Water-A Precious Resource Notes

• A dam is basically an artificial wall built across a river, and water is allowed to collect behind this wall in a reservoir.
• A system of artificial canals channelizes water from the reservoir to the region downstream for irrigation.

Dam

• Scarcity of water is defined as a situation where there is insufficient water to satisfy normal requirements.
• Though water is a renewable resource, we humans are using it at a faster rate than it is being replenished.

Scenario during drought

In India some causes of water scarcity are:

• Uncontrolled use of bore-well technology for extracting groundwater:
• Farmers have overexploited groundwater resource in our country due to uncertain monsoons and an unreliable state water supply.

Pollution of freshwater resources:

• This is due to the flow of untreated sewage from homes, toxic chemicals from industries, and of pesticides and insecticides used by farmers into water bodies.

No effective measures for water conservation:

• Very little has been done for groundwater recharge and for care of freshwater ecosystems.