Environmental Engineering

-: DEPARTMENT :-
NAME: Biplab Das

Class Roll No:346013230009
Year: 2023-2026
Semester: 4th
Paper Name: Environmental Engineering
Paper Code: CE(PC)402
CA2 Topic: Surface water Sources
 India’s Water Resources
In India, there are four significant surface Water Resources. They are rivers,
lakes, ponds, and tanks. Surface water is any body of water above ground,
including streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, reservoirs, and creeks. The
ocean, despite being saltwater, is also considered surface water.
 In India, there are around 10,360 rivers and their tributaries with a length
of more than 1.6 kilometers.
 The total yearly flow in India’s river basins is estimated to be 1,869 cubic
kilometers. However, only roughly 690 cubics (37%) kilometers of
accessible surface water can be used.
 Water resources in India includes information on precipitation,

surface and groundwater storage and hydropower potential. India
experiences an average precipitation of 1,170 millimetres (46 in)
per year, or about 4,000 cubic kilometres (960 cu mi) of rains
annually or about 1,720 cubic metres (61,000 cu ft) of fresh water per
person every year.
 India accounts for 18% of the world’s population and about 4%
of the world’s water resources.
 One of the solutions to solve the country’s water woes is to
create Indian Rivers Inter-link.
 Some 80 percent of its area experiences rains of 750 millimetres
(30 in) or more a year. However, this rain is not uniform in time
or geography.
 Most of the rains occur during its monsoon seasons (June to
September), with the northeast and north receiving far more
rains than India’s west and south. Other than rains, the melting of
snow over the Himalayas after the winter season feeds the northern
rivers to varying degrees.
 The southern rivers, however, experience more flow variability over
the year. For the Himalayan basin, this leads to flooding in some
months and water scarcity in others.
 Despite extensive river system, safe clean drinking water, as
well as irrigation water supplies for sustainable agriculture, are
in shortage across India, in part because it has, as yet, harnessed
a small fraction of its available and recoverable surface water
resource.
 India harnessed 761 cubic kilometres (183 cu mi) (20 percent) of its
water resources in 2010, part of which came from unsustainable use
of groundwater.
 Of the water it withdrew from its rivers and groundwater wells, India
dedicated about 688 cubic kilometres (165 cu mi) to irrigation, 56
cubic kilometres (13 cu mi) to municipal and drinking water
applications and 17 cubic kilometres (4.1 cu mi) to industry.
Following findings of the report released by the National Sample Survey
Office (NSSO) in August 2014:
 54% of rural woman in India had to travel between 200 metres and
5 kilometres daily to fetch drinking water in 2012.
 They walked 20 minutes a day, on an average, and spend another
15 minutes at the source of water
 Every second woman has to spend 210 hours in a year for
fetching water which means a loss of 27 days’ wages for these
households. Collectively, these women cover 64,000 times the
distance between the earth and the moon.
 Water crisis is imminent in villages because of over harvesting of
ground-water resources. About 80% of the country’s drinking
water needs are met by groundwater.
 75% of the women in states like CJ, MN, OD, JH have to travel long
distances for drinking water.
 India records world’s highest per capita water-borne
diseases even more than some of the least developed nations.
 In most of the large cities about one-third of water never reaches the
consumer because of leaks and poor maintenance. According
to Centre for Science and Environment, over 35% of water in
Delhi and about 30% in Mumbai is lost because of leakage.
 Water Usage
 Irrigation by far is the largest user of India’s water reserve with
hooping usage of 78% of total water reserve, followed by domestic
sector (6%) and industrial sector (5%)(PIB 2013).
 National Commission on Integrated Water Resources
Development (NCIWRD) the irrigation sector alone is going to need
additional 71 bcm by 2025 and 250 bcm of water by 2050 compared
to the demands of 2010 (Press Information Bureau 2013).
 Ground Water is also a major source of drinking water in urban
and rural India. 45% of total irrigation and 80% of domestic water
come from ground water reserve.
 States like DL, PN, HR, UP over exploitation of ground water has
led to water scarcity. States like RJ, GJ arid climate leads to water
stressed condition, while in TN, KA, AP poor aquifer properties are
responsible for water scarcity. Other reasons being increasing
population pressures, industrial growth and unprecedented
pace of urbanization.
 Quality of Surface Water

