TRADITIONAL WATER HARVESTING SYSTEMS OF INDIA

GROUP MEMBERS

1.Amit Dwivedi 462.Sonika Minz

473.Jay Prakash

48

CONTENTS

WHAT IS WATER HARVESTING WHY WATER HARVESTING IN INDIA ? DIFFERENT TRADITIONAL WATER

HARVESTING SYSTEM IN INDIA WHAT HAPPEN TO TRADITIONAL WATER

HARVESTING SYSTEMS IN INDIA CONCLUSION

WHAT IS WATER HARVESTING

Water harvesting is the gathering, or accumulating and storing, of water. Water harvesting has been used to provide drinking water, water for livestock, water for irrigation or to refill aquifers in a process call ground water recharge

WHY WATER HARVESTING IN INDIA ?

In India, most water reaches the ground through rain. In contrast, in Western countries (mid-

latitude regions), 50% of water coming down (precipitation) is in the form of snow

Snow melts slowly and percolates into the ground and recharges ground water

Rain water need management Rain water drained out in the rivers and

sea, if not managed properly

WHY WATER HARVESTING IN INDIA CONTINUE

Total annual rainfall in India: 400 million hectare-meters (area x height)

India’s area: 329 million hectares

If evenly spread, average height: 1.28m

Actual distribution, highly skewed area- wise:

Thar desert receives less than 200mm raifall annually, while Cherrapunji receives 11,400mm

But almost every part of India receives at least 100mm annually

100 mm rain water will be sufficient for drinking purpose, if manage properly.

DIFFERENT TRADITIONAL WATER HARVESTING SYSTEM IN INDIA

Water has been harvested in India since antiquity, with our ancestors perfecting the art of water management.

They harvested the rain drop directly.

They harvested water from flooded rivers

India have Different Harvesting Systems all over India depends on rainfall pattern, available resourses and local wisdom

Great Bath of Mohenjodaro

TRANS HIMALAYAN REGION (zing)

Water from melting snow and ice is the only source of water here.

Even the Thar desert gets more rainfall.

The water in the streams was hence led by channels to storage tanks called zing and used the next day.

 

ZING

Western himalayan region(kuls and Guhl)

kuls and Guhl (cont.)

Kuls are water channels found in precipitous mountain areas. These channels carry water from glaciers to villages in the valley of Himachal Pradesh. Where the terrain is muddy, the kul is lined with rocks to keep it from becoming clogged. In the Jammu region too, similar irrigation systems called kuhls.

North eastern Hill Ranges(zabo,bamboo drip irrigation)

Rainfall and groundwater are themain sources of water in this region. Natural springs are used for drinking water purposes. Zabo, meaning impounding run-off’ is practiced in NAGALAND

The runoff collects in ponds in the middle terrace. The runoff then passes through slopes where there are cattle yards, and finally reaches the paddy fields at the foot of the hills It is still practiced in villages such as kikruma in Nagaland

Bamboo drip irrigation

This system is mainly used in meghalaya region

this is a 200 yr old system,used by the tribal farmers of khasi and jaintia hills.

Bamboo drip irrigation (Cntn.)

Rapidly flowing water from streams and springs was captured by bamboo pipes and transported over hundreds of metres to drip irrigate black pepper cultivation in Meghalaya.

Many bamboo pipes of varying diameters and lengths were laid to manipulate and control the flow of water.

Brahmaputra Valley(dongs/dungs)

This region has many natural rivers like Brahmaputra and Barek rivers.

Dongs or ponds were constructed by the Bodo

tribes of Assam to harvest water for irrigation. . These ponds are individually owned with no community involvement.

In the Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, small irrigation channels called dungs or jampois were used to bring water from streams to rice fields.

Thardesert(tarai,tankas,stepwells,kunds,kuis)

The Thar Desert receives very little rainfall. Tarais (reservoirs) were built in the valley

between sand dunes by constructing bunds at the two ends.

Individual homes and farms in Bikaner built tankas.

Stepwells are India’s most unique contribution to architecture.

Kunds or kundis in Western Rajasthan and Gujarat harvest rainwater for drinking

Kuis or beris were used to harvest rainwater in areas with scanty rainfall.

