WATER RESOURCES Fill in the blanks :- 10. 11. 12. . India has three cropping seasons:__, . ___ utilises more than 90per cent of the total freshwater. . ___is the primary source of water according to the hydrological cycle. . The term ___ refers to a geographical area that drains to a common point and makes it ideal for conservation. . The __ of a water harvesting is the surface which receives rainfall directly. . ___ excavated into the groun lined with a brick or stone wall with opening at regular intervals. tiles are on pavements and footpaths. and . The ___ crops occupy the largest area in the country. . Commercial crops like ___ need higher quantity of water wells are man-made. Inclined plane method is also known as is an independent source of irrigation.13. ___ canals are taken out directly from the rivers without constructing any barrage or dam. 14. Tank irrigation is in practice in Peninsular India including___ and___. 15. ___ is the most advanced and efficient method of irrigation. answer key:- 1. irrigation Rain . Watershed . Catchment . Recharge pit Porous . Kharif , rabi and Zaid . Kharid crops 9. Sugarcane 10. Lined 11. mhote 12. Tubewell 13. Inundation 14. Maharashtra and Gujarat 15. Drip irrigation ONOAR WONAnswer the following questions :- 1. What do you mean by irrigation? Ans. The man-made arrangements of supplying water to the fields are known as irrigation. 2. Name one State where tank irrigation is important. Give three disadvantages of tank irrigation. Ans. Tamil Nadu is the state where tank irrigation in important. The disadvantages of tanks: (i) They occupy large areas of land which could be used for cultivation. (ii) There is also a lot of evaporation as these tanks are usually shallow. (i) Construction entails much expenditure. 3. What is meant by Rain Water Harvesting? Ans. It is the term used for capturing the rain water which would normally fall off and get wasted. It is used for the garden, washing clothes, etc. 4. What do you understand by the term 'water resource'?Ans. The term 'water resource' refers to any of the entire range of natural waters that occur on the earth and are of potential use to living beings. 5. Mention any two rainwater harvesting systems practised in India. Ans. Two rainwater harvesting systems practised in India are- 1. Khatri in western Himalayas 2. Johads in central India 6. Why is canal irrigation more popular in Northern india? Ans. (i) The rivers are perennial as they are fed by the melting snows, (ii) The surface of the land is almost flat and soft. Hence it is easy to dig canals, (iii) The demand for irrigation is very great in North India as a variety of crops are grown, (iv) Type of cultivation is intensive. 7. What is meant by the term irrigation? Ans. Irrigation refers to the process of watering0 EE eh of f agricultural plants through artificial means from wells, tanks, tube wells, canals, etc. 8. What is Garden Watersaver Diverter (GWS)? What advantage does it have over other rain water harvesting devices? Ans. it is a downspout rain water diverter which simplifies the collection of rain water. It has advantages over other rain water collection systems in that it is installed in minutes and deactivates in seconds during winter when stored water is not needed. As it is kept underground or in low visibility locations more containers can be added (linked) or filled by simply moving a hose pipe. 9. What is the purpose of the float switch in the Super Rainwater System? Ans. The float switch is an innovative device mounted on the tank which automatically controls the water supply. If the rain water tank is full it will automatically pump the rain water for use in the garden or washing machine. If the rain water tank is empty or when there is a dry spell andwater in the tank falls to the minimum level, the floating switch triggers the use of the normal mains water. 10. Mention two advantages of rainwater harvesting. Ans. Two advantages of rainwater harvesting are: (i) Recharge of groundwater (i) Conservation of water, reduces surface runoff. 11. Mention two advantages that surface wells have over inundation canals. Ans. Wells are an independent source of irrigation. It may be used as and when the necessity arises. (i) Wells are simplest and cheapest source of irrigation, can be dug at any convenient place. (ii) Inundation canals are 'flood-water' canals and have water in them only when the river is flooded during the rainy season. 12. What is meant by the term 'water scarcity'? What has caused this scarcity in India? Ans. Water scarcity is the lack of sufficient available water resources to meet the demandsof water usage within a region. Growing population, over-exploitation and unequal distribution of water among social groups are the main causes of water scarcity in India. 13. What is meant by traditional or conventional methods of irrigation? Ans. Traditional methods of irrigation means to supply water to the plant zone by pumped water from surface or subsurface sources like ponds, rivers, channels or groundwater through earthen channels or pipes with gravitational force. 14. Name any two conventional methods of irrigation. Ans. Two conventional methods of irrigation are wells and tanks. 