 The water utilization in India is provided by the surface water
resources.
 Hence, the water quality is critical.
 There are various biological, chemical, and physical tests that
determine the quality of the water.
 Water quality standards examine electrical conductivity, pH,
temperature, phosphorus levels, dissolved oxygen levels, nitrogen
levels, and bacteria levels as indicators.
 Quality Indicators
1. Turbidity
Turbidity is a water quality indicator that measures the amount of suspended
material in a stream. The worse the water quality, the more turbid the water.
2. Concerns About Color/Odour

Water takes on a brownish yellow color due to rotting leaves or algae. Natural
dissolved organics or gases can give a bad taste and smell.
India’s aesthetic quality of water resources is linked to chemical contaminants
such as iron, manganese, copper, zinc, and chloride. Water tainted with
dissolved metals has a harsh taste and can stain clothing and plumbing fittings.
Chlorides in excess provide an unpleasant salty taste in the water.
3. Hardness
Hardness is another criterion for water quality standards. This word refers to
dissolved minerals (mostly calcium and magnesium). Minerals induce scale
build-up in hot water pipes and obstruct soap lather. Humans are unaffected by
hard water.
 Applications of Surface Water Resources

1. The most common surface water applications are drinking water and
other public use, irrigation, and by the thermoelectric power generating
industry.
2. Surface-water resources provided most of the water needed
for thermoelectric generation, public supply, agriculture, mining, and
industry.
3. Surface-water resources provide nearly all of the water consumed in the
United States. The remaining 30% was made up of water derived from
underground sources.
4. In 2021, surface-water resources provided around 71% of the freshwater
utilized in the United States.
5. Groundwater accounted for the remaining 29%. Various purposes,
including irrigation and supplying people with drinking water and
everyday use, utilize surface water as a valuable natural resource.
 How safe is our water

 About 70% of surface water resources in India are polluted.
 The major contributing factor for water pollution are wastewater
from different sources, intensive agriculture, industrial
production, infrastructure development and untreated urban
runoff .
 Everyday 2.9 billion liters of waste water from industrial and
domestic sources are dumped into the river Ganga without treatment.
 According to WHO, Half of India’s morbidity is water related.
 Waste management has not been as efficient as required to manage
increasing volume of waste generated daily in India, especially in
cities. Municipal wastewater treatment capacity developed so far
in India accounts for only 29% waste generated in urban
habitations having population more than 50,000 and the gap is
projected to increase.
 Domestic effluents contribute a substantial proportion of water
pollution in India. More than 70% of domestic untreated effluents
are disposed-off to environment.
 The costs of unsafe water

 2.2 billion people do not have access to clean water at home.
 2.3 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services, such as
toilets or latrines.
 Every day, more than 800 children under five years of age die
from diarrhea caused by dirty water.
 700 million people worldwide could be displaced by intense water
scarcity by 2030.
The dilemma of Water Accessibility in Rural Areas
 More people in rural India have access to phones than to safe

drinking water. It is estimated that only 18 percent of the total rural
population of 833 million have access to treated water. In
comparison, 41 percent of the rural population, or 346 million
people, own mobile phones.(Forbes India, 2015).
 30% of rural Indians lack drinking water supply (World Bank,
UNICEF).
 According to National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), 57% of the
rural women in India have to walk up to 5 km every day to fetch
potable water as compared to just 21% in Urban areas.
 Climate Change and its implications on water
 IPCC AR5 reports that mean annual temperature is increasing all
over Asia and it is projected to increase >2oC till the end of 21st C.
Rising temperature contributes to glacial melts resulting in glacier
retreat and affecting the water availability in Himalayan rivers.
 Almost 67% of the glaciers in the Himalayan mountain ranges has
retreated in the past decade due to warming effects.
 Water Footprint
 When virtual footprints of different products were calculated,
chocolate and leather had highest -24000 and 17000 litres per kg
product. Followed by sheep(10400 lt), cotton(10000 lt), butter(5550
lt), chicken (4330 lt). Fruits and vegetables had least virtual water
footprints.
 Protection of Surface Water Sources

Preventing contamination of source water can reduce the cost of treating
communal drinking water (especially from surface water sources) before it
enters the home and mitigate the hazards to public health. We all live in a
watershed, defined as an area that drains into a shared waterway such as a
stream, lake, wetlands, or the ocean. The Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and many other agencies engage with communities to maintain surface
water resources.

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-: DEPARTMENT :-

NAME: Biplab Das

 Water resources in India includes information on precipitation,

 Quality of Surface Water

2. Concerns About Color/Odour

 Applications of Surface Water Resources

 How safe is our water

 The costs of unsafe water

 More people in rural India have access to phones than to safe

 Protection of Surface Water Sources

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