DRAFT SCRIPT

MAIN TEMPLATE SLIDE 1 Child 1: (Devanshi)“Man - despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication, and his many

accomplishments - owes his existence to a six inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains.” An

unknown author once remarked, and the famous poet Byron stated “Till taught by pain, men know

not water's worth. “

With these poignant lines and a warm Good Morning/ Afternoon, I would like to welcome you all to

our presentation on “ Water Conservation and Management”

Child 2: (Pragya) We would like to prelude this thought provoking journey by acknowledging the

support of all those who made this happen. Firstly we would like to express our appreciation to the

school and Principal madam to have provided us with a platform to discover and learn deeply about

safekeeping a resource on which our very existence depends. Next, we would like to thank our

teachers from EVS / science department for their continuous guidance and support. Last but not

least we would like to thank our parents for their unconditional help without which this presentation

would not have come into being.

Child 3: (Yeshika) Our intention today is to highlight the significance of water in our lives and the

need to be aware of the importance of conserving and managing it. Water is a resource which we

have taken for granted, something which hardly costs us much in terms of money and one which is

available to us just at the turn of the tap.

Child 4: (Samridhi)Little do we realise that fresh water is non renewable resource and it’s users are

increasing day by day. It is time we take the responsibility to pass on this this life giving elixir to our

future generations.

Child 5: (Gul) One day our group started debating on water’s importance and the big fuss about the

necessity to fix leaky taps. This led us to embark on a journey to discover what this freely available

colourless, odourless, clear liquid is all about, why should it be cautiously used, what are the

practices that are prevalent to handle it effectively. Come join us in this discovery ….

SLIDE 4: Water the big deal Child 1 :( Pragya) Do you know the current year 2013 has been declared as the Water Conservation

Year?

Child 2 :( Yeshika) Why water conservation of all things!! There is water all around us, after all our

planet earth is called the blue planet because 71% of earth’s surface is water. Whenever I need

water, all I have to do is turn the tap.

Child 3(Siddhangana) : Yes , but this water is mostly salty and unusable. Water is not so easily

available to everyone. My maid gets it only twice a week for two hours. Some people in Rajasthan

have to get it from very far and have to go about for days without it.

Child 4(Samridhi): Moreover, life cannot exist without water. Presence of water is literally the

reason for life on earth. All organism right from the plants to us complex humans cannot survive for

even few days without water. Our body is 70% water and a loss of only 10% can put us at risk of

death.

Child 5(Gul): So what is the problem!! We can manufacture water. I know water is H2O. All we need

to do is collect some Hydrogen Gas and Oxygen Gas and mix it…Maybe heat it up to mix well and

viola we will get water

Child 6(Devanshi): No!! That will cause a big explosion, as hydrogen catches fire and oxygen supports

it. Moreover this reaction needs oxygen and hydrogen atoms, which are not freely available.

Child 1 :( Pragya) Yes! Much of the universe's water is produced when stars are born. Their birth is

accompanied by a strong outward wind of gas and dust. This impacts the surrounding gas, which

compresses and heat the gas. Water observed is quickly produced in this warm dense gas.

Child 2 :( Yeshika): You were talking about most of the water being salty.

Child 3(Siddhangana) : Yes, let us explore the availability of water.

SLIDE 5: Sources of water Child 1(Siddhangana): The earth has 326 million trillion gallons of water. See this chart only 2.5%

water available to us is fresh. The salty water of the seas and oceans is not fit for consumption-

drinking/ bathing / washing etc.

Child 2 (Gul ) :The two sources of available freshwater consist of groundwater and surface water.

Approximately 98% of the available freshwater is under ground while the remaining 2% is on the

surface. Common types of surface water include streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds and precipitation

is the primary source of this water.

Child 3 ( Samridhi): Yes, I read about the water cycle, which continuously evaporates the surface

water and replenishes oceans, rivers and lakes by rainfall.

