W ATER R ES O U R C ES

Water is an indispensible natural

resource.
More than 97% of the Earth is covered
with water, but only little over 3% is
fresh water.
Water we use keeps on cycling
endlessly through the environment
which is called Hydrological cycle.

W ater Resources
Solar energy drives the water cycle.
Plants also play a role in this by

absorbing the groundwater from the soil

and releasing it into the atmosphere by
the process of transpiration.
Excess water usage has resulted in
depletion of ground water reserves.
Rising incidents of floods has been due
to rapid industrialization, deforestation
and urbanization.

Iceberg and Polar cap store most of the fresh water

on Earth

Scarcity offresh w ater

On a global basis, fresh water is a

increasingly scarce resource. It is

partially caused by increasing
population coupled by change of
consumption pattern and climate
changes.

Com peting w ater uses (I)

Threats to fresh w ater

resources
Climate change causes change in

frequencies of droughts and floods.

Depletion of aquifers caused by overconsumption as a result of
population growth.
Pollution and contamination by
sewage, agricultural and industrial
runoff.

D istribution ofpopulation and w ater

resources

D esalination ofsea w ater as fresh w ater supply

Desalination of sea water can be

done either via distillation or

membrane process.
Both process requires large amount
of energy and thus costly, which
means desalination remains an
expensive option for providing
reliable fresh water supply, restricted
to only economically well-off
countries.

Although people starting building dams thousands of years ago,

technology for large dams didnt evolve until the 19 th century
Today.
60% of the worlds rivers are dammed
There are ~ 45,000 large dams (>15m high) and over 1500 under
construction
There are ~ 800,000 smaller dams
Volume: 10,000 km3 (5x vol of all river water)

Advantages ofD AM
Regulate water flow and Flood Control
Drought Control
Time for endangered species to be

moved
To another suitable location.
Irrigation
Navigation Improvement
Generation of hydro-electric power

Environmental Issues
Dams change the chemical, physical and

biological processes of river ecosystems.

They alter free-flowing systems by
reducing river levels
blocking the flow of nutrients,
changing water temperature and oxygen
levels,
preventing fish and wildlife migration.

CVEN 5838 Aug 26, 2008

D am failures have killed thousands and cost

billions

CVEN 5838 Aug 26, 2008

M ineralResources
Minerals are naturally occurring organic or

inorganic solids with definite chemical

composition and physical properties.
They are used in:
a) Industrial Development
b) Generation of energy
c) Construction
d) Transportation
e) Communication
f) Medicinal
g) Formation of alloys

M ineralResources
Some of the common minerals in India are:
1. Energy generating minerals
a) Coal and lignite
b) Uranium
2. Other commonly used minerals
a) Aluminium
b) Iron
c) Copper
d) Mica
e) Gold and other precious / bullion metals

M ineralResources
Excess mining for minerals has

resulted in:
a) De-vegetation and defacing landscape
b) Groundwater contamination
c) Surface water pollution
d) Air pollution
e) Occupational
health hazards
f) Soil Erosion