About 30% of people in India live in cities that are expected to double in population by 2050. With a growing economy and changing lifestyles the pressure on already strained water resources is increasing.
There is a dire need to revive and replenish rural and urban water management solutions as a new framework and approach for the nation.
- Only 3% of water on the surface is fresh
- 97% is salty and is in the oceans
- Of the total freshwater, 69% is found in glaciers, 30% underground and less than 1% in lakes, rivers and swamps
India is among the world’s most water-stressed countries. In 1950, India had 3,000–4,000 cubic meters of water per person. Today, this has fallen to around 1,000 cubic meters, largely due to population growth. China, by contrast, has twice the amount of water per person.
Growing competition over finite water resources, compounded by climate change, will have serious implications for India’s food security, as well as for the livelihoods of its farmers and for the country’s economic development.
Why Do We Need Water Management?
India has about 18% of the world’s population and only 4% of the world’s water resources. It is severely water-stressed, thereby making water management a national priority. India uses about 230 cubic kilometers of groundwater annually, which is more than a quarter of the global total, making it the world’s largest user of groundwater. About 90% of the groundwater extracted is used for irrigation and over 60% of the irrigated land in India is supported primarily by groundwater supplies.
For an agricultural country like India, water is a key driving force and has a direct bearing on its productivity and sustainability.
However, unregulated extraction and non-replenishment has reduced groundwater drastically and deteriorated its quality. The crisis has worsened further due to climate change, which causes erratic and intense rainfall.
This, coupled with lack of sufficient runoff storage capacity, leads to the loss of precious freshwater into the sea. Furthermore, there is a serious lack of infrastructure for safe disposal of wastewater in villages, which further leads to contamination of water resources. Water contamination is a serious problem, giving rise to health and hygiene concerns.
Defining The Traditional Water Management Systems In India
Medieval India had issues of both floods and droughts on a regular basis. This had led to the evolution of water management techniques specific to the respective regions. The basis of traditional water management in arid regions was to harness the rainwater through harvesting and conservation.
Using decades of experience, traditional structures were built to catch, hold, and store rainwater in the arid regions. In areas with hilly topography, surface water was harnessed for consumption. Some of these traditional methods have fallen into neglect with rapid urbanization, but many are still in use and as efficient as modern water management techniques.
Taanka, Rajasthan – Taanka was a harvesting system devised in the parched desert region. A cylindrical and paved underground pit was used to harvest rainwater from rooftops, courtyards, or artificially directed water flows. A fully filled taanka could last throughout the dry summer and was good for a family of five or six. This method helped families be self-sufficient in their water needs and was an important tool for providing their water security.
Johads in North India – Johads are small check dams that capture and store rainwater. These are essentially percolation ponds that are community owned and are constructed in areas with slope on three sides. The water is stored in a pit throughout the year, and helps recharge groundwater in the nearby water wells, besides providing water to locals for washing, bathing and drinking.
Naulas and kuhls in hilly regions – Kuhls are water channels found mostly in the western Himalayan region. These channels harvest water from streams and snowmelt to villages. Sometimes kuhls are lined with rocks to keep it from becoming clogged. Naula is a unique harvesting system that collects surface water and is typical in hilly Uttaranchal. Small wells and ponds are used to collect water by making a stone wall across a stream.
- Paar – Paar is a common water harvesting practice in the western Rajasthan region. It is a common place where the rainwater flows from the agar or catchment and in the process percolates into the sandy soil. In order to access the percolated water, kuis or beris are dug in the agor or storage area. The structure was constructed through traditional masonary technology. This is the most predominant form of rainwater harvesting in the region. Rainwater harvested through PAAR technique is known as Patali paani.
- Pat – Bhitada village in Madhya Pradesh developed the unique pat system. This system was devised according to the peculiarities of the terrain to divert water from swift-flowing hill streams into irrigation channels called pats. The diversion bunds across the stream are made by piling up stones and then lining them with teak leaves and mud to make them leakproof.
The Way Forward
The key element to achieve water security is to mitigate water scarcity in India. Changing rainfall patterns require alternative traditional methods to be looked at and revived. The traditional methods established in Medieval India as mentioned above are simple and cost effective, and are ingrained in the culture of the respective regions and thus can be specific solutions.
The methods followed were environment friendly and have relevance even today. However, their revival requires a change in mindset, both at the community and at the government level. The problem at hand is huge, and a participative effort is required from all stakeholders.
The way forward lies here!