Child 4(Yeshika): Can you guess which source of freshwater is more readily available for human use

surface water, ground water or glacial ice? Yes, you are right, surface water is generally more

accessible and abundant in many areas.

Child 5(Pragya) My teacher told the other day that groundwater is usually purer form of water and

can often be used without any treatment, and surface water often needs treatment to render it free

from contamination and fit for consumption.

Child 6(Devanshi): Yes, pollutants contaminate the surface water. On the other hand, groundwater

which accounts for 21% of fresh water, is just percolated rainwater through layers of bedrock, sand,

gravel etc and is generally pure. However at times depending on the area it may contain

contaminants, and it may not be cost effective to dig out water from under the soil.

Child3 (Samridhi ): Indiscriminate digging may also pose many hazards like soil…, increased salinity

of water

SLIDE 6: Need of water Child 1(Yeshika): Do you all know only 8% of freshwater is consumed for domestic need, i.e. For

cleaning, washing, bathing etc. I wonder where the other 92% of water goes

Child 2(Devanshi): Well, I know that growing of vegetables fruits and crops consume a lot of water,

about 69%

Child 3(Pragya): I know where else it is used. I saw the mason use a hose to wet the walls of the

house being constructed in our neighbourhood. I have read in the papers that even nuclear plants,

and chemical industries need water.

Child 4(Gul) Look at this picture of a tap! It shows clearly, how we use water in our homes. Looks

like our flushes are the water guzzlers around our house

Child 5(Samridhi) Let us find out, just why exactly do we need to conserve water

SLIDE 7: Why Conserve Water Child 1(Siddhangana):National Geographic once wrote “All the water there will ever be is, right

now.” This is really true, earth was born with some water, and hydrological cycles ensures that the

quantity remains intact.

Child2( Devanshi) However the number of people/ creatures inhabiting the earth has increased

manifold, and so has demands on water due to increased -population, agricultural needs, standard

of living and industrialization

Child 3( Samridhi): The increasing pollution, and our callous attitude has rendered lot of freshwater

unfit for use.

Child 4(Pragya):You will be surprised to know that the urban lifestyle we love pucca houses big

buildings and roads are the culprits behind diminishing ground water recharge. Our lifestyle

compounded with drastic population increase is also contributing to the climatic changes, which

again are disturbing the hydrological cycle.

Child 5(Gul): I was so disturbed to learn that 2.8 billion people around the world are affected by

water scarcity and more than 1.2 billion people even lack access to the means of safe drinking water

for their domestic use

Child 6(Yeshika): Look at this map. Africa seems to be already distressed and very soon food may

also become a scarce and expensive proposition as farmers across Africa and Asia struggle to meet

the demands for water to meet agricultural needs.

SLIDE 8: Pressures on resources Child1( Pragya) I understand that the population boom and it’s support activity puts a lot of stress on

water availability, but what are the other reasons that some areas in particular face a severe water

problem.

Child 2 (Devanshi) Obviously not all regions are bestowed with fresh water resources or good

underground water. Places like Rajasthan or other desert areas naturally do not have access to fresh

water sources, and water table is also too low

Child 3(Samridhi) Likewise areas close to oceans or seas may have very brackish water unsuitable for

use without treatment.

Child 3(Gul): What about the perpetual exodus of people from rural areas to cities for a better

livelihood. Obviously the source of freshwater in city is not infinite.

Child4 (Siddhangana)The freshwater if rendered unfit by use due to pollution also adds to the

pressure woes. I wonder what these factory owners think before discharging their pollutants into

the very source of water that keeps them alive everyday.

SLIDE 9: Meeting the demand Child1(Yeshika) Hmm we humans are the smartest beings on this earth. Even though we have

created the problems, now is not too late to awaken. There are many things that we are already

doing to conserve and manage our water needs futuristically. These techniques primarily focus on

the Recycle and Reuse principles

Child2( Sidhangana) Yes primarily we can meet the demands by either intercepting, diverting or

storing the water in times of excess during rain or flood . Water can also be transferred from areas

of abundance to not so endowed regions .

