Water Resources Class 10 Notes – Easy, Clear & Exam-Focused (CBSE 2025)
Water Resources Class 10 Notes
Table
of Contents
- Water
is a renewable resource
- Water
Scarcity and the Need for Water Conservation and Management:
- Atal
Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal)
- Multi-purpose
River Projects and Integrated Water Resources Management:
- Narmada
Bachao Andolan or Save Narmada Movement
- Pradhan
Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)
- Rainwater Harvesting
Water is a renewable resource
Freshwater is mainly obtained from surface runoff and groundwater that
is continually being renewed and rechanged through the hydrological cycle. All
water moves within the hydrological cycle ensuring that water is a renewable
resource.
The availability of water resources varies over space and time, mainly
due to the variations in seasonal and annual precipitation.
Water Scarcity and the Need for Water
Conservation and Management:
Water
Scarcity is the lack of freshwater resources to meet the demands of water
usage within a region.
Main
causes of water scarcity:
- Water
scarcity in most cases is caused by over-exploitation, excessive use, and
unequal access to water among different social groups.
- Water
scarcity may be an outcome of a large and growing population and
consequent greater demands for water and unequal access to it.
- To
facilitate higher food-grain production, water resources are being
over-exploited to expand irrigated areas for dry-season agriculture.
- Intensive
industrialization and urbanization exerted pressure on existing freshwater
resources.
- Even
if water is sufficiently available to meet the needs of the people, much
of it is maybe polluted by domestic and industrial wastes, chemicals,
pesticides, and fertilizers used in agriculture, thus causing water
scarcity.
Jal
Jeevan Mission (JJM)
The Goal of JJM is to enable every rural household to get an assured
supply of potable piped water at a service level of 55 liters per capita per
day regularly on a long-term basis by ensuring the functionality of the tap
water connections.
Need
for Water Conservation
- Sustainable
Resource Management: Conserving water ensures its
availability for future generations and sustains ecosystems.
- Mitigating
Water Scarcity: Many
regions face water scarcity, and conservation helps balance supply and
demand.
- Preserving
Aquatic Ecosystems: Conserved water supports healthy
habitats for aquatic plants and animals.
- Reducing
Energy Consumption: Water treatment and distribution consume
energy, and conserving water lowers energy demands.
- Agricultural
Efficiency: Efficient
irrigation practices save water and optimize agricultural productivity.
- Economic
Benefits: Water
conservation lowers costs for individuals, businesses, and governments.
- Addressing
Climate Change: Reduced
water wastage contributes to climate change mitigation.
- Minimizing
Water Pollution: Conservation
reduces the need for pollutant removal from water sources.
Atal Bhujal Yojana
(Atal Jal)
Implementation:
- Covers
8,220 water-stressed Gram Panchayats.
- Implemented
in seven states: Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.
Coverage:
- The
selected states represent 37% of India's total water-stressed blocks
(over-exploited, critical, and semi-critical).
Key
Focus:
- Aims
to shift community behavior from water consumption to conservation.
- Promotes
smart water management practices.
Multi-purpose River Projects and
Integrated Water Resources Management:
A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs, or
retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake, or impoundment. “Dam”
refers to the reservoir rather than the structure.
Jawaharlal Nehru proclaimed the dams as the ‘Temples of modern India’ because
- They
integrate the development of agriculture and the village economy with
rapid industrialization and growth of the urban economy.
- They
provide water for irrigation.
- They
provide water for electricity generation
- Provide
water supply for domestic and industrial uses.
- Helps
in flood control.
- Provide
recreation
- Helps
in inland navigation.
- Useful
for fish breeding.
Hence, dams are now referred to as multi-purpose projects where
the many uses of the impounded water are integrated with one another.
In
recent years, multi-purpose projects and large dams have come under great
scrutiny and opposition for a variety of reasons
- Regulating
and damming of rivers affect their natural flow causing poor sediment flow
and excessive sedimentation at the bottom of the reservoir, resulting in
rockier stream beds and poorer habitats for the rivers’ aquatic life.
- Dams
also fragment rivers making it difficult for aquatic fauna to migrate,
especially for spawning.
- The
dams have triggered floods due to sedimentation in the reservoir and the
release of excess water during heavy rains.
- Multipurpose
projects induced earthquakes, caused water-borne diseases, and pests, and
lead to pollution resulting from excessive use of water.
- Irrigation
has changed the cropping pattern of many regions with farmers shifting to
water-intensive and commercial crops. This has great ecological
consequences like salinization of the soil.
- The
dams increase the social gap between the richer landowners and the
landless poor.
- The
dams create inter-state water disputes with regard to sharing the costs
and benefits of the multi-purpose project.
Most
of the objections to the projects arose due to their failure to achieve the
purposes for which they were built.
- Ironically,
the dams that were constructed to control floods have triggered floods due
to sedimentation in the reservoir.
