DEPLETION OF RESOURCES-WATER

Overview Introduction• Water Depletion: A Silent Killer• Reasons for Depletion of Water• What will we drink without water?• Depletion of water resources more serious than oil reserves Newspaper Article India’s Groundwater Crisis• Falling water table (All-India)• Farmers' response to falling groundwater table Negative Effects of Water Depletion Conservation of Water Resources• Government’s Initiative• Clean Ganga Mission• Yamuna Action Plan• Rainwater Harvesting• Our Initiative to Save Water

Introduction• Humans are depleting the earths

resources at an ever-increasing rate.  • It is estimated that humanities’ eco-

footprint (a measure of consumption) is one and a half times the earth’s ability to sustainably provide the resources to meet that level of consumption.

• That shortfall is being met through the depletion (or degradation) of natural capital things like fresh water, soil, forest land, wetlands and biodiversity.

Water Depletion: A Silent Killer• Depletion of water resources is an

environmental problem which can have serious consequences in the years to come, it is seems to be an unimportant and a thoroughly neglected issue.

• It is important to remember that water is an indispensable part of our life. Our survival depends on water heavily.

• Reckless and inappropriate usage of water shall create an environment in which living beings would no longer exist.

Reasons for Depletion of Water• There has been a tremendous increase

in India’s population and it has now crossed 103 crores. The demand for water resources has exceeded population growth by a factor of two or more over the last hundred years.

• Excess extraction by farmers has led to the dwindling groundwater supplies. This is so because access to groundwater is free and anyone has a right to pump water from their own land. 

• Unrestrained urbanization has contributed in a big way and despite India being one of the richest nations in water supply, the government and citizens have exploited the water reserves.

• In addition to our using more water than is returned in rain, we are also polluting the water we have. Most of the pesticides and fertilizers used in agriculture, sewer overflows, and the oil and grease from roads, eventually run off into the water systems.

What will we drink without water?

• Only 2.5% of the world’s total water volume is fresh water. Of that 2.5%, 70% is frozen.

• The depletion of our water resources is more serious that the current oil depletion. There are substitutes for oil but nothing can replace our drinking water.

Depletion of water resources more serious

than oil reserves

• The food we consume requires 500 times as much water as we need to drink every day.

• 70% of all water pumped from underground or diverted from rivers is used for irrigation, 20% is used by industry and 10% goes to domestic residence.

• The rising temperatures have also compounded the problem and altered the precipitation mix, meaning there is more flooding during the rainy season and less snowmelt from high altitudes to feed rivers during the dry season.

Groundwater is disappearing fast from the world and India is among

the worst hit, shows data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)

satellites.

Article• Among the world's largest

groundwater basins, the Indus Basin aquifer of India and Pakistan, which is a source of fresh water for millions of people, is the second-most overstressed with no natural replenishment to offset usage.

• About a third of the Earth's largest groundwater basins are being rapidly depleted by human consumption

Depleting ground water level may be a real worry if one

looks at the future demand of water in India. 

Article• The Central Ground Water Board

(CGWB) has told the ministry of water resources that around 56% of the wells, showed decline in its level in 2013 as compared to the average of preceding 10 years (2003-12) period.

• Ground water levels in various parts of India are declining as the country could not adequately recharge aquifers in deficit areas where it has been used for irrigation, industries and drinking water needs of the growing population over the years.

The US security establishment is already warning of potential

conflicts – including terror attacks – over water

Article• In seven years, beginning in 2003,

parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers lost 144 cubic kilometres of stored freshwater.

• Already a billion people, or one in seven people on the planet, lack access to safe drinking water.

• Over the last decade, groundwater was pumped out 70% faster than in the 1990s.

India’s Groundwater Crisis

Falling water table (All-India)

Source: Ministry of water resources

Below 10m

10-20m 20-40m 40-60m 60m and above

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1993-942000-01

Farmers' response to falling groundwater table

Source: Ministry of water resources 

1986-87 1993-94 2000-01 2006-070

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Deep tube wellsShallow tube wellsDug wells

Negative Effects of Water Depletion:

• Lowering of the Water Table Excessive pumping can lower the

groundwater table, and cause wells to no longer be able to reach groundwater.

• Increased Costs As the water table lowers, the water

must be pumped farther to reach the surface, using more energy. In extreme cases, using such a well can be cost prohibitive

• Water Quality Concerns Excessive pumping in coastal areas

can cause saltwater to move inland and upward, resulting in saltwater contamination of the water supply.

• Sinking of Land Land sinking occurs when there is a

loss of support below ground. This is most often caused by human activities, mainly from the overuse of groundwater, when the soil collapses, compacts, and drops.

Conservation of Water Resources

Government’s Initiative• The Narendra Modi government

directed the states of India to ensure that 50% of the work taken up by MGNREGA, should be for the improvement of water conservation.

• This includes construction of check dams and de-silting of water bodies.

• Narendra Modi himself asked farmers across the country to adopt modern ways of conserving water.

Clean Ganga Mission• A clean Ganga is deemed as

Narendra Modi’s pet project. Hedecided to represent Varanasi in order to serve ‘Ganga Maa’.

• Prime Minister Modi also placed The Ganga Action Plan under the direct supervision of Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti.

• Modi’s Clean Ganga Plan involves five ministries working in close co-operation to see the dream project through.

Yamuna Action Plan• Yamuna Action Plan (YAP) to clean the

dirtiest river of the country was formally launched in 1993.

• The YAP has so far completed two phases as YAP-I and YAP-II. The YAP-I covered Delhi, eight towns in Uttar Pradesh and six towns in Haryana.

• Under YAP II, emphasis was on the 22-km stretch of Yamuna in Delhi.

• In 2013, the YAP-III was initiated and is supposed to be completed by 2015.

Rainwater Harvesting• Rainwater harvesting is the

accumulation and deposition of rainwater for reuse on-site, rather than allowing it to run off.

• The harvested water can also be used as drinking water, longer-term storage and for other purposes such as groundwater recharge.

• It provides water when there is a drought, can help mitigate flooding of low-lying areas, and reduces demand on wells which may enable ground water levels to be sustained.

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