Module Overview

This module will generally discuss the concepts of sustainable water resources
development and management. Assessment and development procedures for water resources as
well as watershed physiography are also specifically tackled. At the end of the module, an
activity applying your understanding will be given in order to practice and thoroughly grasp your
learning upon taking this module.

Module Objectives/Outcomes
1. To understand the concepts of water resource development and management;
2. To demonstrate water resource assessment, and development procedures; and
3. To familiarize protection, and conservation practices for water resources.

Lessons:
Sources of water, water resources assessment/characterization, water resources
development

Learning Outcomes
1. Explain and familiarize the different sources of water;
2. Understand the process of assessing and characterization of water resources;
3. Discuss the assessment process of water resources.
4. Understand the development process of water resource;
5. Familiarize practices for conserving, protecting, and enhancing water resources.

Time Frame: 5 hours

Introduction
Welcome to the second module of your subject Soil and Water Conservation Engineering.
This module will provide you the overview and contextual knowledge of the succeeding lessons
of the subject. The lessons discussed here will particularly acquaints you on the the concepts of
sustainable water resources development and management, and processes in its assessment and
development as well as watershed physiography This lesson will consume an approximate time
of 5 hours of your academic time.
Abstraction

Types of water source

Three main sources of water:

1. groundwater,
2. surface water,
3. rainwater.

In arid regions where seawater is accessible (such as in the Middle East), desalination (the
removal of salts from water) is used to generate drinking water. Another potential source of
water is treated wastewater

Water sources can be classified as protected or unprotected.

 Protected sources are covered by stonework, concrete or other materials that prevent the
entry of physical, chemical and biological contaminants.

 Unprotected sources are those with no barrier or other structure to protect the water from
contamination. All surface water sources, such as lakes, rivers and streams or poorly
constructed wells, are examples of unprotected sources. Water from unprotected sources
cannot be considered safe to drink unless it has been treated.

A. Groundwater

Groundwater is found underground within rocks. Its presence depends primarily on the type of
rock. Permeable rocks have tiny spaces between the solid rock particles that allow water and
other fluids to pass through and to be held within the rock structure. The layers of rock that hold
groundwater are called aquifers.

Figure 1 shows how groundwater in an aquifer is replenished by rain and other forms
of precipitation (any form of water, such as rain, snow, sleet or hail that falls to the Earth’s
surface, shown in the diagram as ‘recharge’) that has percolated (passed through a porous
substance, or through small holes) downward into the aquifer. The level of water below ground
is called the water table. Groundwater can be extracted from wells or collected from springs.
 Figure 1. Diagram of groundwater formation with spring and wells.
The depth that groundwater is taken from and the types of permeable rock it has passed through
are important factors that affect its quality. Groundwater, particularly from deep sources, may
provide water of good microbiological quality. This is because bacteria, protozoa, viruses and
helminths are filtered from the water as it passes through the layers of soil and rock.
Groundwater sources are therefore preferable to surface water sources. However, groundwater
can contain chemical contaminants, as indicated in Table 1.

Table 1 Advantages and disadvantages of using groundwater as a water source. (Adapted

from Kebede and Gobena, 2004)
Advantages Disadvantages
 Likely to be free of pathogenic  Often has a high mineral content (i.e. has
bacteria naturally occurring substances that are not from
 Usually free of turbidity and colour living organisms) such as calcium, magnesium,
 Can usually be used without further iron and manganese
treatment  Usually requires pumping for extraction
 Can often be found in close vicinity  May have a high level of bicarbonate, carbonate
to consumers and chloride
 Economical to obtain and distribute  Poor in oxygen content
 The water-bearing soil or rock  Can contain chemical contaminants such as
provides a natural storage point arsenic, fluorides and nitrates
 If it gets polluted, treatment can be difficult to
achieve
Several factors influence the likelihood of groundwater becoming contaminated from a polluting
source such as a pit latrine. The geology is important because in areas with permeable rocks, or
where there are small cracks in the rock formation, fluids can pass through more easily into the
aquifer. Other factors include the depth of the pit and its vertical distance from the water table.

