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The report deals with development of reaeration coefficient for Indian condition using mathematical approach and field studies. Of the various constituents, which determine the quality of water, Dissolved Oxygen is the most important parameter indicating the health of a stream. There is a continual replenishment (reaeration) or utilization (deoxygenated) of Dissolved Oxygen due to inflow of waste load at different points in the stream. When a waste load is discharged into a flowing stream, it is mainly subjected to advection, dispersion and reaction kinetics. Waste Load Allocation (WLA) studies provide information to assist in making effective decisions on levels of treatment required for a source or sources of pollutant loads.

The report attempts drought characterization in arid and semi-arid climatic regions of India. Drought frequency and intensity are a function of the dimensionless climatic parameter derived as a ratio of mean annual potential evapotranspiration to mean annual precipitation (Ep/Pa).

The report presents a study on the Sagar lake wherein the various water balance components like inputs and outputs have been quantified to visualize the influence of these parameters on the storage changes. Lakes play an important role in shaping the hydrological, ecological and environmental balance of the region by developing the flora, fauna and habitation of the aquatic biota. Like other lakes, Sagar lake too faces manifold problems of siltation and deterioration of water quality, thus threatening its survival.

The report presents an inventory of water bodies in the State of Jammu & Kashmir in the Western Himalayan region prepared using satellite data of IRS-1A (standard FCC, scale 1:250000) for 1988/ 99 and digital data of IRS-1C for 1998. Also, presented is a database developed with the help of Survey of India (SoI) topographic maps, which includes name and type of the water body, nearest place, district, river basin, geographical coordinates and elevation.

Content Courtesy: Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)

Call for proposals

ATREE, Bangalore invites project proposals on conservation from civil society organizations such as NGOs, community based organizations, academic organizations and individual researchers..

Grant details

Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)’s small Grants Programme recognizes that there is a wealth of information and expertise at small scales that can be drawn upon for more effective conservation. The small grant will support 7 – 8 proposals in each of the two areas of focus. The topics under each focal area are only an indicative list.

This document by ACWADAM is a report of a rapid geohydrological assessment of some of the microwatersheds from parts of Bolangir district Orissa.

Bolangir district in Orissa forms a part of one of the hottest and backward regions of India with low land-productivity, and opportunities and technologies for agriculture in the district remain relatively unexplored.

Vagaries of rainfall and the underlying hard-rock geology further compound the problem and limit agricultural productivity to a great extent. Given such natural uncertainties, systematic implementation of a watershed management programme is the most viable avenue to overcome the problems of this region.

Bolangir district was thus selected as pilot area to conduct a pre-feasibility exercise for planning of water resources management. ACWADAM, Pune was invited, along with Samaj Pragati Sahayog, Bagli to conduct this pre-feasibility exercise.

Organizer: Vision (NGOs Network)

Venue: Tirupati

The report presents the status of the sediment studies carried out in the lower as well as higher altitude region of the Garhwal Himalayas. The processes associated with sediment production in the mountainous region have been described with an emphasis on the glaciarized region. Suspended sediment concentration and load observed in the Dokraini glacier melt stream near its snout has been computed.

In this study, regional flood frequency relationships have been developed using L-moments for South Bihar, in the alluvial plains of Indo-Gangetic basin and Kaimur-Chhotanagpur Santhal Pargana plateau. The annual maximum peak flood data of twenty-two gauging sites whose catchment areas vary from 11.7 to 3171 sqkm have been used. The mean annual peak floods of these sites vary from 29.15 cumec to 1293.2 cumec. Comparative regional flood frequency analysis studies have been carried out using some of the commonly used frequency distributions viz Extreme Value (EV1), General Extreme Value (GEV), Normal, Log Pareto (GPA) and Wakeby based on L-moments approach.

Way back in May 2007, C.S. Sharada Prasad ("CSP") joined Arghyam and India Water Portal and wrote this blog post entitled "A New course" at that time: 

June 30th was Sharada Prasad's last day at Arghyam. He is moving on to do a Ph.D. with the Energy and Resources Group at the elite University of California, Berkeley. It is a testament to CSP's capability, motivation and drive that he secured this admission (he has no acrademic background in energy or resources, being a software engineer by training), and also secured a full teaching assistantship.