Water resources

water resources by amulya

1. WATER RESOURCES

2. Introduction Water is an inexhaustible and valuable natural resource. The existence of the plant and animal kingdoms depends on water. So water is called " LIFE “. It is indispensable in our day-to-day life in preparing food, for bathing and drinking etc. Water is also essential for irrigation, generation of hydro-electricity, navigation and industries. While 67% of Earth’s surface is covered by water, only less than 2.7% of global water is freshwater. Most of the freshwater (2.05%) are locked in ice caps and glaciers. Only less than 0.7% is available for human use.

3. Global overview Over two thirds of the earth's surface is covered with water, 97.2% of which is contained in the five oceans. The Antarctic ice sheet, containing 90% of all fresh water on the planet, is visible at the bottom. Atmospheric water vapour can be seen as clouds, contributing to the earth's albedo . Iceberg and Polar cap store most of the fresh water on Earth.

4. Sources Of Fresh Water There are three types of fresh water sources. Surface water. Ground water. Desalination.

5. Surface water Surface water is a water in a river , lake or fresh water wet land. Surface water is naturally replenished by precipitation and naturally lost through discharge to the oceans evaporation.  The main uses of surface water include drinking-water and other public uses, irrigation uses, and for use by the thermoelectric-power industry to cool electricity-generating equipment.

6. Ground Water Ground water is a part of the hydrologic cycle that lies beneath the surface, but is tied to surface supplies. Ground-water, of course, is the largest potential source of supply of fresh water in the hydrologic cycle-larger than all surface lakes and streams combined. Groundwater movement depends on the slope of the water table which, to a certain extent, follows the contours of the land surface.

7. Desalination  This means taking out the salt and any bacteria and pollution. This process is now being used all around the world to provide people with a much needed dependable supply of fresh water. In ancient times, many civilizations used this process on their ships to convert sea water into drinking water.

8. Distribution of water The distribution of water on the Earth’s surface is extremely uneven. Only 3% of water on the surface is fresh. the remaining 97% resides in the oceans. Of freshwater, 69% resides in glaciers, 30% underground, and less than 1% is located in lakes, rivers and swamps. Looked at another way, only one percent of the water on the Earth’s surface is usable by humans, and 99% of the usable quantity is situated underground. 

9. Competing water uses

10. Consumption of water Water consumption is defined as the freshwater taken from ground or surface water sources, either permanently or temporarily, and conveyed to the place of use.   Additionally, 15% of freshwater is used for energy supply, which jeopardizes the availability of water to ensure increased energy security.  Agriculture uses 70% of the world’s accessible freshwater where 60% is wasted due to inefficient farming practices and irrigation management systems. At a world level, it is estimated that water demand rose by more than double that of the rate of population growth in the last century, with agriculture being the largest user of water.

11. Scarcity of water Water scarcity  is the lack of sufficient available  water resources to meet  water  needs within a region.  It affects every continent and around 2.8 billion people around the world at least one month out of every year. Worldwide, just under 900 million people lack reliable access to safe water that is free from disease and industrial waste.  And forty percent do not have access to adequate sanitation facilities. The result is one of the world's greatest public health crises: 4,500 children die every day from waterborne diseases, more than from HIV-AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. One fifth of the world's population lives in areas where water is physically scarce, and a quarter of the population faces shortages due to lack of infrastructure.

12. So please save WATER , save LIFE and EARTH