{"slug":"cbse-class-10-social-science-water-resources","title":"Water Resources","description":"Causes of water scarcity, multi-purpose river projects and their costs, and traditional and modern rainwater harvesting.","board":"CBSE","grade":"Class 10","subject":"Social Science","chapter":"Water Resources","url":"https://www.flipnlearn.app/deck/cbse-class-10-social-science-water-resources","studyUrl":"https://www.flipnlearn.app/deck/cbse-class-10-social-science-water-resources/study","cards":[{"id":"why-water-is-a-renewable-resource","kind":"concept-question","front":"Why is freshwater considered a renewable resource?","back":"Freshwater comes mainly from surface run-off and groundwater, and the hydrological cycle keeps renewing and recharging both. Because all water keeps moving through this cycle, the supply is continually replenished."},{"id":"main-causes-of-water-scarcity","kind":"concept-question","front":"If water is abundant and renewable, why do so many regions face water scarcity?","back":"In most cases scarcity comes from over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access among social groups, not simply low rainfall. A large and growing population needs more water for homes and for growing food, and irrigated dry-season farming, the biggest consumer of water, over-exploits supplies."},{"id":"overuse-of-groundwater-and-food-security","kind":"concept-question","front":"How does farmers' heavy use of wells and tube-wells threaten food security?","back":"Pumping groundwater from private wells and tube-wells to raise output lowers the water table. Falling groundwater levels reduce the water available for future irrigation and drinking, which in turn threatens people's food security."},{"id":"industrialisation-and-urbanisation-impact-on-water","kind":"concept-question","front":"How have industrialisation and urbanisation increased pressure on freshwater?","back":"Industries are heavy users of water and also need power, much of it hydroelectric. Growing cities with dense populations and urban lifestyles add to water and energy demand, and many housing societies pump their own groundwater, over-exploiting and depleting urban supplies."},{"id":"water-scarcity-due-to-poor-quality","kind":"concept-question","front":"How can a region face water scarcity even when enough water is available?","back":"The water may be of bad quality. Domestic and industrial waste, chemicals, pesticides and fertilisers can pollute otherwise sufficient water and make it hazardous for human use."},{"id":"jal-jeevan-mission","kind":"term-definition","front":"Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)","back":"A government mission to improve rural quality of life by giving every rural household an assured supply of potable piped water: 55 litres per person per day, regularly and over the long term, through working tap connections."},{"id":"atal-bhujal-yojana","kind":"term-definition","front":"Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal)","back":"A scheme in water-stressed gram panchayats of seven states, including Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka and Rajasthan. Its key aim is to change community behaviour from consuming groundwater to conserving it and managing water smartly."},{"id":"hydraulic-structures-in-ancient-india","kind":"concept-question","front":"Give examples of sophisticated hydraulic structures built in ancient and medieval India.","back":"Sringaverapura near Allahabad channelled Ganga floodwater in the first century BC. Chandragupta Maurya's time saw extensive dams, lakes and irrigation. Bhopal Lake was built in the 11th century, and Allauddin Khilji built the Hauz Khas tank in Delhi (13th-14th century) to supply Siri Fort."},{"id":"dam","kind":"term-definition","front":"Dam","back":"A barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or slows the flow, often creating a reservoir or lake. Most have a spillway or weir over or through which water is meant to flow. Dams are classified by structure and material (timber, embankment, masonry) or by height."},{"id":"multi-purpose-river-project","kind":"term-definition","front":"Multi-purpose river project","back":"A dam project whose stored water serves several integrated uses at once: irrigation, electricity, domestic and industrial supply, flood control, recreation, inland navigation and fish breeding. Bhakra-Nangal, for example, supplies both hydel power and irrigation."},{"id":"why-nehru-called-dams-temples-of-modern-india","kind":"concept-question","front":"Why did Jawaharlal Nehru call dams the 'temples of modern India'?","back":"He believed multi-purpose projects would join the development of agriculture and the village economy with rapid industrialisation and urban growth, helping the nation overcome the handicap of its colonial past."