CBSE Class 10 · Water Resources

Water Scarcity and Need for Water Conservation Class 10

Updated 14 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Water is renewable through the hydrological cycle, yet many regions face scarcity. NCERT explains that scarcity is mostly caused by over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access, driven by a growing population, irrigated agriculture, industrialisation and urbanisation, and by polluted water. Conservation is needed to protect health, food security, livelihoods and ecosystems.

Notice that scarcity comes mostly from human over-use, pollution and unequal access, and it then harms health, food security, livelihoods and ecosystems.

Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.

Understand Water Scarcity and Need for Water Conservation

The puzzle. About three-fourths of the earth's surface is water, but only a small proportion is usable freshwater. It comes mainly from surface run-off and groundwater, constantly renewed through the hydrological cycle, so water is a renewable resource. Then why do regions suffer from scarcity, and why is it predicted that by 2025 nearly two billion people will live in absolute water scarcity?

Scarcity is not only about low rainfall. We usually picture the deserts of Rajasthan and women carrying many matkas over long distances. Availability does vary over space and time because of seasonal and annual differences in precipitation. But NCERT stresses that in most cases water scarcity is caused by over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access to water among social groups. Many cities have ample water and still face scarcity.

Causes of quantitative scarcity.
1. Large and growing population: more water is needed for domestic use and to grow more food, so water is over-exploited to expand irrigated areas for dry-season farming. Irrigated agriculture is the largest consumer of water. NCERT suggests drought-resistant crops and dry farming techniques.
2. Private wells and tube-wells: many farmers pump groundwater for irrigation, which may lead to falling groundwater levels, hurting water availability and food security.
3. Industrialisation: after Independence, intensive industrialisation brought many industrial houses and units of MNCs. Industries are heavy users of water and also need power, much of it from hydroelectricity.
4. Urbanisation: growing cities with dense populations and urban lifestyles add to water and energy needs. Many housing societies have their own groundwater pumps, so fragile water resources are being over-exploited and depleted in several cities.

Qualitative scarcity. Sometimes there is enough water but it is unusable: it may be polluted by domestic and industrial wastes, chemicals, and pesticides and fertilisers from farming, making it hazardous.

Government steps mentioned in NCERT.

Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM): aims to give every rural household assured potable piped water at 55 litres per capita per day, regularly and long-term (Economic Survey 2020-21).
Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal): in 8,220 water-stressed gram panchayats of 229 blocks in 80 districts of seven states (Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh), which together hold about 37 per cent of India's water-stressed blocks. A key aim is to change community behaviour from consumption to conservation and smart water management (Ministry of Jal Shakti Annual Report 2022-23).

Why conserve and manage water. We must conserve water to:

safeguard ourselves from health hazards;
ensure food security;
continue our livelihoods and productive activities;
prevent degradation of natural ecosystems.

Over-exploitation and mismanagement will impoverish this resource and cause an ecological crisis.

How the chapter continues. India has built hydraulic structures since ancient times (dams of stone rubble, reservoirs, embankments, canals), which led to modern multipurpose projects. Their problems then led people back to rainwater harvesting. Those are separate topics.

Exam scope. The chapter's only map items are the eight dams in the 2026-27 list; they are covered on the Multipurpose River Projects page.

Water Scarcity and Need for Water Conservation: key facts

Water is renewable: Freshwater from surface run-off and groundwater, renewed through the hydrological cycle; Yet scarcity exists.
Main cause of scarcity (NCERT): Over-exploitation + excessive use + unequal access among social groups; Not just low rainfall.
Drivers of demand: Growing population (food and domestic use); irrigated agriculture (largest consumer); industries (water + hydro power); cities (dense populations, own pumps); Four causes for a 5-mark answer.
Qualitative scarcity: Water polluted by domestic and industrial wastes, chemicals, pesticides and fertilisers; Enough water, but unsafe.
Jal Jeevan Mission: Piped potable water for every rural household at 55 litres per capita per day; Government step.
Why conserve: Health + food security + livelihoods and productive activities + healthy ecosystems; Four-point conclusion.

How to answer Water Scarcity and Need for Water Conservation questions

Questions ask why scarcity occurs despite abundant water, how a particular cause (irrigation, industry, cities) creates scarcity, or why conservation is necessary. Case questions often describe a city or village and ask you to diagnose its scarcity.

1Start with the paradox: water is renewable, yet scarcity exists.
2State NCERT's main cause: over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access.
3Pick causes that fit the question: population and irrigation, industry and power, cities and private pumps.
4If water is present but unusable, call it qualitative scarcity due to pollution.
5For 'need for conservation', give the four aims: health, food security, livelihoods, ecosystems.
6Use a scheme (JJM or Atal Jal) only as supporting evidence.

Water Scarcity and Need for Water Conservation in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Scarcity from over-exploitation in a city

Suppose a new housing colony in a city that receives good rainfall installs a borewell in every building. Within a few years, the colony's borewells have to be dug deeper, and summer tankers become common.

Explain why this colony faces water scarcity even though the city receives good rainfall.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Note that rainfall is not the problem.
Identify over-exploitation: every building pumps groundwater.
Link to NCERT: housing societies with their own pumping devices have over-exploited fragile resources in several cities.
Conclude: scarcity results from excessive use and poor management.