A.1. Wells and boreholes

Wells and boreholes can be described by their depth, or by the way they are constructed. They
may also use different types of pump at the surface to raise the water.

Shallow wells

Shallow wells and boreholes usually have a depth of less than 30 m. Wells can be
excavated by hand if the soil is not too hard or the water table is high. Hand-dug wells
have a relatively large diameter because they have to be wide enough for a person to be
able to stand inside and dig.

The inside wall of the top 3 m or so of the dug well should be made waterproof by
constructing a well casing (lining). In small-diameter wells the casing can be a pipe, but
in large wells the casing needs to be constructed in concrete from the top of the well
down to a minimum depth of 3 m.

The casing of the well should also be extended for a minimum of 60 cm above the
surrounding ground level to prevent the entrance of surface run-off. A concrete cover
should be fitted over the well casing, as in Figure 3, to prevent dust, insects, small
animals and any other contaminants from falling in.
 Figure 3. Protected well with concrete surround and a lid. Note the black plastic bucket is
suspended off the ground to keep it clean.
Depending on the depth of the well, water may be drawn up by a bucket and rope
or by using a pump. Hand pumps, such as the one in Figure 4, are built over the well and
the concrete cover extends to cover the surrounding ground. The immediate area of the
well should preferably be fenced to keep animals away. The area surrounding the well
should be graded off (i.e. should slope away from the well) in order to prevent the flow of
storm water run-off into the well. Any pipework associated with the pump that enters the
well needs to have watertight connections so that it operates efficiently.

Figure 4. Hand pump over a protected dug well. Note the concrete surround and the fence to
keep out animals.
 Water can also be drawn from a well using a rope pump (Figure 5). A long
continuous loop of rope, with washers at regularly spaced intervals, runs around a wheel
at the top of a well and around a smaller roller encased below the water line. The rope
runs through a PVC pipe and, as the wheel is turned, water is drawn up the pipe by
suction. A rope pump can be made from recycled parts, such as bicycle wheels, scrap
metal and plastic, and it can be mended quickly and cheaply.

Figure 5. Examples of rope pumps.

Deep wells or boreholes

These are wells that have been sunk with drilling machines designed for
constructing water extraction boreholes (Figure 6). These machines are able to penetrate
through harder material that cannot be tackled by hand digging and can therefore pass
through at least one impermeable layer of rock to a productive aquifer underneath. They
typically obtain water from depths ranging from 30 to 60 m, but large urban supply
boreholes can be much deeper than this. A casing of metal or plastic pipe is usually
necessary to line the borehole and prevent the soil and rock from collapsing into it
(Figure 7). The lower part of the casing must have suitable openings to allow water to
enter the borehole from the aquifer, although in hard rocks , the borehole can be left open
and will not collapse.
Figure 6. Drilling rig for a borehole.

Figure 7. A borehole.
 At the surface, different types of pump may be used including hand pumps. For
larger boreholes in urban areas electric or diesel-powered pumps would be used.

Springs

Groundwater may emerge above ground as a spring. This happens in locations

where the water table reaches the surface, or where the boundary between a permeable
layer of underground rock and an impermeable layer reaches the ground surface.

Springs are normally found at the foot of mountains and hills, in lower slopes of
valleys, and near the banks of major rivers. The water emerging at a spring may vary in
volume and contamination levels, in response to the amount of rainfall.

Springs are likely to be polluted by direct contamination from run-off seeping

through the topsoil unless the surrounding land area is protected. A spring supply issuing
from a deep, water-bearing layer, rather than a permeable layer near the surface, can
produce both a consistent volume and a better-quality supply.

Spring source protection

Springs should be protected from flooding and surface water pollution by

constructing a deep diversion ditch above and around the spring. The ditch should be
constructed so that it collects surface water running towards the spring and carries or
diverts it away. It needs to be deep enough to carry all surface water away, even in a
heavy rainstorm.

