Manage Water

Manage Water – Watershed Management

Watershed management has no such direct formula rather the management strategy depends on prevailing situation of a particular area . No one can’t deny from the fact that water scarcity reason is different in each watershed . So, the planning to manage all these watershed varies from a watershed to another watershed . Simply to say , a plan or a strategy in a watershed just can’t be replicated to another watershed .So Water shed management is done in customized way for each water shed.

While dealing with a watershed a ridge to valley approach has to be followed .Likewise, a top to bottom approach is much required . its infact, allows a systematic way to manage a watershed . That’s how a watershed is efficiently managed.

At the top of the ridges , go for continuous trenches . The objective is to treat the upper ridges so as to slow down the gushing flow and allow the water to be for more time in watershed i.e to have increased time of concentration(tc) ,so that maximum utilization of water can be done before it leaves the watershed. Also if the upper ridges will be treated and then water harvesting structures will be made at below side , then less silt will deposited in the structures.

Thereby the efficiency of the water harvesting structure will be maintained . There will be less chance of destruction of the structures .The maintenance cost will be less. As one come lower , continuous bunds can be raised .Farm bunds can be dug on farm lands .

Along a drainage line go for gully plugging right from the top and on the lower side of the drainage line nala bund ,gabion structure and check dam .The idea is to:

• Control soil erosion and
• Control flow of gushing water

The water which is running has make to walk . The walking water has to stop and finally the stop water has to force it to ground.

The idea is to trap , harvest and store rain water wherever it falls within the area itself. This way when the speed of rain water is controlled, the soil will be prevented from getting washed away and obviously rivers will not get flooded or silted .

The earlier efforts of water shed was focused on water harvesting structure and not as such on treating the watershed as a whole .This has not provided the solution against soil erosion and siltation of structure.

Experiences has to be taken from persons who has done a great work in this line .The Water man of India , Shri Rajender Singh ,the recipient of Ramon Magsaysay award from Tarun bharat sangh has set an example in Alwar district of Rajasthan by making 450 johads i.e small bunds or better to say water storage units build from soil ,stone etc in Aravari project.

The focus was also done on check dams all along the stream that allowed over flow that replenish the ground water in Alwar district that was in dark zone region devoid of water.
The much in news personality from last few years Shri Anna hazare , Jal yoddha from Ralegan siddhi in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra state has made serious efforts for percolation tanks by working with the local village community in participatory mode. The focus was use such a cropping pattern that demands comparatively less water and side by side controlling the unwanted grazing .