Figure 6: Vanrai Bandhara (Waste bags check dam) arresting flowing water in Palsunde village, Akole block, Ahmednagar District, Maharashtra
Watershed Organization Trust
3. Water Harvesting
Harvesting water through Watershed Development (WSD) is an important and widely accepted technique to increase the supply to meet the water requirements and make a village water secure. WSD is based on the principle of catching rainwater on ground surface; by constructing locale appropriate area treatments (Close Contour Trenches, Farm bunding, Tree plantation, Terracing, etc.) and drainage line structures (Gully plugs, Loose boulder structures, check dams, etc.), thus increasing the water stock on the surface and in aquifers. To implement water stewardship effectively, WSD plays a major role as it primarily strengthens supply side management. However, having implemented watershed treatments, regular repairs and maintenance are important to continue receiving the benefits.
Once the water budget of the village is calculated, the repair and maintenance requirement of water harvesting structures are documented. If village is water deficit, repairs and maintenance works are taken up in summer season for structures to function to their full potential. If the deficit is high and runs for longer period, new soil and water conservation structures are erected. All these works are done through Shramdaan (local contribution generally in kind) and convergence with the government and other donor projects if available.
The recent drinking water scarcity due to erratic rainfall in most of the project villages motivated villagers to provide shramdaan and work to enhance the water storage potential. The convergence with government programmes during 2016 & 2017 has contributed to harvesting 8.62 billion liters in the project villages. Since convergence brought huge monetary contribution to the villages, it motivated villagers to take additional efforts and boosted their confidence to establish linkages with government projects to implement WSD activities.
While WSD activities are always beneficial to improve the supply of surface and groundwater, with experience of more than 3 decades in the Watershed Development sector, some key points were learnt in the field. Appropriate water harvesting structures are constructed only as and where required, since it requires great human force and financial investments. Biophysical characters change with different geographies and hence WSD has been modified as per local needs. This considers water requirements by mankind by also securing water for local ecosystems and water base flow. While following the drainage line treatments, utmost care is taken to construct only minimum required structures so as to maintain flow for the downstream ecosystem and communities.