Small springs are typically protected by a ‘spring box’ (Figure 8), which is
constructed of brick, masonry or concrete, and is built around the spring so that water
flows directly out of the box into a pipe or cistern, without being exposed to outside
pollution such as run-off, bird droppings and animals. The spring box should have a
watertight cover with a lock.
 Figure 8. A spring box.

B. Surface waters

The quality and quantity of surface water varies from one place to another and over time, due to
factors such as geology, climate and surrounding land use.

The variable quality of surface water means it has to be treated to make it safe for domestic
consumption. There are several different methods of water treatment at large and small scale that
are described in later study sessions. The quantity of water in rivers and lakes obviously varies
with rainfall and there can be wide fluctuations at different times of year. To ensure year-round
supply, dams can be constructed to create reservoirs from which water can be extracted prior to
treatment.
 Figure 9. Angat Dam which supplies about 90 percent of raw water requirements for Metro
Manila (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/)

C. Rainwater

In regions where rainfall is abundant and frequent, rainwater can be a good source of water
supply for individual families and small communities. The storage of rainwater is particularly
important in areas with a long dry season, or where groundwater or surface water is difficult to
obtain or polluted.

The term rainwater harvesting is sometimes used. It simply means collecting, or harvesting,
rainwater as it runs off from hard surfaces and storing it in a tank or cistern. Rainwater has
several advantages. It is free, relatively clean and usually reliable, even if it rains only once or
twice a year, and a rainwater harvesting system can be easily constructed and maintained at low
cost. Although mainly found in rural areas, rainwater harvesting can also be useful in an urban
situation.

Rainwater can be collected in several ways:

Roof catchments

Rainwater can be collected from house roofs made of tiles, slate, (corrugated)
galvanised metal or equivalent. Pipes feed water from the roof and gutters into a
collection tank where it can be stored until needed (Figure 10).
 Figure 10. Rainwater collected from the roof
 If rainwater is used for water supply, it is important to ensure that it is not contaminated
by improper methods of storage, or by bird droppings and leaves from the roof that it is
collected from.
 Rainwater may also be contaminated by pollutants in the air, dust, dirt, paint and other
material on the roof or in roofing materials. All of these contaminants can be washed
into the storage tank or cistern.

To protect the water, various precautions are needed.

 The tank must be completely covered and well-maintained.
 The roof and gutters should be cleaned regularly, especially before the start of the wet
season.
 It may be necessary to divert the first rainwater away from the tank so that dust and dirt
are washed away.
 Leaves and other larger debris can be prevented from entering the tank by placing a
mesh screen between the guttering and the pipe that leads to the tank; the mesh screen
will need to be cleaned regularly.

Ground catchments

These are systems that collect and store rain falling on an area of ground
(Figure 11). The amount of rainwater that can be collected depends on whether the area is
flat or sloping, and on the permeability of the top layer of the ground. These systems
 require space so are only appropriate in rural areas, where they can serve small villages
and households for livestock and vegetable growing.

Figure 11. Rainwater storage ponds in

Source: Farm pond for rain-water harvesting in Telengana, India. | Download Scientific
Diagram (researchgate.net)

Sand dams

 In arid areas where there is a dry, sandy riverbed and the rain falls once or twice a year,
a collection system known as a sand dam can be used to store water. A sand dam
(Figure 12) is a concrete wall (1 to 5 m high) built across a seasonal sandy riverbed.

 During the rainy season, a seasonal river forms and carries sand and silt downstream.
The heavy sand accumulates behind the dam, while the lighter silt washes downstream
over the dam wall. Within one to four rainy seasons the dam completely fills with sand.
However, up to 40% of the volume held behind the dam is actually water stored
between the sand particles. The water can be abstracted from the sand dam via a slotted
pipe buried in the sand that either passes through the dam wall or is connected to a
simple hand pump situated on the river bank.
 Figure 12. A sand dam in Kenya.

Water resources can be neither developed nor managed rationally without an assessment of
the quantity and quality of water available. Water resources assessment (WRA) is a tool to
evaluate water resources in relation to a reference frame, or to evaluate the dynamics of the
water resource in relation to human impacts or demand.

