Answer the following questions in not more than 150 words.

Discuss the availability of water resources in the country and factors that determine its spatial distribution?

Indian landmass receives its water from three principle sources: The Monsoon, the Rivers and the Groundwater sources. The monsoon has a high spatial variation, and is concentrated in just one season. Thus, too much quantity of water is available within a short span of time. Without adequate infrastructure to capture and store the rainwater, the water ends up as surface run-off, resulting in flash floods in regions receiving rain and droughts in regions that does not receive rainfall. The monsoon is, thus, a highly unreliable source of water for the country. The rivers provide the majority of water for human needs in the country. However, one-third of rivers comprises 60% of the total surface water resources. Hence, there is uneven distribution of surface water across different geographies. For instance, Kerala is rich in water resources from rivers whereas the neighbouring Tamil Nadu has no significant river water resource. Groundwater forms the third source of water. The level of groundwater utilisation is relatively high in the river basins lying in north-western region and parts of south India. The ground water utilisation is very high in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, whereas the utilisation is very small in Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Kerala, etc. Hence, the three principle sources of water resource is highly erratic, seasonal and exhibit spatial variation over the length and breadth of the country.