SOURCES OF WATER:

To make a water supply scheme successful, it is also necessary to have adequate sources of water supply.
In fact, two aspects of water supply scheme i.e. Demand and availability of water, should balance each
other. If the supply is more than the demand, it is the best combination but if available supply of water is
able to meet demand of water. New water supply sources will have to be found out to balance the demand
and supply.

An important source of water is rainfall. As time is passing, it has become necessary to find other sources
of water. The scientists have started experiments to find out feasibilities of converting ocean water and
sewage effluent to potable water.

The total surface of earth covered by the seas is about 71% and land occupies the remaining 29 % of earth
surface. If need arises in future, polar glaciers may be attacked to secure water. It is estimated that polar
glaciers contain about 24 x 103 km3 volume of water and with the help of nuclear power stations, there is
possibility of making me of this vast volume of water for future generations.

RAINFALL AND RUNOFF:

The rainfall on an area is expressed as millimeters over the entire area for a certain fixed interval of time,
i.e., day, month, season or year. Thus, the quantity of water obtained from rainfall during a certain interval
of time can be easily worked out by the multiplication of the area and depth of rainfall.

But all the water coming dawn from the rainfall is not available for further use. Some quantity of it is lost
either in evaporation or percolation or transpiration. Evaporation is the loss of water from land and water
surfaces back to the atmosphere due to action of heat of the sun. Percolation indicates the loss of water
penetrated into the soil and it may join some underground source of water. transpiration is the loss of
water caused by the leaves of the growing vegetation. The net quantity of rain water which remains on
surface after all these losses is termed as surface runoff This surface runoff is seen in the form of various
stream which ultimately join and form a river.

The surface runoff is harmful because of the following reasons;

(1) Economic: If surface runoff is to be used economically. it requires costly reservoirs or land
improvement schemes.

(2) Erosion: It take: away top soil and the soil erosion to surface runoff causes serious economic losses.

(3) Loss of water: it takes away the water which might have been used for agricultural purposes.

TYPES OF SOURCES:
Sources from which water can be obtained can be classified in two groups which are;

1. Surface sources.
2. Underground sources.
SURFACE SOURCES:

In this type of source, the surface runoff is available for water supply schemes. Usual forms of surface
sources are as follows;
i. Lakes and streams
ii. Rivers
iii. Storage reservoirs

i. LAKES AND STREAMS:

A natural lake represents a large body of water within land. Hence it may be used as a water supply
scheme for nearby locality. The quantity of runoff going to lake should be adequately determined and it
should be seen that it is at least equal to the expected demand of the locality. Streams are formed by
surface runoff. The flow of water is streams is sufficient in rainy season but becomes less in hot season
and may even become dry.

Lakes and streams cannot be considered as main water supply scheme for large cities but can be adopted
as source of water supply for small towns and hilly areas.

ii. RIVERS:

Rivers constitute as the principle source of water supply for many cities. The rivers may be perennial or
non-perennial. Perennial rivers are snow fed and has water flowing all year. Non perennial rivers dry up
partially in summer and are flooded with water in monsoon season. The excess water in non-perennial
rivers is stored by constructing dams which can be helpful in the time when there is shortage of water.
Water coming from rivers can also be used for irrigation and navigation purposes.

In order to ascertain the quantity of water available, the discharge at various periods of the year is
recorded. That along with the previous observations help in estimating the available quantity of water in
a certain period.

iii. STORAGE RESERVOIRS:

An artificial lake formed by the construction of dam across the valley is termed as storage reservoir. It
consists of the following three parts;

1. A dam to hold water;

2. A spillway to allow excess water to flow;
3. A gate chamber having necessary valves to control flow of water.

This can also be the chief source of water supply for big cities. The multipurpose reservoirs can also make
provisions for other uses such as irrigation and power generation. The features considered are;

 Selection of site.
 Storage capacity.
 Height of dam.
 Type of dam.
UNDERGROUND SOURCES:

In this type of source, the water percolated in the ground is brought back through various means.
Following terms are important to know with relation to underground water sources.

a. Aquifers: the surface of earth contains alternate layers of pervious and impervious strata. The
pervious layer (through which water can pass) is called aquifer. If the aquifer consists sand and
gravel, it provides good quality of drinking water.
b. Movement of ground water: the underground water moves due to actions of gravity and
molecular attraction of surface tension. The velocity of flow depends on slope of ground water
surface, hydraulic properties of soil and temperature of water.
c. Porosity: It is defined as the ratio of volume of voids in soil to its total volume. The percentage of
porosity of certain soils shows its ability to allow flow of water.
d. Quality of water: underground waters are generally free from impurities because of the multiple
layers of sand filters but it may contain small quantity of bacteria. It can also absorb salts from
ground during percolation. The type of ground generally contributes to the quality of water in it.
e. Water table: the upper surface of free water in top soil is called ground water table. The level of
water table is variable. It rises with higher percolation in monsoon and falls down in dry season.

FORMS OF UNDERGROUND SOURCES:

Following are the forms in which underground sources are found:

i. Infiltration galleries
ii. Infiltration wells
iii. Springs
iv. Wells

i. INFILTRATION GALLERIES:

Infiltration gallery is a horizontal or nearly horizontal tunnel which is constructed through water bearing
strata. It is also called horizontal well. The gallery is constructed with brick walls with slab roof. It obtains
its water from water bearing strata by various porous drain pipes. These pipes are covered with gravel,
pebbles to restrict entry of fine material into pipe. The gallery is laid at slope and the water collected is
led to sump where it is treated and then pumped and supplied to consumers.

Infiltration galleries are useful when there is sufficient water available in ground in shallow depths. The
galleries are usually constructed at a depth of 5 to 10 meters from the ground level.

ii. INFILTRATION WELLS:

In order to obtain large quantities of water, infiltration wells are sunk in series in river banks. The wells
are closed at top and open at bottom. These are constructed of brick masonry with open joints. The water
infiltrates through the bottom of the well where it passes through sand bed and gets purified.

The infiltration wells are connected by porous pipes to a collecting sump where it is pumped to purification
plant.

iii. SPRINGS:

When ground water appears at the surface for any reason, springs are formed. They serve as a water
supply source for small towns. Some springs discharge hot water due to chemicals in their composition.
The hot springs can’t be used for domestic water supply.

A good spring proves to be a good source of water but it is difficult to find a good spring for water supply
purpose. When a spring is to be developed as a source of water supply, the following factors should be
examined;

 It should be cheaper and easier to get water from.

 The flow of water should be adequate and spring should be protected from pollutants.
 The spring should be located to have natural gravity flow.

Following are the types of springs;

a. Artesian springs: the artesian springs are formed due to presence of cracks in the impervious
layers which are continued up to the ground. The water comes to the surface under pressure.
b. Gravity springs: this type of spring develops due to overflowing of water table. The flow from a
gravity spring is variable with rise and fall of water table.
c. Surface springs: this type of spring is formed when subsoil water is exposed to the ground surface
by the obstruction of an impervious layer.
iv. WELLS:

A well is an artificial hole or pit made in the ground for the purpose of tapping water. The factors which
form the basis of theory of wells are as follows:

 Geological conditions of earth’s surface,

 Porosity of various layers, and
 Quantity of water stored in different layers.

The geological conditions of earth’s surface indicate the slope of water bearing strata. If the slope of the
well is towards the well, the well will have sufficient quantity of water even in hot seasons.
The porosity of aquifers play role in determining the quantity of water in the well. If the porosity of
aquifers is more, the well will easily collect more quantity of water in less time. Also if the aquifers are
capable of storing more water, the well will get more quantity of water.

Following are the general types of wells;

a. Shallow wells
b. Deep wells
c. Tube wells
d. Artesian wells.