Advantages of water resource assessment

 Conducting a water resources assessment provides you with a comprehensive understanding
of the quality and quantity of water resources in your area.
 Only by having a detailed understanding of the water resources in your area, allows large-
scale change in your water system.

Disadvantages of water resource assessment

 “Classic” Water Resource Assessment focuses predominantly on water on a regional or

national level and does usually not consider the nutrient cycle and sanitation.
 Conducting a water resources assessment requires considerable time and resources.
 Requires the training and education of manpower in order to conduct a comprehensive
analysis of the water resources in your area.
 Requires a network of experts who are able to conduct, analyse and share the data needed for
the water resources assessment.

Water Resources Assessment (WRA) other definitions

  the process of measuring, collecting and analysing relevant parameters on the quantity and
quality of water resources for the purposes of a better development and management of
water resources.

 a tool to evaluate water resources in relation to a reference frame, or evaluate the dynamics
of the water resource in relation to human impacts or demand. WRA is applied to a unit such
as a catchment, sub-catchment or groundwater reservoir. Depending on the objective of the
assessment, WRA may look at a range of physical, chemical and biological features in
assessing the dynamics of the resource.

 a systematic study of the status of water services and resources, and of trends in accessibility
and demand within a specific domain of interest.

 The international Glossary of Hydrology (HUBERT n.y.) defines water resources

assessment as the “determination of sources, extent, dependability and quality of water
resources for their utilization and control.”

Purpose of Water Resources Assessment

Conducting water resources assessment in your area helps clarifying the following issues:
 Current status of water resources at different scales, including inter-and intra-annual
variability
 Current water use (including variability), and the resulting societal and environmental
trade-offs
 Scale related externalities, especially when patterns of water use are considered over a
range of temporal and spatial scales
 Social and institutional factors affecting access to water and their reliability
 Opportunities for saving or making more productive, efficient and/or equitable
 Efficacy and transparency of existing water-related policies and decision making
processes
 Conflicts between existing information sets, and the overall accuracy of government (and
other) statistics

Components of Water Resources Assessment

In order to conduct a comprehensive water resources assessment, you need various experts from
different backgrounds who conduct, collect and analyse data required for the assessment.

The following graph illustrates the main components of a water resources assessment:
Figure 13. Components of a water resources assessment (WRA) program. Source: UNESCO and
WMO (1997)

 Collection of hydrological data - the collection of historical data on water

cycle components at a number of points distributed over the assessment area such as
quantity and quality of surface and groundwater.
 Collection of physiographic data - obtaining data on the natural characteristics of the
terrain that determine the areal and time variations of the water cycle components, such as
topography, soils, surface and bed rock geology, land-use and land-cover. These
characteristics are designated for brevity as physiographic characteristics.
  Collection of data from basic and applied research - further research related to water
resources can be essential especially when some data is missing or the available date is out
of date. Furthermore, research may be needed in order to develop the required technology
used for the water resources assessment.
 Education and training – All the basic water resources assessment activities require skilled
manpower and this in turn require training and education of the manpower need.
 Techniques of areal assessment of water resources - techniques of transforming data into
information and of relating the hydrological data to the physiographic data for the purpose of
obtaining information on the water-resource characteristics at any point of the assessment
area.

Things to Consider
A water resources assessment often needs to be carried out in several steps of increasing
complexity. A rapid water resources assessment may help identify and list the most important
issues and identify priority areas (you could also see “understand your system” for this
purpose). On the basis of this early assessment, more detailed investigations may be required.
Assessments for large or long-term projects need to include the examination of changes in land
use and possible soil degradation as well as climate variability and change.

Linking water resources assessment to environmental impact assessment has shown to build
cross-sectoral linkages and heighten awareness of key issues.
Strategic impact assessment can help in the analysis of change capacity of a river basin, to
protect both quantity and quality.

