WATER HARVESTING

CONTEXT IN THE
INDIAN SUBCONTINENT

Anupma Sharma
National Institute of Hydrology
Roorkee, India

The Indian Subcontinent

INDIA
SRILANKA
BANGLADESH
NEPAL

INDIA Water Resources & Population

~ 1/6th of worlds population
1/50th of worlds land
1/25th of worlds water resources
average annual pptn ~ 4000 km3
basinwide average annual flow in
rivers ~ 1953 km3
utilizable annual surface water ~ 690
km3
replenishable groundwater resources
~ 432 km3

Major river basins

India
Water Availability
large spatial & temporal variations in India
basin wise per
per-capita
capita water availability varies
from 13,393 m3/year to 300 m3/year
availability
il bili
< 1700m3 /capita/year - water stressed
< 1000m3 /capita/year - water scarce
available
il bl water/capita/year
t /
it /
d
decreased
d ffrom
6008 m3 in 1947 to 2384 m3 in 2000

~ 7580% of annual ppt

during four monsoon
months
Out of 8760 hrs in a year,
max ppt received ~ 100
hrs
several parts under

water stressed

water scarcity &

absolute water scarcity category

India

Water Availability
70% of sw and large proportion of gw
reserves contaminated by biological,
toxic organic & inorganic pollutants
Degradation of quality in turn leads to
water scarcity as it limits water
availability for human use

Freshwater Crisis gradually unfolding in India

root causes:
Rampant pollution of fw resources
IInadequate
d
t attention
tt ti
t water
to
t conservation,
ti
inefficiency in water use, water re-use, gw
recharge
h
& ecosystem
t
sustainability
t i bilit
Very low water prices
discourage wastage)

(which

do

not

Freshwater Crisis
root causes (contd.):
(
)
Uncontrolled use of bore-wells allowing
extraction of gw at very high rates
Communities are not
managing water resources

partners

in

Pressure on gw resource
Source of groundwater

Year
1951

Year
1990

Dug wells
Shallow tubewells
Public tubewells
Electric pumps
Diesel pumps

3860000
3000
2400
21000
65700

9490000
4750000
63000
8220000
4360000

Growing demands triggered by expanding

population.
l i
Increased human pressure on a finite GW
resource
combined
with
widespread
mismanagement has resulted in serious
deterioration of GW quality and quantity.

Impact of Development of GW Resources

Large scale adoption of electric & diesel

pumps formed the backbone of
green
revolution. Without water, improved crop
varieties, fertilizers and pesticides would never
have yielded either crop nor farmer response.
Negative environmental impacts are strongly
y
felt today.
The hidden loss during the process of
unprecedented agricultural development was
the traditional legacy of water harvesting.

Freshwater management in India

Water Conservation
Watershed
W t h d managementt
Water quality conservation

Inter basin water transfer

Gw management
R
Recycle
l and
d reuse off water
t
Public
ub c involvement
o e e ta
and
d capac
capacity
ty bu
building
d g

Water Harvesting
Rain
R
i captured
t d from
f
1 2% off Indias
1-2%
I di land
l d can
provide a population of 950 million 100 litres
per person and day.
day
The severe drought of 2000 in Rajasthan,
Rajasthan
Gujarat & western MP manifested, besides the
extensive
human
suffering
suffering,
also
the
opportunities at hand to use water harvesting
for drought mitigation.

Sarpanch of Raj-Samadhiyala villages in Rajkot

district encouraged villagers to build 12 check
dams & undertake watershed development.
Despite receiving rainfall < 2/3rd of normal,
farmers could sow cotton, wheat, groundnuts &
vegetables.
To raise funding several rules, including fines,
were developed
d
l
d in
i the
th village.
ill

Peoples participation

Local communities play central role in

planning implementation & funding of
planning,
activities for development programs.
People use their traditional knowledge,
available
resources,
imagination
&
creativity to develop watershed, harvest
water and implement community-centered
programs.

India
Currently, many programs/ campaigns/
projects are underway to spread mass
awareness & mobilize general population in
managing water resources
resources..
underlying watchword/ motto
each
h one off us iis responsible
ibl for
f
the
h
current state of water resources and
environment
i
iin the
h country, and
d we cannot
wait for someone else to solve itit..

India
Hariyali (greenery) by Indian Central Gov
Gov..
Jan 2003
"the country is facing a severe water problem
not because it does not have adequate sources
of water or because it receives less rainfall but
because of the lack of proper water harvesting.
harvesting
Lord Indra has been very kind to us. The
problem lies in our inability to conserve all the
rainwater.
- Prime Minister, India

India
to enable rural population to conserve water
for drinking, irrigation, fisheries, afforestation
& generate employment opportunities
opportunities..
project executed by Gram Panchayats
(village governing bodies) with peoples
participation;; technical support by block
participation
(sub--district) administration
(sub
administration..
Khet ka paani Khet mein, Gaon ka paani
gaon mein,, Khet ki mitti Khet mein,, Gaon
g
kimitti gaon mein
mein..

