Groundwater Recharge

From: IRRAD Connect Volume 6 Image & Content Courtesy:IRRAD

In Mewat, the ground water is depleting at the rate of about 25 cms a year and salinity is increasing in many parts. The rising water salinity is affecting crop yield and limiting the choice of crops that can be grown. About 80% of the total geographical area in Mewat is cultivated. Of this total cultivated area, only 44% falls under the irrigated area, the rest is rain fed area. For the irrigated area the source of water is almost exclusively (95%) ground water, but it is very limited, generally enough only for one crop a year. It also includes pockets of saline water which is not fit for cultivation of most of the crops grown in that area. About 30% of households own wells or tube wells. Fast ground water depletion and seasonal variation of tube well yields is a matter of concern leading to low crop intensity. This is especially true in the villages where IRRAD is working. To check these rising water concerns a tailor made, integrated water management plan was needed for each village, with the first step being the study of topography, water flow, soil characteristics and traditional knowledge. Subsequently, the designing of appropriate interventions to harness and conserve water is undertaken. To this effect, IRRAD has carried out technical interventions like the check dams, gully plugs, recharge wells, soak pits, roof water harvesting etc. Taking water as an entry point of development work, IRRAD has intervened in many villages, expanding its activities to 17 villages.

"Going home with more than theerth", is a case study written by Shree Padre in April 2007, on the how the problem of drinking water availability in summer, was solved by the Veera Narayana Temple at Gadag town, through rain water harvesting.

India's dependence on the underground aquifer especially deep bore wells are well known. With over 22 million wells India has perhaps one of the largest such structures in the world. Since most of peninsular India is hard rock with basalt/granite/gneiss underlying they present a particular challenge for understanding.

The Mazhapolima program is quite unique; it aims to (eventually) recharge about 4.5 lakh dug wells in the district, and do this through community awareness and action. It's driven by the District Collector, Mr. Kurian Baby, who strongly advocates sustainable, local development & innovation.

A Gram Panchayat (GP) in Kerala is fairly large, and has a population of approximately 20000 people, as compared to about 10000 in Karnataka, and about 700 in Uttar Pradesh. GP's have ward divisions, about 20 of them per GP. Each GP has a staff of at least 6-8 people. The GP that we visited - Adat, had about 12 employees , 4 lower division clerks, 3 upper division clerks, 1 Joint Secretary, 1 Secretary, 2 peons and 1 sweeper. Except for the peons and the sweeper, the employees are all usually SSLC-pass, but here in Adat they were mostly graduates. For salaries alone, the GP spends about Rs 1.5 lakhs per month. Adat GP executed 124 projects last year. The GP's annual budget was Rs 1.40 crores, not including NREGA funds. Out of this, Rs 40 lakhs was raised by the GP through property taxes etc. Most other parts of the country, GP budgets are only about 5 to 10 lakhs. The Adat GP office was a large 2 storeyed building. Mr Vijayan, the Joint Secretary proudly showed us their awards, which filled up an entire wall.

For the total of 6-lakh households in Thrissur district, there are a total number of 4.5 lakh open/dug wells. As per the 2001 census, 71% of the total population of the district depends on open wells for drinking. Estimates indicate that the aggregate household investment in open wells comes to about Rs. 1,800 crores and the wells have a combined capacity to yield 6.6 million m3 per day. Though the average annual rainfall of the district is about 3,000 mm, about 70% of these wells are non-perennial. Additionally, because of heavy surface run-off, groundwater levels in several blocks have fallen sharply, and coupled with saline intrusion at an accelerated pace, have led to water quality problems. In order to address the issues of quantity, quality and sustainability, the Thrissur district administration in collaboration with the PRIs have launched a process driven, participatory well re-charge programme called Mazhapolima, with an overall goal to improve the health and welfare of communities through improved access to drinking water.

Author(s):Dr K Palanisami, Dr C Ramasamy, Dr Chieko Umetsu

ISBN:9780230634916

Imprint:Macmillan Publishers India

Copyright:2008

Trim Size:8.5"x11"

Pages:300

Binding:Paperback

List Price:Rs. 750.00

Language:English

One of the impressive developments that have taken place in Indian agriculture after independence is groundwater development and management. India is among the foremost countries in the world practicing large scale irrigation. However the gaps between potential and utilization has been increasing over the years. Groundwater Management and Policies consists of contributions grouped under four themes viz., six research articles on Increasing Water Efficiency / Productivity, three on CPR in Recharging Groundwater, six papers on Groundwater Management and Coping Mechanisms and six on Water Policy Issues.

A two day National Workshop on need for policy and legal norms for allowing freshwater flows in Rivers in India on January 3-4, 2009 at Bangalore ended with a unanimous demand that governments must allow continuous, sustained freshwater flows in all perennial rivers of India, whenever, a dam, diversion or hydropower project is planned, constructed or operated. Inaugurating the workshop on the morning of January 3, 2009, Shri L C Jain, former member, planning commission of India (and many other important posts), expressed his pain and anguish on the state of India's Rivers, "It is very disturbing that the acts of commissions and omissions of the authorities have ruthlessly, blindly, heartlessly lead todestruction of almost every major rivers of India. The hearts of the officials and ministers should throb for the millions depending for their needs and livelihoods on the rivers, but it seems that the stones of the South and North block buildings have entered their hearts." Quoting Gandhiji's agenda for the economic independence of India from what he wrote in the Young India on November 29, 1929, Jain said, Land, Water and Air cannot be subject of commerce, but the planners lock up the pain, hunger, malnutrition in the paragraphs of their five year plan documents and do not ensure their inclusion in their actual plans and programmes. He expressed his deep anguish that even the recommendations of the official policies and committees on ensuring freshwater flows in the rivers remain unimplemented.

The Preliminary Consolidated Report on the Effect of Climate Change on Water Resources, prepared by the Central Water Commission and the National Institute of Hydrology, under the guidance of the Ministry of Water Resources in 2008, is one of the first official reports made available by the Government of India, of a reliable quantitative assessment based on field data, of the likely effect of climate change on the availability of water resources, i.e. on the glaciers and snow melt, on rainfall and their effect on run off into the river system and their contribution to ground water. In the Report, an attempt has been made to give a brief account of the available studies on possible impacts of climate change on India's water resources, change in India's water needs, climate of India, river basins of the country, present water resources and future demand and supply, impacts of projected climate change and variability, and associated hydrological events and likely vulnerability of regional water resources to climate change. Identification of key risks, research needs and prioritisation of mitigation strategies has also been discussed. Access the report here: Preliminary Consolidated Report on the Effect of Climate Change on Water Resources

Bangalore's sprawling expansion outpaces the public utility's ability to accommodate skyrocketing demand for water and sanitation services, and it is increasingly common for new residential communities to assume total management for their own water and sanitation services through their resident welfare associations.