Traditional water resource assessment aimed to provide the basis for the supply of infrastructure
to meet projected needs. Assessments have a much wider remit in an Integrated Water Resource
Management perspective, incorporating cross-sectoral tools such as:
 Demand assessment, which examines the competing uses of water with the physical
resource base and assesses demand for water (at a given price), thus helping to determine
the financial resources available for water resource management.
 Environmental impact assessment and strategic impact assessment collect data on the
social and environmental implications of development programmes and projects.
Environmental impact assessment is an important tool for cross-sectoral integration
involving project developers, water managers, decision-makers and the public. It can be
seen as a special form of water resources assessment.
 Social impact assessment, which examines how social and institutional structures affect
water use and management, or how a specific project might affect social structures.
 Risk or vulnerability assessment, looking at the likelihood of extreme events, such as
flood and droughts, and the vulnerability of society to them.
Content Example for a Water Resources Assessment

The following list is an example how the content of a water resources assessment could look like
for your project area:

1. Introduction

2. Country Profile
 Geography
 Population and social impacts
 Economy
 Flood control
 Legislative framework

3. Current Uses of Water Resources

 Water supply
 Domestic uses and needs
 Industrial/commercial uses and needs
 Agricultural uses and needs
 Hydropower
 Stream gauge network
 Waterway transportation

4. Surface Water Resources

 Precipitation and climate
 Rivers and basins
 Lakes and swamps
 Deforestation effects

5. Ground Water Resources

 Aquifer definition and characteristics
 Hydrogeology

6. Water Quality
 Surface water
 Ground water
 Domestic waste disposal

Physiographic Characteristics of Watershed

The Watershed

A watershed represents land area usually contains a well-connected stream network and well
defined outlet or discharge point, where the representative area drains when rainfall occurs. In
other words, area of the land over which runoff generates and then drains into stream at a given
location is called watershed or catchment area. Watershed is also known as drainage basin,
catchment area etc.

Figure 14. Illustration of a Watershed

Physiographic Characteristics of Watershed

Physiographic characteristics of any watershed are the description of watershed in terms of area,
slope, shape, drainage density, aspect, relief, land use and soil characteristics etc. Physical
properties of watersheds significantly affect the characteristics of runoff and as such are of great
interest in hydrologic analyses. These watershed characteristics are described below in details.

A. Area of the Watershed

The area of watershed is also known as the drainage area and it is the most
important watershed characteristic for hydrologic analysis. The runoff from watershed is
generated after the interaction of precipitation with the watershed area. Watershed area is
important parameters in hydrological model to estimate the volume of runoff. The area of
watershed is delineated either manually using toposheets or through digital elevation
model derived using geographic information system (GIS). Once the watershed has been
delineated, its area can be determined using planimeter or can be approximated using GIS.

B. Length of Watershed

Length of watershed is defined as the longest distance between outlet and any
point on the perimeter. This length is usually measured to compute the time dependent
parameters of watershed such as time of concentration (time taken to reach the runoff
generated from remotest point of watershed to outlet).Time dependent parameters of
 watershed are useful in determining time for peak flow required to establish the
hydrograph of the watershed. The watershed length is therefore measured along the
principal flow path from the watershed perimeter to the outlet. Since the channel does not
start from the watershed boundary, it is determined by extending the main channel to the
boundary and then measuring the length of the channel.

Example: Main channel passes through points A, B, D, E and J. The length of AB is 1.8 km,
BD is 1.3 km, DE is 1.7 km and EJ is 1.8 km. The remotest point of the watershed is K which is
0.8 km far from the start of main channel, i.e., point J. What will be the watershed length?

C. Slope of Watershed

Watershed slope reflects the rate of change of elevation with respect to distance
along the principal flow path. It is usually calculated as the elevation difference between
the highest and lowest elevation of the point of the watershed divided by watershed
length. Watershed slope affects time of concentration, as well as time to peak.

Example: In continuation of example 1: K, A and J is having elevations of578m, 316 m, 532 m

respectively. Calculate the watershed slope, channel slope and overland slope?

