Water Resources
› Water resources Water resources are sources of water that are useful or potentially useful.
› Uses of water include agricultural, industrial, household, recreational and environmental activities.
› The existence of life is possible on earth due to the presence of water.
› Nearly three-fourths (75%) of the earth's surface is covered with water.
› Around two-thirds of the human body is made up of water – that is how important it is for us.
› 97% of the water on the Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; slightly over two-thirds of this is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps.
› The remaining unfrozen freshwater is found mainly as groundwater, with only a small fraction present above ground or in the air.
› Fresh water is a renewable resource.
Major Sources of Water
› The four sources of fresh water are atmospheric water (rainwater), groundwater, ice water (water trapped in glaciers, ice caps, etc.), and bodies of water such as lakes, streams, rivers, and natural springs.
› Dams, wells, tube wells, hand-pumps, canals, etc, are man-made sources of water.
The sources of fresh water include Surface Water, Under River Flow, Ground Water, Frozen water and Desalination.
Sources of Water
Rain Water
Rainwater falls naturally over all of our planet, except in the very harshest and driest deserts.
Rainwater in rural areas is usually safe to drink, though in the cities rainwater can be contaminated by the pollutants found in vehicle and factory fumes rendering it highly acidic.
Nevertheless, rainwater is an abundant source of water for watering plants and crops.
Rain water collects on the earth in the form of surface water and underground water.
Surface water
› Surface water is water in a river, lake or freshwater wetland.
› Surface water is naturally replenished by precipitation and naturally lost through discharge to the oceans, evaporation, evapotranspiration and groundwater recharge.
Groundwater
Groundwater is fresh water located in the subsurface pore space of soil and rocks.
It is also water that is flowing within aquifers below the water table.
Sometimes it is useful to make a distinction between groundwater that is closely associated with surface water and deep groundwater in an aquifer (sometimes called "fossil water").
Frozen water
› Several schemes have been proposed to make use of icebergs as a water source, however to date this has only been done for research purposes.
› Glacier runoff is considered to be surface water.
Desalination
› Desalination is an artificial process by which saline water (generally sea water) is converted to fresh water.
› The most common desalination processes are distillation and reverse osmosis.
› Desalination is currently expensive compared to most alternative sources of water, and only a very small fraction of total human use is satisfied by desalination.
› It is only economically practical for high-valued uses (such as household and industrial uses) in arid areas.
› The most extensive use is in the Persian Gulf.
Frequently asked on Sources of water
What are the five sources of water?
· Here are six sources of drinkable water:
· Natural springs. In the olden days, one could just drink from a spring. ...
· Lakes and rivers. These days, these are quite polluted. ...
· The ocean. Salt ocean water can be made drinkable through desalinization.
· Streams, filtered or chemically decontaminated. ...
· Wells.
· Rainwater.
What is the main natural source of water?
There are a total of three natural sources of water. They are categorized as: rainwater, underground water and surface water. Here is a look at each and what supplies these sources. Rainwater includes other sources such as snow and additional types of precipitation.
Which is the purest water?
Rainwater is the purest natural water of all. But even rain must fall through a polluted atmosphere and then becomes considerably more polluted as it lands on the ground below. In this process, the rainwater mixes with everything imaginable; pollutants, toxins, carcinogens, poisons and other contaminants.
See also:
- Types of Deserts
- Layers of Atmosphere
- Layers of Earth: Structure of Earth
- Types of Clouds
- Oceans and Seas Around the World
- Ocean Currents
- Mountain Ranges and Peak Points Around the World
- Highest and Lowest Points of Each Continent in World
- Grasslands in World
- International Boundaries Between Countries
- Famous Straits Around the World
- Industrial Centers in The World
- Types of Soils in India
- Types of Rocks
- Hydroponics Gardening
- Seasons and Climate in India
- Natural Vegetation: Forest in India
- Tropical Deciduous Forests
- Insectivorous Plants in World & India
- Mangrove Cover in India
- Coral Reefs in India
- Biosphere Reserves in India
- National Parks and Sanctuaries in India
- Tiger Reserves in India
- Coral Reefs in India
- IUCN Red List
- Important Hill Stations in India
- Mountain Passes in India
- Drainage System of India
- Lakes in India
- List of Nuclear Power Plants in India
- List of Thermal Power Plant in India
- Dams and Hydro Power Plants in India