Child 3( Gul): Waste water can be cleaned or treated and put to good reuse. Salinity the constraint in

using ocean waters can also be dealt with.

Child 4(Pragya): Yes let us divide these methods and share our findings with you

SLIDE 12: Rainwater Harvesting Child 1 (Pragya): Do you know that though Rainwater Harvesting seems to be a term conjured up

after the water as a resource seemed critical, Intercepting and collecting rainwater where it falls is a

practice that extends back to pre-biblical times. It was used 4,000 years ago in Palestine and Greece;

in South Asia over the last 8,000 years in ancient Roman residences where cisterns and paved

courtyards captured rain that supplemented the city’s supply from aqueducts; and as early as 3000

BC in Baluchistan where farming communities impounded rainwater for irrigation.

Recently eleven recent projects across Delhi resulted in groundwater level increases of from 5 to 10

metres in just two years

It is a technique which can be used to collect rainwater and recharge the ground. Locally, water can

also be collected in a house or apartment complex in water tanks underground and can be made

potable with treatment. Energy can be conserved if we use this collected water without treatment

for activities like washing cars and watering gardens.

In desert areas, typically with no fresh water reserve and the soil incapable of retaining water, this

technique can provide a cost effective solution for meeting water demands

SLIDE 15: Aquifer Recharge Child 1(Devanshi): Diverting surface waters into nearby spreading basins, lagoons, recharge pits or

injection wells to recharge alluvial or other types of aquifers are techniques used to deal with natural

variability in flow, reduce evaporative losses, and obtain better quality water. Water diversion

programmes around the globe are referred to as ASR (artificial storage and recovery) or MAR

(managed aquifer recharge) . This practice is being applied in arid and semi-arid locations

throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean regions. Runoff in ‘wadis’ or dry riverbeds that only

contain water during times of heavy rain, that otherwise would discharge into the sea or evaporate,

is collected behind earthen berms following infrequent but heavy rainfall.

Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) involves injecting water into an aquifer through wells or by

surface spreading and infiltration and then pumping it out when needed. The aquifer essentially

functions as a water bank. The benefits of these systems are many and include, restoration of

ground water levels, prevention of saltwater intrusion, reduction of land subsidence, enhancement

of base flow to streams, and pathogen or contaminant reduction (i.e. passive treatment systems).

SLIDE 14: Storing & Transferring Child 1 ( Siddhangana):The construction of dams to create reservoirs caters to growing demands for

water as well as to lower the impacts and risks to our well-being from high-intensity events such as

floods and droughts. These facilities collect natural runoff and store it so that its availability is more

constant and reliable. Despite the benefits, the the construction of these facilities has had a

considerable impacton the Earth’s ecosystems . Despite increased benefits derived from the services

reservoirs provide, there is ongoing debate about how to prevent and reduce the social and

environmental consequences that come from building dams and creating reservoirs. A balance

between what enters and what is released is required to have a site’s upstream and downstream

hydrological settings and supporting ecosystems sustained. When such a balance is achieved, the

results are substantial. There are both added benefits and potential further value to the role of

reservoirs in development scenarios.

Child 2 ( Yeshika):The transfer of water from one river or basin to another basin has long been used

as a way to meet water demands, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. It occurs often when

large populations or, more commonly, agricultural demands have outstripped existing water

resources. Major long-distance schemes exist in many nations and new ones are in development.

Linking the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna system with other rivers in India is part of the solution

being offered to counteract extensive recurring droughts and floods. This is more prevalent in big

countries like China involving a large-scale south-to-north basin transfer involving the Yangtze and

Yellow Rivers’ basins which, when completed, would divert 450 km3/yr. Before proceeding with such

potential changes, broad social and environmental considerations must be taken into account.

SLIDE 13: Desalination Child 1 (Samridhi):Desalination refers to any of several processes that remove some amount of salt

and other minerals from saline water.