Watershed slope = elevation difference between point K and A divided by watershed length i.e.
(578-316)/7.4 = 262/7.4 = 35.4 m per km = 3.54%

Channel slope = elevation difference between point J and A divided by channel length i.e. (532-
316)/6.6 = 216/6.6 = 32.73 m per km = 3.27%

Overland slope = elevation difference between point K and J divided by length of overland flow
i.e. (578-532)/0.8 = 57.5 m per km = 5.75%

In this case overland slope is higher than channel slope, hence on field soil conservation
activities such as trenching and bunding etc. should be prioritize over drop structures etc.
 D. Shape of Watershed

Watershed shape basically determines the shape of the resulting hydrograph.

Watersheds have an infinite variety of shapes, and the shape supposedly reflects the way
that runoff will accumulated at the outlet. A circular watershed would result in runoff
from various parts of the watershed reaching the outlet at the same time. An elliptical
watershed having the outlet at one end of the major axis and having the same area as the
circular watershed would cause the runoff to be spread out over time, thus producing a
smaller flood peak than that of the circular watershed. Figure 15 showing the basin
effects on hydrograph shape.

Figure 15. Effect of basin on hydrograph shape

(Source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/int/geog/rivers/images/hydrographs/hydro2.gif
accessed on 3 October 2013)

E. Stream Order

The order of stream is hierarchical arrangement of different streams in the

watershed. The first order streams are the originating streams and mostly in the forms of
G1 or G2 type gullies. On confluence of two first order streams, downstream is called
second order stream. If second order stream is confluences with first order stream, the
stream still is second order. However, if two second order streams confluences, then 3
order stream comes in existence. The general rule is that when two same order stream
confluences, next order stream comes into existence. Most of the watersheds are having
3rd order streams. However, the big catchment, the stream order may be of 5th and higher.
 Figure 16. Stream order of watershed.

F. Watershed Maps

There are several watershed maps describing different characteristics of

watershed. These are also known as thematic maps. The map include elevation map
(contour map), land use/land cover map, slope map, soil map, flow direction map,
watershed delineation map etc. These thematic maps are overlaid in order to determine
the specific characteristics of watershed. The GIS is often used in the overlaying process
and map calculations.

F.1 Delineating Watershed Boundary from Toposheet

Topographical maps provide information about the lay of the land. The special
feature of topographical maps (or toposheets) is that along with direction, scale and
legend, they also provide information about the relief of the land using contour
lines(contour lines are imaginary lines joining points on the same elevation). It also
contains the information of drainage network, water harvesting structures, land use, soil
type villages and urban settlements, roads. A typical toposheet is shown in Fig.
4.6.Toposheets are made on the basis of latitudes and longitudes. Every part of India has
been mapped by the Survey of India, using latitudes and longitudes to classify the
country into a grid. Toposheets are available mainly on 3 scales: 1:1,000,000, 1:2, 50,000
and 1:50,000. For some special areas toposheets on 1:25,000 are also available.

Steps for Watershed Delineation

Step 1. Identify the point with respect to which the watershed is to be marked(the exit point or
outlet). In Fig. 4.7, this is the point marked "A".
 Figure 17. Watershed delineation: First choose an outlet point (Source: BACPE, 2007)

Step 2. Mark out drainage lines of various orders, which drain into this common point (Figure
18).The way to do this is to begin from the exit point (A) and move along the drainage line to its
origin. Mark out nearby drainage lines which do not drain to this common point. Different
colours can be used to distinguish drainage lines belonging to our watershed from drainage lines
outside our area.

Step 3. From the exit point, draw a line around the drainage system, enclosing all drainage lines
which drain to point A and leaving out other drainage lines which do not drain to point A (see
Figure 19). This boundary line will terminate at the exit point. This line demarcating the
watershed boundary is called a ridge line. A ridge line is an imaginary line joining all points of
higher elevation in a selected watershed and separating the watershed from other watersheds
 Figure 18. Then mark the drainage lines. (source: BACPE, 2007)

Figure 19. Mark out the watershed boundary. (Source: BACPE, 2007)
Precautions

 Remember to be very careful when outlining drainage lines, particularly when including
drainage lines which fall in the watershed and leaving out those that do not.
 Remember that a toposheet shows several other lines (such as roads, telephone lines),
which on a photocopy will look similar to a contour line. So exercise care.
 Ensure that the watershed boundary (the ridge line) never crosses any drainage line inside
the watershed. If this has happened, be sure that it is a mistake and correct it.

