Chapter 10

Water Resources
Class 10 - Total Geography Morning Star

Answer the following questions

Question 1(a)

What do you understand by the term 'water resource'?

Answer

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.

Question 1(b)

Give two points of difference between 'surface water' and 'ground water'.

Answer

Surface water Ground water

Surface water forms streams, lakes, The water which seeps through the cracks and crevices
rivers and ponds flowing on land. under the surface of the land is known as ground water.

It can be used directly without It needs to be pumped out of the ground before it can be
pumping. used.

Question 1(c)

(i) What is meant by rainwater harvesting?

(ii) Mention any two rainwater harvesting systems practised in India.

Answer

(i) Rainwater harvesting is the process of increasing the recharge of groundwater by capturing and
storing rainwater locally in sub-surface water reservoirs.

(ii) Two rainwater harvesting systems practised in India are-

1. Khatri in western Himalayas

 2. Johads in central India

Question 1(d)

Give a geographical reason for each of the following:

(i) Need to adopt different means of irrigation.

(ii) Need for conserving water.

(iii) Man is responsible for water crisis in India.

Answer

(i) 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.

(ii) 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.

(iii) 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.

Question 2(a)

What is meant by the term irrigation?

Answer

Irrigation refers to the process of watering of agricultural plants through artificial means from wells,
tanks, tube wells, canals, etc.

Question 2(b)

What is meant by the term 'water scarcity'? What has caused this scarcity in India?

Answer

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.

Question 2(c)

(i) What is meant by traditional or conventional methods of irrigation?

(ii) Name any two conventional methods of irrigation.

Answer

(i) 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.

(ii) Two conventional methods of irrigation are wells and tanks.

Question 2(d)

Give a geographical reason for each of the following:

(i) Inundation canals are being converted to perennial canals.

(ii) Tank irrigation is preferred over other means of irrigation in Peninsular India.

(iii) Groundwater reserves are depleting at a fast rate.

Answer

(i) 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.

(ii) 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.

(iii) 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.

Question 3(a)

State any two drawbacks of conventional methods of irrigation.

Answer
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.

Question 3(b)

Give two advantages and two disadvantages of well irrigation.

Answer

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.

Question 3(c)

(i) Name any two states where well irrigation is practised.

(ii) Give one advantage and one disadvantage of tubewell irrigation.

Answer

(i) Two states where well irrigation is practised are Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

(ii) 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.

Question 3(d)

Give a geographical reason for each of the following:

(i) Well irrigation is confined mainly to the alluvial plains.

(ii) In Tamil Nadu, nearly one-third of the net irrigated area is under canal irrigation.

(iii) Drip irrigation reduces loss of water through evaporation.

Answer

(i) 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.
(ii) 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.

(iii) 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.

Question 4(a)

Name the two types of canals. Name two states where perennial canals are widely used.

Answer

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.

Question 4(b)

How are the fields irrigated using the Persian wheel method?

Answer

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.

Question 4(c)

(i) Name two states in which tubewells are extensively used.

(ii) State why tubewell irrigation is important in Punjab.

Answer

(i) Two states in which tubewells are extensively used are Punjab and Haryana.

(ii) 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.

Question 4(d)

Give a geographical reason for each of the following:

(i) Canals make the soil infertile.

(ii) Tubewell irrigation is quite expensive.

(iii) Excessive accumulation of salts make the soils unsuitable for cultivation.

Answer

(i) 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.

(ii) Tubewell irrigation is quite expensive as it requires continuous supply of electricity.

(iii) 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.

Question 5(a)

What is meant by rainwater harvesting?

Answer

Rainwater harvesting is the process of increasing the recharge of groundwater by capturing and
storing rainwater locally in sub-surface water reservoirs.

Question 5(b)

State any two methods of rainwater harvesting.

Answer

Two methods of rainwater harvesting are-

1. Khatri in western Himalayas

2. Johads in central India

Question 5(c)

(i) What is watershed management?

(ii) How is it beneficial for farmers in the long run?

Answer

(i) Watershed management refers to the efficient management and conservation of both the surface
and groundwater resources. It includes the prevention of run-off as well as storage and recharge of
groundwater by various methods like percolation pits, recharge wells, borewells, dugwells etc.
(ii) Watershed management is beneficial for farmers as it is aimed at conserving both soil and water.
Since both soil and water are indispensible for the cultivation of crops, watershed management helps
farmers to maximize their crop production and income.

Question 5(d)

Give a geographical reason for each of the following:

(i) Many farmers in India still use wells.

(ii) There is very little recharge of groundwater.

(iii) The traditional wells dry up.

Answer

(i) 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.

(ii) 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.

(iii) The traditional wells dry up due to the over-withdrawal of the groundwater and lowering of the
water table.

Question 6(a)

What is 'drip irrigation'? How is it useful?

Answer

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.

Question 6(b)

Explain briefly the need to conserve water.

Answer

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.

Question 6(c)

What is meant by furrow irrigation? What is its advantage?

Answer

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.

Question 6(d)

Give a geographical reason for each of the following:

(i) Modern means of irrigation are gaining popularity.

(ii) Sprinkler irrigation helps in conserving water.

(iii) Spray irrigation is quite expensive.

Answer

(i) Modern means of irrigation are gaining popularity because of the following reasons-

1. No loss of water due to seepage or evaporation

2. Conserve water
3. Prevent soil erosion
4. Suitable for areas where the rainfall is low
5. High efficiency

(ii) 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.

(iii) Spray irrigation is quite expensive because it requires complex machinery.