NCERT Book Class 10 Social Science (Geography) Chapter 3 Water Resources

You already know that three-fourth of the WATER SCARCITY AND THE NEED FOR WATER
earth’s surface is covered with water, but only CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT
a small proportion of it accounts for
freshwater that can be put to use. This Given the abundance and renewability of
freshwater is mainly obtained from surface water, it is difficult to imagine that we may
run off and ground water that is continually suffer from water scarcity. The moment we
being renewed and recharged through the speak of water shortages, we immediately
hydrological cycle. All water moves within the associate it with regions having low rainfall
hydrological cycle ensuring that water is a or those that are drought prone. We
renewable resource. instantaneously visualise the deserts of
You might wonder that if three-fourth of Rajasthan and women balancing many
the world is covered with water and water is ‘matkas’ (earthen pots) used for collecting
a renewable resource, then how is it that and storing water and travelling long
countries and regions around the globe suffer distances to get water. True, the availability
from water scarcity? Why is it predicted that of water resources varies over space and time,
by 2025, nearly two billion people will live in mainly due to the variations in seasonal and
absolute water scarcity? annual precipitation, but water scarcity in