Desalination is used mainly in water-scarce coastal arid and semi-arid areas that are located inland

where the only available water source is saline or brackish groundwater.

According to the latest statistics from International Desalination Association about 50 % of global

desalination takes place in the Middle East, followed by North America (16 %). Globally, the

contracted capacity of desalination plants is 34.2 million m3/day converting principally seawater (59

percent) and brackish water (23 percent). In terms of the uses of desalinated water, municipalities

are the largest users (63 percent), followed by substantial industry use (25 percent). The cost of

producing desalinated water has fallen dramatically in the past two decades.

SLIDE 16-17: Water Reuse Child 1: (Gul) Water treatment:Domestic and waste water can be treated and be made potable for

reuse by waste water treatment. There are primarily two methods of waste water treatment.

Activated sludge process is a common method of aerobic wastewater treatment. The purpose of the process is

to reduce amount of dissolved organic matter from wastewater, using microorganisms growing in aeration tanks.

This method is primarily used to treat for treating low strength wastewater (< 1000 mg COD/L) like municipal

wastewater.

Microorganisms convert dissolved organic matter into their own biomass, and the formed semi-liquid material is

than separated . The treated wastewater runs over the edges of secondary clarifiers. A part of the settled sludge

(RAS) is being returned into aeration tanks, where is mixed with "fresh" primary treated wastewater and

biooxidation process goes on.The settled sludge goes to further treatment - anaerobic decomposition in

controlled conditions with biogas (methane) production.

Let us see a video on Activated sludge process used in our neighbourhood….Play Video

Child 2: (Siddhangana):Anaerobic wastewater treatment differs from conventional aerobic treatment. The

absence of oxygen leads to controlled conversion of complex organic pollutions, mainly to carbon dioxide and

methane. Anaerobic treatment has favourable effects like removal of higher organic loading, low

sludge production, high pathogen removal, biogas gas production and low energy consumption.

Psychrophilic anaerobic treatment can be an attractive option to conventional anaerobic digestion for municipal

sewage and industrial wastewaters that are discharged at moderate to low temperature.

Child 3 (Pragya):While greywater may look “dirty,” it is a safe and even beneficial source of irrigation water in a

yard. If released into rivers, lakes, or estuaries, the nutrients in greywater become pollutants, but to plants, they

are valuable fertilizer. Aside from the obvious benefits of saving water (and money on your water bill), reusing

your greywater keeps it out of the sewer or septic system, thereby reducing the chance that it will pollute local

water bodies. Reusing greywater for irrigation reconnects urban residents and our backyard gardens to the

natural water cycle.

The easiest way to use greywater is to pipe it directly outside and use it to water ornamental plants or fruit trees.

Greywater can be used directly on vegetables as long as it doesn't touch edible parts of the plants. In any

greywater system, it is essential to put nothing toxic down the drain--no bleach, no dye, no bath salts, no

cleanser, no shampoo with

SLIDE 18: Reduce Reuse in Agriculture

Child 1: (Gul):Globally, the agricultural sector consumes about 70% of the planet's accessible

freshwater.Agriculture wastes 60% or 1,500 trillion litres, of the 2,500 trillion litres of water it uses each

year.Many big food producing countries like the US, China, India, Pakistan, Australia and Spain have reached, or

are close to reaching, their renewable water resource limits.

The main causes of wasteful and unsustainable water use areleaky irrigation systems, wasteful field application

methods and cultivation of thirsty crops not suited to the environment.

The problem is made worse by misdirected subsidies, low public and political awareness of the crisis, and weak

environmental legislation.

Here are the top six farming practices proven to be effective for reducing water use and water waste:

1: Improving soil conservation by No-till farming, can make some of the biggest differences when it comes water

This technique increase the amount of water that land can hold, and improve crops’ ability to use water

resources efficiently

2: Planting perennial crops protect the soil longer than annual crops, which reduces water loss from runoff.

