Water and Its Importance

1. THE MISSION

The student has to play the role of a water expert where the expert has to save the water supplies by stopping the monsters from depleting all the water resources. If the student is able to successfully cage the monsters before they deplete all the water resources, then the expert gets promoted as the head of water security forces and achieves the highest score. The game will help the player understand the importance of water, it’s utility to humans and maintain the healthy ecosystem through saving water for the continued sustenance and thriving of all living beings on Planet Earth

2. CONCEPTS
   1. Water: A precious resource

Water is a clear liquid that has no odour, taste, smell and a consistency that is fluid. It is the main component of the Earth’s hydrosphere and is present in all living organisms. It is vital for the existence of all forms of life, and for the healthy growth and development of all living organisms on earth.

1. Distribution of water

Water covers 71% of the Earth’s surface, mostly in seas and oceans. Small portions of water occur as groundwater (1.7%), in the glaciers and the ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland (1.7%), and in the air as vapour, clouds (formed of ice and liquid water suspended in air), and precipitation (0.001%).

Presence of water: Liquid water is found in bodies of water, such as an ocean, sea, lake, river, stream, canal, pond, or puddle. The majority of water on Earth is sea water. Another source of water is groundwater and the water is mostly present in the rocks.

1. States of water

The three main forms/states in which water exists on planet earth are:

• Solid – Ice is a form of frozen water. It is mainly present in the glaciers as ice caps and as snow in cold regions of earth like Antarctica.
• Liquid – It is wet and fluid. This is the form of water with which we are most familiar. We use liquid water in many ways, including washing and drinking. It is present in ocean, lakes, rivers and even underground.
• Gas – Vapour is always present in the air around us. You cannot see it but it is always present. When you boil water, the water changes from liquid to gas or water vapour. As the water vapour cools, we see it as a small cloud called steam.

1. Water: An invaluable resource

Water is one of the most invaluable resource on our planet. The living beings will not be able to survive without it. There are different ways in which water and its different forms are used. Some of them are listed below:

• Domestic uses of water: 15% of water is consumed for domestic purpose. Water is used for drinking, bathing, cooking food, washing dishes, clothes, fruits, vegetables and brushing teeth.
• Water use for agriculture: Agriculture is the largest consumer of water. About 70% of water is used for irrigation. Water is necessary for gardening, farming and fisheries. Plants require water to grow and during the photosynthesis process, they consume water to yield crops, fruits, flowers, vegetables etc.
• Industrial uses of water: It is either used in creating or to cool the equipment used for creating the product. Industrial water is used for washing, cooling, processing, transporting, diluting or fabricating the product. The maximum amount of water is used in the production of chemical, paper and food.

1. Depletion of water

As the water is heavily used in all forms, it is getting depleted as it is not used efficiently. Water drawn from under the ground gets replenished by seepage of rainwater. The water table does not get affected as long as we draw as much water as is replenished by natural processes. However, water table may go down if the water is not sufficiently replenished. This may happen due to many reasons. Increase in population, industrial and agricultural activities are some common factors affecting water table. Scanty rainfall is another factor that may deplete the water table. Yet another factor affecting water table could be deforestation and decrease in the effective area for seepage of water. Elaborating on the reason for water depletion:

• Increasing population: Creates demand for construction of houses, shops, offices, roads and pavements. It results in reduction of open spaces like parks and playgrounds. This, in turn, decreases the seepage of rainwater into the ground. So, on the one hand we are consuming more groundwater, and on the other we are allowing lesser water to seep into the ground. This results in depletion of water table. In fact, the water table in some parts of many cities has gone down to alarmingly low levels.
• Increasing industries: Water is used by all the industries. Almost everything that we use needs water in some form and in the production process. The number of industries is increasing continuously. Water used by most of the industries is drawn from the ground.

The problem at our hand is the efficient and effective use of water. Hence, conservation of water is extremely important for the survival.

1. Conservation of water

There are different ways in which the water can be conserved. One of the effective ways for the conservation is Rain Water Harvesting. We have seen that most of the water that we get as rainfall just flows away. This is a waste of precious natural resource. The rainwater can be used to recharge the groundwater. This is referred to as water harvesting or water harvesting rainwater harvesting.

How to Harvest the Rainwater?

• Catchment: Used to collect and store the captured Rainwater.
• Conveyance system: It is used to transport the harvested water from the catchment to the recharge zone.
• Flush: It is used to flush out the first spell of rain.
• Filter: Used for filtering the collected Rainwater and remove pollutants.
• Tanks and the recharge structures: Used to store the filtered water which is ready to use. The process of rainwater harvesting involves the collection and the storage of rainwater with the help of artificially designed systems that run off naturally or manmade catchment areas like- the rooftop, compounds, rock surface, hill slopes, artificially repaired impervious or semi-pervious land surface.