India
Neeru-Meeru
N
NeeruM
(Water
(W t & You)
Y ) May
M 2000
Govt. of AP
In 3 yrs, additional storage space > 1800 Mm
Mm3
3
created by
y constructing
g various water
harvesting
structures
through
peoples
participation.
participation
p
p
.
Water literacy drive Jalachaitanyam (water
awareness) to create large
large--scale awareness
about conservation measures & sustainable
management of water resources
resources..

Simplest Rain Water Harvesting

Newly
constructed
t t d
anicut in Sikar
Di t i t
District

RWH Structure at
GW Dept., Jaipur
Run off area = 1050 m2
Annual recharge = 457m3

Water harvesting structure - Johad

structure bound on
three sides by natural
slopes of the hill;
f th side,
fourth
id a mud
d wallll
usually semi-circular
in form holds back
the monsoon run
run-off.
off.

Role of women is important

Women have taken outstanding

initiative in water harvesting work

Community s
role
l essential
ti l tto
revive traditional
recharge
h
structures
Neglected old
AR structure in
Dadiya Village
Village,
Sikar District

Vigilant farmers

Field conditions

India
Still a long way to go
T preserve our water
To
t and
d environment,
i
t
we need to make systematic changes in
th way we grow our food,
the
f d manufacture
f t
the goods, and dispose off the waste
(Lazaroff, 2000)

SRI LANKA
~ 4500 km of rivers, 2400 km of irrigation
canals and 3500 deep
deep--water tanks,
reservoirs, & artificial/ natural wetlands.
wetlands.
mean annuall rainfall
i f ll 1200 mm
mm;; high
hi h
variability & non
non--uniform distribution
distribution;;
periodic
i di
shortages
h t
off water
t
f
for
b th
both
irrigation & domestic use.
use.
countries withdrawing available water
resources at a rate > 40
40%
% will experience
high water stress conditions
conditions..

Sri Lanka
Pattern of life depends on rainwater availability.
Wett zone - mountains
W
t i and
d SW parts
t - receives
i
ample rainfall (an annual average of 250
centimeters).
centimeters)
Dry zone - SE, east, and northern parts receives 1200 - 1900 mm of rain annually.
annually
Much of rain falls from Oct. Jan.; during rest
of the y
year there is very
y little pp
ppt.,, and water
needs to be conserved. The arid NW & SE
coasts receive the least amount of rain 600
to 1200 mm per year concentrated within
short period of winter monsoon.

Sri Lanka
dry zone of Sri Lanka

covers

2/3rds of country, rural population

largely
g y depends
p
on irrigation
g
reservoirs for
daily needs - reservoir waters contaminated in
extremely
y dry
y conditions.

Rural peasantry also use gw from dug wells.

only 60% rural population has access to safe
drinking
g water. Rainwater harvesting
g a viable
option for these communities.

Sri Lanka
Traditionally, rainwater is collected from trees,
using banana leaves or stems as temporary
gutters;; up to 200 litres may be collected from a
gutters
large tree in a single storm
storm.. Many individuals/
groups have developed wide variety of RWH
systems..
systems
roof-water harvesting
g
most effective in terms
of q
quantity
y & adequacy
q
y

Sri Lanka

Drawing clean water; the

water is collected and
filtered rainwater from the
roof of their own home

A 7500 litre domestic

rainwater harvesting
tank

Sri Lanka
Significant impact of RWH in rural areas

assured supply of domestic water to homes

impact on social life; life style changed

dramatically

Better school attendance

No waterwater-borne diseases reported;

p
;q
quality
y of
rainwater indicates that it is fit to drink after
g
boiling

Sri Lanka
Non structural elements of the work,
Non-structural
especially its financial and organizational
y
present
p
a
bigger
gg
sustainability,
challenge.
A lot of effort and patience are needed to
generate the interest, develop the skills
and
d
organize
i
th
the
managementt
structures
needed
to
implement
sustainable community-based projects.
projects

BANGLADESH
Water-related problems:
flooding
flooding, droughts,
droughts arsenic contamination
of gw
water supply primarily based on gw
An estimated 29 million people exposed
to arsenic contamination; poses serious
threat to health
Rainwater harvesting
g offers a p
possible
source of drinking water.

Bangladesh

Amount of rainfall varies both spatially &

p
y; mainly
y during
g April
p to Sept.
p
temporally;

Max. ave. annual rainfall occurs in NE

districts; Min.
Min in western/SW districts

GW contamination by
y arsenic is more
severe in the western/SW districts,
g would be
where rainwater harvesting
more appropriate to solve the polluted
g water p
problems.
drinking

Bangladesh
RWH plants set up in different parts of Sylhet
district have ensured arsenic free water for a
large number of people, particularly in rural
areas.
"We are greatly benefited by RWH plants.
We have no fear of being attacked with
arsenic contamination - Jhunu Rani Das,
village Mitrimahal,
Mitrimahal Sylhet.
Sylhet
The water is used for various purposes
p p
including drinking.

