|
Sanction Date: |
21-01-2019 |
|
Project Category |
MG |
|
Year |
2018-2019 |
|
Project Duration |
3 Years + 9 Months project extension |
|
BTA : |
Water Resource Management |
|
Project Site/ State/ Districts/ Villages Covered: |
Uttarakhand State
|
|
Organization/ Implementation Agency: |
TERI School of Advanced Studies,
10-Institutional Area, Vasant Kunj
New Delhi |
|
Project Partners: |
S.No. |
Name |
| 1. |
Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan, Dehradun, Uttarakhand |
| 2. |
DAV (PG) College, Dehradun, Uttarakhand |
|
Lead Proponent: |
Dr. V.S.P. Sinha
TERI School of Advanced Studies,
10-Institutional Area, Vasant Kunj
New Delhi |
|
Project Brief Description: |
An estimated more than five million springs support communities in India's mountain ranges
from the Niligris to the Himalayas. Springs, which occur where groundwater intersects the
surface, provide safe, perennial drinking water, feed rivers and anchor entire ecosystems. But
these vital resources are under threat due to environmental degradation, increasing water
demand, and climate change. Evidence shows spring discharge and water quality are
declining in many areas of the country. New efforts are needed to protect springs to help
ensure water security, biodiversity and ecosystem sustainability. Uttarakhand Himalayas are
considered as fragile due to specific biophysical conditions which render the environment to
be easily damaged by natural and human-induced activities causing loss of life and property.
Many studies of the Himalaya tend to describe the mountain environment and livelihoods in
terms of 'fragility' and 'crisis' (FAO 1997).
At present, the most exploited source for drinking and irrigation in the region has been
surface water (Streams, Springs, rivers and rainwater). Due to non-availability of proper
rainwater harvesting structures, limited surface storage capacity and steep slopes make
collection of rainwater a challenging task. The other potable water sources are river water,
which is only available to those who are living close to the river banks. Moreover, due to
difficult terrain conditions, inaccessibility and high infrastructure cost for potable water
supply made it difficult for the provision of water at household level. Therefore, local sources
of water e.g. spring and dug wells become important for the majority of the people.
Springs, if properly managed, can be a good sustainable source of water for meeting the
demand. Effects of various anthropogenic developmental activities, seismic activities and
change in land use and topography of the springsheds, the total flow of the springs are
getting affected results in shortage in potable water supply. Hence, the springs have to be
revived for sustainable water supply in the mountains. Springs need to be studied and
measures have to be taken for protection and augmentation of mountain aquifers.
Existing water provisioning schemes in Utarakhand are not enough for sustainable and
durable water supply to meet the demand. The reason can be attributed to many factors
such as lack of water availability, poor infrastructure, inappropriate supply mechanism, poor
maintenance, climate change and other natural and anthropogenic factors. This has plunged
mountain residents to severe water shortage, so much so that women and girl have to walk
kilometers for potable water. In Uttrakhand, out of total 16000 villages 8800 villages have
been placed as water scarce villages. The districts like Almora, Pauri, Tehri, Pithora Garh and
Chamoli are facing drinking water crisis. The streams of Uttarakhand have shown a drastic
decrease in its annual flows ranging from 50 to 90 percent in these districts. Thus, the need
for mitigation and adaptation strategies to address water security issues in Uttarakhand is
required. This project aims to understand the need of water security and related challenges
and look at the possibilities of spring rejuvenation to improve water security in Uttarakhand
Himalaya. |
|
Beneficiaries/ Stakeholders: |
Department of Agriculture,
Department of Water resources,
Department of Public Health,
Department of Tourism,
Academia and civil societies |
|
Activity Chart (For 3 years) |
Click Here |
| Project Objectives |
Quantifiable Deliverables |
Monitoring Indicators |
| Generating future climatic projections with high resolution regional climate model |
Development of spring-shed management framework |
Future Climatic projection Model Developed at regional scale (No) |
| To identify regional and local water imbalance and water stress index |
Integrated Geospatial Climate Modelling (IGCM) for sustainable water resources management, applicable for entire Uttarakhand State. |
Number of spring-shed treated/demonstrated (Nos.) |
| To quantify water availability at regional and local level |
04 spring-sheds for pilot intervention for restoration and rejuvenation activities. |
Increased the water flow at selected site (%) |
| Inventory preparation, Protection, Restoration and Rejuvenation of springs by piloting solutions for selected springs |
New recharge structures to increase the water flow at least 15-25% in the selected spring shed. |
Number of beneficiaries (Nos.) |
| Recommendation for community based solutions for sustainable water management and use |
Relief from water drudgery particularly for women (Approx. 1000 no.) residing in the selected spring shed. |
No. of documents prepared and published (Nos.) |
| Recommendation for water harvesting techniques and spring-shed management |
No. of databases developed |
| Action plan for land and water resources management for selected spring-sheds and catchments |
01 Report on Implementation oriented Action Plan for spring-shed management. |
No. of policy documents/research paper/repot prepared and published (Nos.) |