- Moreover,
the big dams have mostly been unsuccessful in controlling floods at the
time of excessive rainfall. The floods have not only devastated life and
property but also caused extensive soil erosion.
- Sedimentation
also meant that the flood plains were deprived of silt, a natural
fertilizer, further adding to the problem of land degradation.
- It
was also observed that the multi-purpose projects induced earthquakes,
causing water-borne diseases and pests, and pollution resulting from
excessive use of water.
Narmada Bachao Andolan or Save
Narmada Movement
- It
is a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) that mobilized tribal people,
farmers, environmentalists, and human rights activists against the Sardar
Sarovar Dam being built across the Narmada River in Gujarat.
- It
originally focused on the environmental issues related to trees that would
be submerged under the dam water.
- Recently
it has re-focused the aim to enable poor citizens, especially the oustees
(displaced people) to get full rehabilitation facilities from the
government.
Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchaee Yojana
(PMKSY)
Objectives
of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchaee Yojana (PMKSY):
- Increase
Irrigated Area: Make
sure every field gets water. ("Har Khet Ko Pani")
- Boost
Efficiency: Improve
water use to avoid wastage.
- Promote
Technologies: Use
methods like drip irrigation ("Per Drop More Crop").
- Conservation
Practices: Adopt
sustainable water-saving practices.
Rainwater Harvesting
The
need for rainwater harvesting are:
- Rainwater
harvesting is needed to provide it for agriculture, collect drinking
water, irrigate the fields, and to moisten the soil.
- Rainwater
harvesting is a viable alternative, both socio-economically and
environmentally to multipurpose projects.
Traditional
methods of rainwater harvesting:
- In
hill and mountainous regions, people built diversion channels like the
‘guls’ or ‘kuls’ of the Western Himalayas for agriculture.
- ‘Rooftop
rainwater harvesting’ was commonly practiced to store drinking water,
particularly in Rajasthan.
- In
the flood plains of Bengal, people developed inundation channels to
irrigate their fields.
- In
semi-arid and arid regions, agricultural fields were converted into
rain-fed storage structures that allowed the water to stand and moisten
the soil like the ‘khadins’ in Jaisalmer and ‘Johads’ in other parts of
Rajasthan.
Rooftop
Rainwater Harvesting
Rainwater is commonly referred to as Palar
Pani in the arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan.
- In
the semi-arid and arid regions of Rajasthan, particularly in Bikaner,
Phalodi, and Barmer, almost all the houses traditionally had underground
tanks for storing drinking water.
- The
tanks could be as large as a big room.
- The
tanks were part of the well-developed rooftop rainwater harvesting system.
- They
were connected to the sloping roofs of the houses through a pipe.
- Rain
falling on the rooftops would travel down the pipe and be stored in these
underground tanks.
- The
first spell of rain was usually not collected as this would clean the
roofs and the pipes.
- The
rainwater from the subsequent showers was then collected.
Tamil Nadu is the
first state in India that has made rooftop rainwater harvesting structures
compulsory for all houses across the state.
Importance
of rooftop rainwater harvesting in Rajasthan:
- It
was commonly practiced to store drinking water.
- The
rainwater can be stored in the tanks till the next rainfall, making it an
extremely reliable source of drinking water when all other sources are
dried up, particularly in the summers.
- Rainwater
(Palar Pani) is considered the purest form of natural water.
- Many
houses construct underground rooms adjoining the ‘tanks’ to beat the
summer heat as it would keep the room cool.
- Some
houses still maintain the tanks since they do not like the taste of tap
water.
Bamboo
Drip Irrigation system
It is a 200-year-old system of tapping stream and spring water by using
bamboo pipes and transporting water from higher to lower regions with the help
of gravity.
Features:
- 18-20
liters of water enter the bamboo pipe system, gets transported over
hundreds of meters, and finally reduces to 20-80 drops per minute at the
site of the plant.
- The
flow of water into the pipes is controlled by manipulating the pipe
positions.
- If the pipes pass a road, they are taken high above the land.
Water Resources – NCERT Solutions
🔹 Q1: Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
(i) Which one of the following is not the source of fresh water?
(a) Glaciers
(b) Groundwater
(c) Oceans
(d) Rivers
👉 Answer: (c) Oceans
(ii) Which one of the following is the main cause of water scarcity in India?
(a) Heavy rainfall
(b) River pollution
(c) Over-exploitation and unequal access
(d) Excessive use of water in agriculture
👉 Answer: (c) Over-exploitation and unequal access
(iii) The highest rainfall in the world occurs in:
(a) Mawsynram
(b) Cherrapunji
(c) Kolkata
(d) Mahabaleshwar
👉 Answer: (a) Mawsynram
(iv) Which of the following is a traditional method of water harvesting in Rajasthan?
(a) Karez
(b) Tankas
(c) Johads
(d) None of the above
👉 Answer: (b) Tankas
🔹 Q2: Answer the following questions briefly
(i) Explain how water becomes a renewable resource.