},{"id":"dams-and-their-rivers","kind":"diagram-label","front":"Name the river or river basin for each dam: Bhakra-Nangal, Hirakud and Sardar Sarovar.","back":"Bhakra-Nangal is in the Sutlej-Beas basin, Hirakud is in the Mahanadi basin, and Sardar Sarovar is on the Narmada in Gujarat."},{"id":"ecological-problems-of-large-dams","kind":"concept-question","front":"What ecological problems do large dams and multi-purpose projects create?","back":"They disrupt a river's natural flow, trapping sediment in the reservoir and leaving rockier beds that are poorer habitats for aquatic life. They fragment rivers so fish cannot migrate to spawn, and reservoirs submerge floodplain vegetation and soil, which then decompose."},{"id":"how-dams-cause-floods-and-land-degradation","kind":"concept-question","front":"How have dams built to control floods ended up worsening floods and land degradation?","back":"Sedimentation in reservoirs has triggered floods, and big dams have often failed to hold back excessive rain. Trapped sediment also deprives floodplains of silt, a natural fertiliser, which adds to land degradation, alongside erosion caused by the floods themselves."},{"id":"how-irrigation-changed-cropping-patterns","kind":"concept-question","front":"How has irrigation from multi-purpose projects changed cropping patterns, and with what effect?","back":"With assured water, farmers have shifted to water-intensive and commercial crops. This has serious ecological consequences, such as salinisation of the soil."},{"id":"sardar-sarovar-project","kind":"concept-question","front":"Which states does the Sardar Sarovar project cover, and why is it important?","back":"Built on the Narmada in Gujarat, it covers Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. It brings irrigation to drought-prone and desert areas: about 18.45 lakh hectares in Gujarat, the desert districts of Barmer and Jalore in Rajasthan, and a tribal hill tract in Maharashtra."},{"id":"pradhan-mantri-krishi-sinchayee-yojana","kind":"term-definition","front":"Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)","back":"A programme to give every farm in India access to protective irrigation. It aims to bring more cultivable land under assured irrigation ('har khet ko pani'), use water more efficiently on farms and cut waste ('per drop more crop'), and spread sustainable water conservation practices."},{"id":"krishna-godavari-dispute","kind":"concept-question","front":"What is the Krishna-Godavari water dispute about?","back":"Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh objected to Maharashtra diverting more water at Koyna for a multi-purpose project, because it would reduce the downstream flow in their states and harm their agriculture and industry."},{"id":"traditional-rainwater-harvesting-methods","kind":"concept-question","front":"How did people traditionally harvest water to suit local conditions in different regions?","back":"In the Western Himalayas, 'guls' or 'kuls' diverted water for farming. In Bengal's floodplains, inundation channels irrigated fields. In dry Rajasthan, 'khadins' (Jaisalmer) and 'johads' let rainwater stand in fields to moisten the soil, and rooftop harvesting stored drinking water."},{"id":"how-tankas-worked-in-rajasthan","kind":"concept-question","front":"How did the underground 'tankas' of Rajasthan store drinking water?","back":"Underground tanks were built inside the house or courtyard and connected to the sloping roof by a pipe. The first rain was let go to clean the roof and pipes, then later showers were stored, giving reliable drinking water until the next rains. Rooms beside them stayed cool in summer."},{"id":"why-rooftop-harvesting-declined-in-western-rajasthan","kind":"concept-question","front":"Why is rooftop rainwater harvesting declining in western Rajasthan?","back":"The perennial Indira Gandhi Canal now supplies plenty of water, so fewer households need tankas. Some still keep them because they prefer the taste of rainwater, 'palar pani', to tap water."},{"id":"rooftop-rainwater-harvesting-in-shillong","kind":"concept-question","front":"Why is rooftop rainwater harvesting so common in Shillong, Meghalaya?","back":"Although nearby Cherrapunjee and Mawsynram get the world's highest rainfall, Shillong faces an acute water shortage. Nearly every household has a rooftop harvesting structure, which provides about 15-25 per cent of its water needs."},{"id":"tamil-nadu-rooftop-harvesting-law","kind":"term-definition","front":"First state to make rooftop rainwater harvesting compulsory","back":"Tamil Nadu, which made a rooftop rainwater harvesting structure compulsory for every house in the state and has legal provisions to punish defaulters."},{"id":"bamboo-drip-irrigation-meghalaya","kind":"term-definition","front":"Bamboo drip irrigation system","back":"A roughly 200-year-old method in Meghalaya that carries stream and spring water downhill by gravity through bamboo pipes. About 18-20 litres entering the system is reduced to 20-80 drops per minute delivered near the plant's roots."}]}