Central Highlands (tanks and johads)

The region is full of ravines and valleys.

Irrigation by wells and tanks was very common

Both Jodhpur and Udaipur in Rajasthan are dotted with innumerable lakes.

The Chandela Kings (851 – 1545 A.D.) of Bundelkhand, Madhya Pradesh, established a network of several hundred tanks that ensured a satisfactory level of groundwater.

Central Highlands (tanks and johads) Cont.

The Bundela Kings who came later built close to palaces and temples and were not originally meant for irrigation at all, but for the use of all.

Small earthen check dams called

johads were built in Rajasthan to capture and conserve rainwater.

Tanka,Beris,Kunds and Stepwells

johads

Deccan Plateau(bhandaras,cheruvu)

The rainfall is low to moderate. Many kinds of irrigation systems like wells,

embankments across rivers and streams, reservoirs and tanks are all found here.

Check dams or diversion weirs called bhandaras were built by villagers across rivers in Maharashtra.

In Andhra Pradesh, where the annual rainfall is 1000 mm, large tanks called cheruvu were the main irrigation source.

Western Ghats(surangam)

Surangam, a special water harvesting structure, is found in Kasaragod district in northern Kerala.

People here depend on groundwater

Western Coastal Plains(virdas)

Shallow wells called virdas were dug in low depressions called jheels (tanks).

They were built by the nomadic Maldharis who identified these depressions by studying the flow of water during the monsoon.

Eastern Coastal Plains(bunds)

Being on the coast, Kendrapada district of Orissa suffers from waterlogging, floods or saltwater ingress.

There are also a number of rivers, creeks and ponds.

The solution was a community pond in each village, with huge bunds to stop saltwater ingress

Every house also had a pond in its backyard

The Islands (Jackwells)

The Shompen tribals of the Great Nicobar Island made full use of the undulating terrain to harvest water.

In the lower parts, bunds of hard wood were built and water collected in the pits called jackwells.

A full length of bamboo is cut longitudinally and placed along a gentle slope with the lower end leading into a shallow pit.

These serve as conduits for rainwater which is collected drop by drop in pits called Jackwells.

Indo-Gangetic Plains(ahar-pyne,inundation canal) Ahar-pyne

Ahar-pyne is a traditional floodwater harvesting system indigenous to south Bihar

WHAT HAPPEN TO TRADITIONAL WATER HARVESTING SYSTEMS IN INDIA

Decades of British rule ravaged the peoples’ water knowledge heritage.

Technological changes such as the introduction of tubewells put richer farmers in command of the tank area.

Big Farmers have lost interest in the community management of the tanks because of technological development.

In the urban areas these systems have either disappeared because of pressure from real estate lobbies or have become heavily polluted.

Today, traditional water harvesting systems are only important in remote areas such as the Himalayan states which are beyond the immediate reach of water bureaucracies.

CONCLUSION

Ground water exploitation in India is very high Area irrigated by ground water has increased 5

times since independence Tubewells and borewells constructed primarily

by larger farmers, encouraged by cheap electricity drain ground water

Big dam projects have hardly had any positive impact Very few surface irrigation initiatives completed

since independence Too expensive to complete More importantly, displace communities, Also reduce soil quality, lead to deforestation, all

of which is detrimental to ground water levels

CONCLUSION (Cont.)

Traditional water harvesting systems have withstood the test of time Hence, worth taking seriously, of course in the

current context and fully understanding their limitations

Example of the stellar success of traditional water harvesting systems:

The city of Jodhpur, even though several hundred years old and right in the middle of a desert, has never been evacuated for lack of water.

The traditional water harvesting systems worked even in droughts when piped water supply failed.

CONCLSION (Cont.)

Several success stories in watershed development like Sukhomajari village, ralegan siddhi village have shown the ray of hope for local management of water with involvement of community and small budget.

Water security is not only determined by the nature alone. It is the culture, society and tradition which have to play an equal role.

If land and rainwater managed properly with the efficient water harvesting techniques then there will never be the problem of water scarcity in any part of India.

THANK YOU