Answer: The scarcity comes from over-exploitation, not lack of rain. Each building pumps groundwater, so the water table falls faster than it is recharged. NCERT notes that housing societies with their own pumps have depleted fragile water resources in several cities. Scarcity here is the result of excessive use and poor management, which conservation must correct.

Memory hook: Plenty of rain, but too many pumps.

Tricks to remember Water Scarcity and Need for Water Conservation

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

PIIU
Population, Irrigation, Industry, Urbanisation: the four drivers of scarcity.
Use it when: 5-mark causes answer.
OEU
Over-exploitation, Excessive use, Unequal access: NCERT's three-word cause.
Use it when: Opening line of any scarcity answer.
HFLE
Health, Food security, Livelihoods, Ecosystems: why we conserve.
Use it when: Need-for-conservation questions.

Water Scarcity and Need for Water Conservation: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: Largest consumer of water · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

Which one of the following is the largest consumer of water in India, according to NCERT?
(a) Domestic use
(b) Industries
(c) Irrigated agriculture
(d) Hydroelectric power

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

NCERT states irrigated agriculture is the largest consumer of water (1 mark).

Answer: (c) Irrigated agriculture

Example 2: Ample water, still scarce (2 marks) · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level

How can an area with ample water resources still suffer from water scarcity? Give two reasons. (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access among social groups, as with private pumping in cities (1 mark).
Poor quality: the water may be polluted by domestic and industrial wastes, chemicals, pesticides and fertilisers (1 mark).

Answer: Water may be over-exploited, used excessively or shared unequally among groups, as when every housing society pumps groundwater. Or the water may be polluted by domestic and industrial wastes, chemicals, pesticides and fertilisers, making it unsafe.

Example 3: Assertion-reason: tube-wells · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level

Assertion (A): The spread of private wells and tube-wells for irrigation can threaten food security.
Reason (R): Excessive pumping of groundwater may lead to falling groundwater levels.
(a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true, but R is false.
(d) A is false, but R is true.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Falling groundwater reduces water available for crops, which threatens food security; R explains A (1 mark).

Answer: (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.

Example 4: Causes of water scarcity (5 marks) · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level

'Water scarcity in most cases is caused by over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access to water.' Examine the statement with reference to population, agriculture, industries and cities. (5 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Although water is renewable and availability varies with rainfall, scarcity is mostly man-made: over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access (1 mark).
A large, growing population needs more water for homes and food; water is over-exploited to expand irrigation for dry-season agriculture, the largest consumer (1 mark).
Farmers' own wells and tube-wells may lower groundwater levels, affecting availability and food security (1 mark).
Industries are heavy users of water and also need power, much of it hydroelectric (1 mark).
Cities with dense populations and urban lifestyles add to demand, and housing societies' own pumps have depleted water in several cities (1 mark).

Answer: Water is renewable, and its availability varies with rainfall, yet most scarcity is caused by people through over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access. A large and growing population needs more water for homes and to grow more food, so water is over-exploited to expand irrigation; irrigated agriculture is the largest consumer. Farmers' own wells and tube-wells can lower groundwater levels and threaten food security. Industries use large amounts of water and also need power, much of it from hydroelectric projects. Growing cities with urban lifestyles raise demand further, and housing societies with private pumps have depleted fragile groundwater in several cities.

Example 5: Case: Atal Jal · 4 marks · Case-basedHOTS / competency

Read the case and answer the questions.

NCERT describes the Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal), implemented in 8,220 water-stressed gram panchayats of 229 blocks in 80 districts of seven states. These states account for about 37 per cent of India's water-stressed blocks, which include over-exploited, critical and semi-critical blocks. One key aim of the scheme is to change the community's attitude from consumption to conservation and smart water management.

(i) Name any two states where Atal Jal is being implemented. (1)
(ii) What share of India's water-stressed blocks do these states account for? (1)
(iii) Why does the scheme focus on changing community behaviour rather than only on building structures? (2)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

(i) Any two of Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (1 mark).
(ii) About 37 per cent (1 mark).
(iii) Scarcity is mostly caused by over-exploitation and excessive use, which are behaviours (1 mark).
(iii) Unless users move from consumption to conservation, new supplies will also be over-used; lasting change needs community management (1 mark).

Answer: (i) Gujarat and Rajasthan (or any two of the seven). (ii) About 37 per cent. (iii) NCERT says scarcity is mostly caused by over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access, which are human behaviours. New structures alone would also be over-used unless people shift from consumption to conservation, so lasting improvement needs communities to manage water wisely.

Example 6: Industry and scarcity (2 marks) · 2 marks · Very short answerHarder board level

Explain how industrialisation has added to water scarcity in India. (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The growing number of industries, including MNC units, are heavy users of water, pressing on freshwater resources (1 mark).
They also need power, much of which comes from hydroelectricity, adding further demand on water (1 mark).

Answer: The ever-increasing number of industries are heavy users of water and press on freshwater resources. They also need power to run, and much of it comes from hydroelectricity, which adds to the demand on water.