F.2 Automatic Delineation of Watershed

The watersheds can also be delineated automatically using modern computing

tools such as GIS. GIS needs digital elevation map (DEM) for automatic delineation of
watershed. In this case the contour features from toposheets are scanned and accordingly
digitized using either screen digitizer or table digitizer. Respective elevations are
assigned to the digitized contour. After elevations are assigned, the outlet is defined using
latitude and longitude. The GIS calculates the flow direction map, slope map, flow
accumulation map and computes drainage network and using these maps along with
drainage network, GIS finally delineate watershed.

One of the main duties of a water supply provider is to ensure that a safe and plentiful water
supply is available to all segments of a community at a reasonable cost. This may mean seeking
new water sources to satisfy demand. Identifying potential new sources and assessing their
viability prior to development is a skilled technical task that requires several different factors to
be assessed. These factors include:

 Volume of water required: This will depend on demand, which relates to the number
and type of potential users. Will the new source be able to meet the demand of all users?
Have future increases in demand and population growth been taken into consideration?
 Quality: Is the water from a safe and protected source? If not, what will be the level of
treatment needed and how will this be achieved? What is the risk of pollution of the
source?
 Seasonal variations: Is the new water source reliable, or is it vulnerable to seasonal
variations in the availability of water? How will this be accommodated?
 Distance between source and users: How far must the water be transported? What is
the sort of distribution system that will be needed? What are the engineering
requirements for the system?
  Cost: Following on from all the above, what is the cost of developing the new source
(both capital and continuing operating and maintenance costs) into the future?
 Environmental impact: What are the predicted environmental consequences of
developing the water source? Will the benefits of the new supply outweigh any
disadvantages?
 Sustainability: Can the water source be developed and used in such a way that it does
not compromise the future ability to supply water? For example, the rate of abstraction
from a spring should not exceed the rate of natural replenishment.

Application
Laboratory Activities: (Group Work)
Activity 1: Water Resource Assessment or Development
Objectives:
 To conduct water resource assessment or development;
 To determine the different data needed in the water resource assessment or
development; and
 To develop water resource assessment or development report.
Direction: Select one water resource present in your locality and assess it, if
result shows feasibility for development, you may also proposed it for water
resource development. If it is proposed for development, you may select a
community as the users.
If you find difficulty in finding water resources in your locality you may
search from the internet or any available platform/materials.

Activity 2: Watershed Physiography

Objectives:
 To assess watershed considering its physiographic characteristic.
 To determine the different data needed in assessing watershed.

Direction: Select one watershed present in your locality or any of the 142 critical
watershed in the Philippines, and assess or determine its physiographic characteristics
based on what have been discussed in lesson 2 on this module.

Closure
Congratulations for the job well-done. You’ve just completed the Module 2 of this course.
Should there be some parts of the module which you need clarifications, don’t hesitate to ask
assistance from your instructor.
Module Assessment
Direction: Answer the following questions. Write your answer in a clean bond paper.
1. Explain comprehensively how groundwater replenish its resource.
2. Discuss the main purpose of assessing water resources.
3. Explain the different factors to consider in developing water resources.
4. Explain the different engineering strategies in protecting water resources.
5. Explain how to determine or calculate the watershed area and what are the different
strategies in doing it.

References:

1. Study session 3 water sources and their characteristics: View as single page. (n.d.).
Distance Learning Courses and Adult Education - The Open
University. https://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=79999&p
rintable=1
2. Water resources assessment. (2010, September 2). SSWM - Find tools for sustainable
sanitation and water management!. https://sswm.info/sswm-university-course/module-4-
sustainable-water-supply/further-resources-water-sources-software/water-resources-
assessment
3. Water resources assessment. (n.d.). Home | Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United
Nations. https://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/nr/kagera/Documents/LADA_manuals