15. State any two drawbacks of conventional methods of irrigation. Ans. Two drawbacks of conventional methods of irrigation are- 1. A large quantity of water is not properly utilised. 2. The fields situated in low areas always get excess water causing prolonged water logging.16. Give two advantages and two disadvantages of well irrigation. Ans. Two advantages of well irrigation are- 1. Wells can be dug at a very low cost which is well within the means of poor farmers. 2. By the use of pumps and tubewells, water can be lifted even from great depths. Two disadvantages of well irrigation are- 1. Wells depend on underground water resources whose distribution varies from region to region. 2. The traditional wells dry up due to over withdrawal of the ground water and lowering of the water table. 17. Name any two states where well irrigation is practised. Ans.Punjab and Uttar Pradesh 18. Give one advantage and one disadvantage of tubewell irrigation. Ans. One advantage of tubewell irrigation is that it brings up clean water. One disadvantage of tubewell irrigation is that it is useless if the water is brackish. 19. Name the two types of canals. Name twostates where perennial canals are widely used. Ans. Two types of canals are- 1. Inundation canals 2. Perennial canals Two states where perennial canals are widely used are Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. 20. How are the fields irrigated using the Persian wheel method? Ans. Persian wheel method is a partly submerged vertical wheel with buckets attached to the rim. As the wheel is turned by draught animals rotating a geared horizontal wheel, the buckets are filled and emptied into a trough above, which carries the water to crop-sown fields. 21. Name two states in which tubewells are extensively used. Ans. Two states in which tubewells are extensively used are Punjab and Haryana. 22. State why tubewell irrigation is important in Punjab. Ans. Tubewell irrigation is important in Punjab because it irrigates large areas of land incomparatively less time and it can irrigate the fields throughout the year. 23. What is meant by rainwater harvesting? Ans. Rainwater harvesting is the process of increasing the recharge of groundwater by capturing and storing rainwater locally in sub- surface water reservoirs. 24. State any two methods of rainwater harvesting. Ans. Two methods of rainwater harvesting are- 1. Khatri in western Himalayas 2. Johads in central India 25. What is ‘drip irrigation’? How is it useful? Ans. Drip irrigation is the most advanced and efficient method of irrigation. This system consists of perforated pipes that are placed between rows of crops or buried along their root lines and give water directly on to the crops. It is useful as it reduces evaporation drastically and irrigation water is conserved. It also allows the grower to customise an irrigation programme most beneficial to each crop. 26. Explain briefly the need to conserve water. Ans. We need to conserve water for the followingreasons- 1. The over exploitation of ground water often results in the lowering of water table. 2. The loss of vegetation causes drought and reduction of rainfall and lowering of the water table. 3. Irrigation utilises more than 90% of the total freshwater. 4. The increase in population results in water scarcity. 5. Our water resources are polluted and their water can hardly be used without adequate treatment. 27. What is meant by furrow irrigation? What is its advantage? Ans. Furrow irrigation is a type of flood irrigation in which the water poured on the field is directed to flow through narrow channels dug between the rows of crops, instead of evenly distributing the water throughout the whole field. The furrows must have equal dimensions, in order to guarantee that the water is distributed evenly. The advantage of furrow irrigation is lower initial investment of equipment and lower pumping costs per acre-inch of water pumped.28. Give Two advantages of tube-wells as a method of irrigation. Ans. (a) Tube-wells can irrigate a larger area about 400 hectares. (b)They are definitely better in times of drought when surface wells dry up. (c)The process of irrigation is quicker and more convenient. 29. Name two states in which tube wells are extensively used. Give a reason to explain its importance as a source of irrigation. Ans. Tube wells are extensively used in Punjab and Haryana because the land is soft to bore and availability of electric power. 30. Where are tanks most widely used in India? Why? Ans. Tanks are mostly used in peninsular India. This is because (i) Peninsular India consists of hard impervious rocks which favours the storage of water. (ii) Depression in the plateau region can be used as Natural tanks.Give a geographical reason for each of the following:- 1. Need to adopt different means of irrigation. Ans. There is a need to adopt different means of irrigation because of uncertainty of rainfall, uneven distribution of rainfall, crop requirements, nature of the soil, effective utilisation of river water and to maximise production. 2. Need for conserving water. Ans. There is a need for conserving water for the following reasons- 1. The over exploitation of ground water often results in the lowering of water table. 2. The loss of vegetation causes drought and reduction of rainfall and lowering of the water table. 