Annual grain crops can cause five times as much water loss as perennial crops, and waste 35 times as much

nitrate

3: Using mobile technology to save water by using mobile phones to turn their irrigation systems on and off

remotely. This helps reduce the amount of water and electricity wasted on watering fields that are already

saturated.

Child 2( Samridhi):

4: Improving rainwater harvesting by expanding traditional planting pits, known as zai, and adding organic

materials, they now can hold captured rainwater much longer, helping farmers to increase yields even in years

with low rainfall.

5: Implementing micro-irrigation using alternate methods such as drip irrigation can be more expensive to install,

but they can also be 33 to 40 percent more efficient, carrying water or fertilizers directly to plants’ roots.

6: Diversifying farms by including cover crops, planting trees on farms, and planting complementary crops in the

same field can help keep nutrients and water in the soil. These practices can protect plants from drought and

make sure that every drop of water from rain or irrigation can be used.

SLIDE 10: Goals of conservation Child 1(Gul) Hmm After this exploration, I have decided to urge my apartment complex residents to

employ Rain Water harvesting measures, to contact the pcmc and urgently request them to install

aquifers storage recovery all around pune, and talk to chief minister of Maharashtra to immediately

employ desalination plants along the coastal region…..

Child 2 (Pragya) ha ha ha, do not worry Gul. All these measures are not necessary in AAMCHI PUNE,

besides they will dramatically increase the cost of water and defeat the purpose of conservation.

Water conservation and management has some goals

Child 3(Devanshi): Obviously the first goal Sustainability makes sense. Under no circumstances

should we withdraw more fresh water from an ecosystem than we replenish.

Can anyone tell me what will happen if we are not sustainable? Yes, after a point of time we will run

out of water. This simply means that we should ensure that surface and ground water continues to

recharge at the same rate. What techniques can we employ do to ensure this?

Child 4( Yeshika): Definitely we can start by consuming less water(REDUCE), which exerts lesser

pressure on withdrawal.

Child 5( Siddhangana) : Good idea, let us explore ways to reduce consumption after this. Other than

reducing use, we can use ASR and MAR techniques to recharge the water table. Definitely storing

using dams and rainwater harvesting techniques or rather all the methods that we explored in last

topic to meet demands can be employed here as they reduce the burden on withdrawal.

Child 6(Samridhi) The second goal of conservation is energy conservation. To treat waste water ,

desalinate, extracting from ground all consume lots of energy. This is where discretion should be

used and cost effectiveness of a solution comes into picture

Child 7(Gul) : Exactly. For instance, It will consume lot of energy and money to desalinate water and

supply it to a region in India, which experiences good rainfall or has access to fresh water resources,

However desalinating may be a better option to use where there is access to water, albeit salty

rather than transport sweet water from a far off region via aquaduct.

Child 8( Siddhangana): Yes! Discretion is also needed while employing automated monitoring

measures like submetering, automated sensor/ telemetry, Visual inspection program, Water Audits,

Pressure reducing valves. The cost and energy involved in implementing these measures are

sometimes good for employing these techniques but at others the cost far outweighs the benefit.

Child 9(Pragya): Another important goal of minimizing water use is to preserve fresh water habitats

for local wildlife and migrating birds. We definitely do not want a world with no aquatic Animals

SLIDE 11: Boond boond se sagar bharta hai Child 1 (Samridhi): Of course not enough stress can be laid on the importance of reducing

consumption wastage of water in our daily domestic life. Our conscious efforts in closing the tap

while brushing or lathering , using a shorter shower duration and bucket. using energy rated

dishwashers and washing machines , using less utensils, using a nozzle, half flush … will determine

whether a deprived family can have access to this basic need.

Child 2 ( Gul) You all must have heard of the age old adage boond boond se hi ghara bhadta hai, and

charity begins at home. Yes , water usage reduction begins at my home, your home our home. Listed

are few of the many measures that can make a difference to lives. Let us pledge to conserve water

starting from our homes

“Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.”, W.H. Auden once

said