Where students lose marks in Water Scarcity and Need for Water Conservation

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Blaming scarcity only on low rainfall
The desert image dominates.
Wrong working
Water scarcity happens because India gets little rain.
Right working
Mostly over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access; rainfall variation is only one factor.
Do this: Start with OEU.
Usually costs: 1-2 marks.
Mistake: Forgetting qualitative scarcity
Students think only of quantity.
Wrong working
If there is enough water, there is no scarcity.
Right working
Polluted water causes scarcity even when quantity is enough.
Do this: Ask: is it enough, and is it safe?
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Not linking industry to power
The hydro link is missed.
Wrong working
Industries cause scarcity because they are big.
Right working
They use much water and also need power, much of it hydroelectric.
Do this: Two points per cause.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Listing reasons for conservation vaguely
Writing 'water is life'.
Wrong working
We should save water because it is precious.
Right working
Health, food security, livelihoods, ecosystems.
Do this: Use HFLE.
Usually costs: 1-2 marks.

Exam tips

Open scarcity answers with the paradox (renewable yet scarce) and NCERT's three-word cause.
In case questions, decide first whether the scarcity is about quantity or quality.
Quote JJM's 55 litres per capita per day or Atal Jal's shift 'from consumption to conservation' as supporting evidence.
Geography has no 3-mark answers in 2026-27; practise the 2-mark and 5-mark versions.

Practice questions on Water Scarcity and Need for Water Conservation

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, every rural household is to get potable piped water at a service level of:
(a) 25 litres per capita per day
(b) 40 litres per capita per day
(c) 55 litres per capita per day
(d) 100 litres per capita per day
Hint
Economic Survey 2020-21 figure in NCERT.
Answer
(c) 55 litres per capita per day
Q2 · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level
Why is water called a renewable resource? (2 marks)
Hint
Hydrological cycle.
Answer
Freshwater comes mainly from surface run-off and groundwater, which are continually renewed and recharged through the hydrological cycle. All water moves within this cycle, so it is a renewable resource.
Q3 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level
Assertion (A): Water scarcity occurs only in regions of low rainfall.
Reason (R): Availability of water varies over space and time because of variations in precipitation.
(a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true, but R is false.
(d) A is false, but R is true.
Hint
Do cities with ample water face scarcity?
Answer
(d) A is false, but R is true. Many areas with ample water still face scarcity due to over-exploitation, excessive use, unequal access or pollution.
Q4 · 2 marks · Very short answerHOTS / competency
Suppose a village has a river flowing past it, but children often fall ill after drinking its water, and families buy water from tankers. What kind of water scarcity is this, and what causes it? (2 marks)
Hint
Quantity or quality?
Answer
It is qualitative scarcity: there is enough water, but it is unsafe. NCERT says water may be polluted by domestic and industrial wastes, chemicals, pesticides and fertilisers, making it hazardous for human use.
Q5 · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level
'The need of the hour is to conserve and manage our water resources.' Justify the statement and suggest how agriculture can reduce its pressure on water. (5 marks)
Hint
Four reasons; then crops and techniques.
Answer
Conservation is needed to safeguard us from health hazards caused by unsafe or scarce water, to ensure food security, to keep livelihoods and productive activities going, and to prevent the degradation of natural ecosystems. Over-exploitation and mismanagement would impoverish this resource and cause an ecological crisis. Agriculture matters most because irrigated agriculture is the largest consumer of water, and private wells and tube-wells are lowering groundwater levels. NCERT suggests revolutionising agriculture by developing drought-resistant crops and dry farming techniques, so that food can be grown with less water.
Q6 · 2 marks · Very short answerHOTS / competency
Analyse why growing cities face water scarcity even when the region's rainfall has not changed. (2 marks)
Hint
Demand and private pumping.
Answer
Dense urban populations and urban lifestyles increase water and energy needs. Many housing societies pump their own groundwater, so fragile resources are over-exploited and depleted even without any change in rainfall.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.How many people may live in absolute water scarcity by 2025, as predicted in NCERT?Show answer
Nearly two billion.
2.What is the largest consumer of water?Show answer
Irrigated agriculture.
3.What does NCERT suggest for agriculture?Show answer
Drought-resistant crops and dry farming techniques.
4.In how many states is Atal Jal implemented?Show answer
Seven.
5.What pollutes water according to NCERT?Show answer
Domestic and industrial wastes, chemicals, pesticides and fertilisers.

Water Scarcity and Need for Water Conservation: frequently asked questions

What are the causes of water scarcity in Class 10 Geography?

Over-exploitation, excessive use and unequal access, driven by a growing population, irrigated agriculture, industrialisation and urbanisation, plus pollution of available water.

If water is renewable, why is there scarcity?

Because people use it faster than it is recharged, share it unequally and pollute it, even though the hydrological cycle keeps renewing it.

Why is water conservation necessary?

To safeguard health, ensure food security, sustain livelihoods and productive activities, and prevent degradation of natural ecosystems.

What is the Jal Jeevan Mission?

A government mission to provide every rural household with assured potable piped water at 55 litres per capita per day.