3. Irrigation utilises more than 90% of the total freshwater. 4. The increase in population results in water scarcity. 5. Our water resources are polluted and their water can hardly be used without adequate treatment.3. Man is responsible for water crisis in India. Ans. Man is responsible for water crisis in India because due to increase in population, irrigation and industrialisation, the demand for water has risen. This has led to a decline in groundwater levels in various parts of the country. 4. Canal irrigation leads to the ground around it becoming unproductive. Ans. Excessive flow of water in the fields raises the grounds water level. Capillary action brings alkaline salts to the surface and makes large areas unfit for agriculture. 5. Irrigation is very necessary for solving the food problem. Ans. Agricultural crops are varied. Ample supply of water is required during the period of growth. 6. Irrigation arrangements are no less important in areas of heavy rainfall in India. Ans. (i) Indian rainfall is periodic: Most of the rain falls in four months from June to September. The remaining eight months are dry. (i) Rainfall is not well-distributed during the rainy season: During the four months of the monsoon, there are spells of dry weather.7. The drip method of irrigation is the best among all modem methods of irrigation. Ans. The drip method of irrigation does not involve any loss of water by seepages because water is supplied through pipes. No water is lost by evaporation because water is supplied directly on to the roots of the plants. 8. Inundation canals are being converted to perennial canals. Ans. Inundation canals are being converted to perennial canals because inundation canals get supply of water only when the rivers are in flood while perennial canals can draw water throughout the year and irrigate large areas. 9. Tank irrigation is preferred over other means of irrigation in Peninsular India. Ans. Tank irrigation is preferred over other means of irrigation in Peninsular India because- 1. The rivers of Deccan are mainly dependent on the rainwater. 2. Many streams become torrential during the rainy season but dry up when the rain ceases. 3. The hard rocks in the area do not absorb waters, wells cannot be made there. 4. The terrain is uneven with many naturaldepressions where tanks can be easily built. 10. Groundwater reserves are depleting at a fast rate. Ans. Groundwater reserves are depleting at a fast rate due to increase in population, irrigation and industrialisation, the demand for water has risen. This has led to a decline in groundwater level in various parts of the country. 11. Well irrigation is confined mainly to the alluvial plains. Ans. Well irrigation is confined mainly to the alluvial plains as owing to the soft nature of the soil, wells can be easily dug and the yield of crops from the land after irrigation is considerably high. 12. In Tamil Nadu, nearly one-third of the net irrigated area is under canal irrigation. Ans. In Tamil Nadu, nearly one-third of the net irrigated area is under canal irrigation because Tamil Nadu receives rainfall during the winter season while summer season remains dry. Thus, irrigation is needed in summer to make up the lack of rainfall. 13. Drip irrigation reduces loss of water throughevaporation. Ans. Drip irrigation reduces loss of water through evaporation as this system consists of perforated pipes that are placed between rows of crops or buried along their root lines and give water directly on to the crops. 14. Canals make the soil infertile. Ans. Canals make the soil infertile because in canal irrigation, where water table is a few feet below the ground, the alkaline salts come to the surface, mix with the soil and make it unproductive. 15. Tubewell irrigation is quite expensive. Ans. Tubewell irrigation is quite expensive as it requires continuous supply of electricity. 16. Excessive accumulation of salts make the soils unsuitable for cultivation. Ans. Excessive accumulation of salts make the soils unsuitable for cultivation because when salt concentrations in the soil are high, the movement of water from the soil to the root is slowed down. When the salt concentrations in the soil are higher than inside the root cells, the soil will draw water from the root, and the plantwill wilt and die. Hence, the soil becomes unsuitable for cultivation. 17. Many farmers in India still use wells. Ans. Many farmers in India still use wells because wells can be dug at a very low cost and the oxen which are kept for ploughing the land can be utilised for drawing water from the well. 18. There is very little recharge of groundwater. Ans. There is very little recharge of groundwater as only a small amount of rain water runs down the earth surface and gets stored in the form of groundwater. So, only a small percentage of water gets down to the water table and forms ground water. 19. The traditional wells dry up. Ans. The traditional wells dry up due to the over- withdrawal of the groundwater and lowering of the water table. 20. Sprinkler irrigation helps in conserving water. Ans. Sprinkler irrigation helps in conserving water as water is sprayed directly to the required plants so there is no loss of water through seepage or evaporation.