Surface Water

Featured Articles
October 11, 2022 In an effort to inform the general public, especially citizen activists, policymakers, researchers, and students, about the current status of the Vrishabhavathi river, Paani.Earth has created the necessary maps, data, analysis, and information to drive conservation awareness and action around the river.
Vrishabhavathi river (Image Source: Paani.Earth)
August 9, 2022 Ensuring irrigation through farm ponds in tribal Chhattisgarh
Many tribal farmers opted for individual farm ponds under MGNREGA ensuring protective irrigation. (Image: Meenakshi Singh)
November 8, 2020 The National Hydrology Project has created a national platform for water data and is working to enhance the technical capacities of agencies dealing with water resources management.
Breakthrough cloud computing facilities and remote sensing applications have helped showthe filling pattern of a water body (tank or reservoir) through freely available satellite imagery at an interval of five days.  (Image: Maithan dam, Wikimedia Commons)
December 26, 2019 Policy matters this week
The Mandovi river disputed between Karnataka and Goa (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Environmental flows in river basins: A case study of river Bhadra - Current Science
This paper explains the concept and the technique of environmental flows and the advantages and relevance of using this technique to maintain the ecology of the rivers. Posted on 26 Aug, 2010 12:50 PM

The quantity and seasonality of water flow in a river may greatly change from its normal condition between a major storage and downstream, thus paving the way for drastic changes in the riverine ecosystem. ‘Environmental flow’ refers to the amount of water considered sufficient for protecting the structure and function of an ecosystem and its dependent species.

The paper goes on to describe the case of river Bhadra, which is the site of a dam that has significantly altered the natural flow of the river and describes the study that aimed at conducting the environment flow analysis of the river.

Groundwater externalities of surface irrigation transfers under national river linking project: Polavaram – Vijayawada link
Understanding the Polavaram project on the Godavari Posted on 25 Aug, 2010 05:00 PM

Polavaram projectThis document published by IWMI and CGIAR describes the details of the Polavaram project, which has been planned by the state of Andhra Pradesh as a multi-purpose project:

  • to provide irrigation benefits to the upland areas
  • to provide a water supply to the industries in Visakhapatnam city, including the Steel Plant, for the generation of hydropower
  • for the development of navigation and recreation facilities.

The project envisages the construction of an earth-cum-rock filled dam that is 1,600 m long across the Godavari River at Polavaram, and about 42 km upstream of the Godavari Barrage at Dowlaiswaram.

Water-use accounts in basins: Model concepts and description – A working paper by the Challenge Program on Water and Food
What is basin use accounting? How is it done? What is its contribution in synthesis work? What does it mean to asses water, food, poverty and environment? This paper examines these Posted on 16 Aug, 2010 12:18 PM

This paper deals with basin water use accounting and is a contribution to the synthesis work of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food's (CPWF) Basin Focal Projects. It provides a means to assess the interactions between water, food, poverty, and the environment and helps develop sound information about water availability in a basin, where it goes and how it is used.

Emerging groundwater crisis in urban areas – A case study of Bangalore city
Urbanisation and its toll on the groundwater recharge; Bangalore losing in the bargain Posted on 16 Aug, 2010 07:14 AM

The paper by the Institute for Social and Economic Change documents the case of Ward No. 39 situated at the outskirts of the Bangalore city to understand the emerging groundwater crisis due to overdraft in urban areas. Bangalore has no perennial river, which resulted in the growth of many lakes, acting as a source of groundwater recharge earlier.

Dams and development: A new framework for decision-making - A World Commission on Dams report
The big fight: Are dams a necessity of urbanisation? Or, Are they destroyers of Natural resourse? Posted on 15 Aug, 2010 01:51 PM

This report by the World Commission on Dams begins by arguing that the debate about dams is a much broader issue and is important for everyone since it is a debate about the very meaning, purpose and pathways for achieving development. It is complex because the issues are not confined to the design, construction and operation of dams themselves, but include a range of social, environmental and political choices that define development.

Dams fundamentally alter rivers and the use of a natural resource, frequently entailing a reallocation of benefits from local riparian users to new groups of beneficiaries at a regional or national level. At the heart of the dams debate are fundamental issues of equity, governance, justice and power. The report argues that the main challenge lies in reconciling the competing needs between different groups of actors and provides a framework to deal with these fundamental issues in the dam debate.

Research reports of the National Institute of Hydrology (1996-2001) - Highlights
150 research reports of National Institute of Hydrology are now accessible at the India water portal Posted on 12 Aug, 2010 10:29 PM

National Institute of Hydrology

The India Water Portal is pleased to announce to its users, that a comprehensive archive of over two hundred and fifty technical research reports of the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee, have now been made available on the portal, and in the public domain for the first time.

National Hydroelectric Power Corporation: People don't matter - A dossier by Urgewald
A brief overview on the role of India's premier dam building agency, the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, as the aggressive business player expanding its business, i.e. dams in the country. Posted on 11 Aug, 2010 01:24 PM

This document by Urgewald provides a brief overview on the role of India's premier dam building agency, the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) in the construction of dams in India and is highly critical of the mode in which the NHPC has been aggressively expanding its operations of building dams across rivers in the country. 

It aims to inform the public, investors and financiers about NHPC’s track record and expansion plans and presents compiled information from three regions where NHPC has been actively involved in the construction of dams namely:

  • Narmada Valley in Central India
  • Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in Northeastern India
  • The lands of the Kuki people in Northwestern Burma, where NHPC is building a dam for the military junta.

Inland culture fisheries in village tanks and ponds - A multi-location study in India - CAREWATER
This multi-location study on inland fisheries in village tanks and ponds attempts to map the changing institutional structure of the aquaculture sector in India Posted on 07 Aug, 2010 03:53 PM

carewaterThis multi-location study by

Worldwide Save Loktak Lake Campaign, NECEER, Bangalore
Posted on 06 Aug, 2010 02:26 PM

Save Loktak Lake campaign

Organizer: North East Centre for Environmental Education and Research, Imphal

Venue: Jaaga, Rhenius Street, Office Richmond Road, Opposite the Hockey Association Stadium main gate, Shanthinagar, Bangalore

Description:

The campaign is two year long awareness programme initiated by NECEER, Imphal for the conservation of Loktak Lake. More than 600 volunteers, 32 city Coordinators, Publicity Coordinator and 1 Worldwide Coordinator are involved in organizing this campaign. The campaign is to create awareness about the conservation of Loktak Lake, the largest fr...esh water lake in Northeast India. The lake was recognised as Ramsar site in 1990. Keibul Lamjao, the only floating national park in the world is situated at the south west part of the lake. It is home to the endangered Manipur brow antlered deer ‘Sangai’ - Cervus eldi eldi and many endangered species.

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