Bangladesh
Mostt buildings
M
b ildi
are nott designed
d i
d for
f
RWH..
RWH
Structural modification of buildings will be
necessary to
t make
k them
th
suitable
it bl for
f RWH
RWH..
Millions of slum dwellers in dire need of clean
drinking water, will have difficulty to adopt to
such techniques
techniques..
In villages tin
tin--roofed houses can be modified to
capture
t
rainwater
i
t by
b adding
ddi
a gutter
tt system.
system
t .
However, many villagers living in houses made
outt off straws
t
d nott have
do
h
th means and
the
d
resources to adopt RWH techniques
techniques..

NEPAL
Nepal is a landlocked country with highest
peak in the world.
Three distinct altitudinal zones:
Terai 300 - 1000 m
Mid hill
hills 1000 - 4000m
4000
Mountainous areas > 4000 m
Communities in hills & mountains suffer
f
from
alternative
lt
ti
cycles
l
off excess rain
i and
d
water scarcity.

Nepal
Only 67
67%
% of population have access to safe,
clean drinking water
water;; around 28
28,,000 children die
every year due to water related diseases.
diseases.
Gravity flow schemes operate in hill areas and
hand pumps are used in Terai region
region..
Support for geographical locations where
access of gw is difficult,
difficult and poor communities
communities..
Alternative technologies
technologies:: RWH & fog water
collection..
collection

Nepal
Meeting of user
groups

Rain Water Harvesting

For community settlements on hills, RWH is a
viable technological option; useful in rural
settlements where pressure head is not
sufficient to supply water from conventional
sources such as springs & streams.
RWH systems
t
used
d in
i
h
households,
h ld
institutional buildings & urban areas.

Nepal

ferro--cement tank to store water

ferro

Nepal
Fog Water
F
W t Collection
C ll ti
- Nepal
N
l Water
W t from
f
F
Fog
Project (NWFP) began in 1997
Goal of NWFP to improve access to potable
g
Two main
water for remote villages.
components of project:

to assess potential for FWC technology

technolog in
Nepali environmental context. Shown that fog
collection is a viable technology in Nepal.
Nepal

to implement
p
full scale,, community
y based
fog collection projects where they are feasible.

Nepal
FWC - consists of erecting a plastic woven
mesh vertically in the path of moving fog
fog.. In
Nepal the best conditions for this occur on hill
or ridge tops 2000 m 3500 m asl
asl..
Tiny fog water droplets coalesce on the mesh
and drip down into a collection system.
system.
First step at a potential site is to erect 1m
1m standard fog collectors
collectors.. These are
observed daily and the data is used to
determine if a full
full--scale project is feasible
feasible..

Nepal
Fog Water Collection

So far, three projects implemented in

Kalpokhari, Megma & Dandabazar in
eastern region of Nepal.

Nepal
Stone spouts
serve
local
community
as
perennial source of water for daily
use. Stone spouts are beautifully
carved stone elements,
elements in the
shape of a crocodile head or
serpent head,
head installed in the front
or side walls of sunken and
stepped platforms for the purpose
of channelling water for human
use.
use

Nepal
Most stone spouts receive water from either an
individual spring or nearby aquifer. Despite their
age, the underground supply and drainage
lines of many old systems are still functioning,
nobly characterizing the technical and
engineering skills of the ancient people of
N
Nepal.
l

Water Harvesting

Cost, climate, technology, hydrology, social &

political elements all play a role in the
eventual choice of water supply scheme
which is adopted for a given situation.

Proper

understanding of underlying social

f t
factors
can make
k a difference
diff
b t
between
success
or
failure
in
introduction/
i l
implementation
t ti off water
t harvesting
h
ti systems.
t

 Need

for research on technical solutions,

t ki
taking
i t accountt catchment
into
t h
t requirements
i
t
& dynamics, and design of system.

With increased adoption of technologies it is

important to have good pro
pro-active
active knowledge
on consequences of upscaling at catchment
and
a
d river
e bas
basin sca
scale.
e

Little

is known about sociosocio-economic,

environmental
i
t l & hydrological
h d l i l impact
i
t off
upscaling small
small--scale WH technologies
technologies..
N d to
Need
t
anticipate
ti i t
i
impacts
t
b t
between
upstream/ downstream water uses & users
users..

Yaapo divyaa utavaa sravanti khanitrimaa

utavaa yaa swayarn jaa / samudraartha yaa
soochayapaavakaasta
aap
devi
iha
mamavantu //
//
-

(Rig-Veda, VII 49.2)

The waters which are from heaven and

which flow after being dug,
dug
and even those that spring by themselves,
the bright pure waters which lead to the
sea may those divine waters protect me
sea,
here

Thank You