas for rainwater harvesting

1. In Hilly areas, people have built diversion channels like the guts on Huts of the western Himalayas for agriculture and to Harvest Rainwater
2.  "Rooftop rainwater harvesting" is commonly practiced to stone drinking water, particularly in Rajasthan
3. In the flood plains of Bengal, people develop Rainwater channels to irrigate their fields
4. In semi-arid regions, agricultural fields were converted into rain-fed storage structures that allowed the water to stand and moisten the soil such as Khadim in Jaisalmer and Johads in other parts of Rajasthan
5. The tanks are part of the well-developed rooftop rainwater harvesting system and are built inside the main house This is mainly practiced in Rajasthan particularly in Bikaner Phalodi and Barmen areas for saving rainwater.

Tamil Nadu is the first state in India that has made a rooftop rainwater harvesting structure compulsory for all houses across the state there are legal provisions to punish the defaulters.