Sources of Fresh Water in Environmentl Engg.
Flowchart of the sources of clean drinking water
WasteWater Treatment Disposal & Management
The quantity of water required for a community depends upon:
- Forecasted population
- Types and variation in demand (e.g. seasonal variation)
- Maximum demand (Per day/Per month)
- Fire demand
- Rural demand and supplies
- Appropriate / Available technology
Main sources of water are
- Surface water sources: Lakes impounding reservoirs, streams, seas, irrigation canals
- Ground water sources: Springs, wells, infiltration wells
Above are the common sources of clean drinking water, other different sources of drinking water are
Merits of surface sources
Merits of ground water sources
- Being underground, the ground water supply has less chance of being contaminated by atmospheric pollution.
- The water quality is good and better than surface source.
- Prevention of water through evaporation is ensured and thus loss of water is reduced.
- Ground water supply is available and can even be maintained in deserted areas.
- The land above ground water source can be used for other purposes and has less environmental impacts.
Demerits of ground water source
- The water obtained from ground water source is always pressure less. A mump is required to take the water out and is then again pumped for daily use.
- The transport / transmission of ground water is a problem and an expensive work. The water has to be surfaced or underground conduits are required.
- Boring and excavation for finding and using ground water is expensive work.
- The modeling, analysis and calculation of ground water is less reliable and based on the past experience, thus posing high risk of uncertainty.