Answer:
Water is continuously circulated through the hydrological cycle – evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. This natural process makes water a renewable resource.
(ii) What is water scarcity and what are its main causes?
Answer:
Water scarcity refers to the shortage of water in comparison to its demand.
Main causes:
-
Overuse in agriculture
-
Unequal access
-
Deforestation
-
Urbanization and industrial use
-
Pollution of water sources
(iii) Compare the advantages and disadvantages of multi-purpose river projects.
Advantages | Disadvantages |
---|---|
- Irrigation facilities | - Displacement of people |
- Hydro power generation | - Ecological disruption |
- Water supply and flood control | - Loss of biodiversity |
- Inland navigation and fisheries | - Submergence of forests and fertile land |
(iv) What is rainwater harvesting? Mention any two traditional methods.
Answer:
Rainwater harvesting is the method of collecting and storing rainwater for future use.
Traditional methods:
-
Tankas in Rajasthan (for storing drinking water)
-
Khadins and Johads (for groundwater recharge)
(v) What are the environmental effects of over-utilisation of water resources?
Answer:
-
Water table depletion
-
Drought and desertification
-
Soil salinization
-
Pollution and drying of rivers/lakes
-
Loss of aquatic life
CBSE PREVIOUS YEAR EXAMINATION QUESTIONS
✅ 1-Mark Questions
-
Which one of the following is not a source of fresh water?
Year: 2011
Answer: Oceans, because they contain saline water. -
Tungabhadra dam is built on which river?
Year: 2020
Answer: Tungabhadra River in Karnataka. -
In which Indian state is the Tehri dam located?
Year: 2018
Answer: Uttarakhand. -
What is bamboo drip irrigation and where is it used?
Year: 2023
Answer: A traditional water conservation technique in Meghalaya that uses bamboo pipes to minimize wastage of water. -
Which state has made rooftop rainwater harvesting compulsory?
Year: 2019
Answer: Tamil Nadu.
✅ 2-Mark Questions
-
Define water scarcity. What are its causes?
Year: 2014
Answer: Water scarcity means a lack of sufficient water to meet the needs. Causes include overuse, pollution, increasing demand, and unequal access. -
Mention any two traditional methods of water harvesting in India.
Year: 2017
Answer: Tankas in Rajasthan and Johads in Haryana/Rajasthan. -
Why is there an urgent need to conserve water resources in India?
Year: 2018
Answer: Due to growing population, overexploitation, uneven distribution of rainfall, and water pollution. -
What is rainwater harvesting? Mention any one benefit.
Year: 2015
Answer: Rainwater harvesting is the collection and storage of rainwater for future use. It recharges groundwater and reduces dependency on other sources. -
State any two features of multipurpose river valley projects.
Year: 2022
Answer: They provide irrigation, generate electricity, control floods, and support inland navigation and fisheries.
✅ 3-Mark Questions
-
Why is the need for water increasing day by day?
Year: 2007
Answer: Due to rapid industrialization, expansion of agriculture, urbanization, and increasing population. -
What are the advantages of rainwater harvesting?
Year: 2011
Answer: It recharges groundwater, reduces runoff and erosion, and is cost-effective for sustainable water management. -
Describe the bamboo drip irrigation system.
Year: 2023
Answer: Used in Meghalaya; involves a system of bamboo pipes that transport water from higher areas to the fields, conserving water effectively. -
How do multipurpose projects and large dams affect the ecology?
Year: 2016
Answer: They cause displacement of people, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and environmental degradation. -
Mention three traditional water conservation systems in India.
Year: 2018
Answer: Khadins (Rajasthan), Tankas (desert areas), and Johads (village ponds).
✅ 5-Mark Questions
-
Explain rooftop rainwater harvesting in semi-arid regions of Rajasthan.
Year: 2012
Answer: In Bikaner and Barmer, homes have underground tankas to collect rainwater from rooftops. This water is used for drinking throughout the year. -
Evaluate the pros and cons of multipurpose river valley projects.
Year: 2019
Answer:
Pros: Irrigation, hydroelectricity, flood control, water supply.
Cons: Displacement, ecological damage, submergence of forests. -
Why does water scarcity occur in India despite receiving high rainfall?
Year: 2016
Answer: Due to overuse, pollution, uneven distribution of rainfall, lack of planning, and wastage. -
How has industrialization and urbanization increased the pressure on water resources?
Year: 2017
Answer: Industries consume huge amounts of water and pollute water bodies. Urban growth increases domestic demand and causes sewage disposal into rivers. -
Describe any five traditional water harvesting systems practiced in India.
Year: 2015
Answer:
-
Karez in Deccan
-
Johads in Rajasthan
-
Tankas in desert regions
-
Khadins in arid zones
-
Baolis in Delhi and Gujarat
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