This presentation deals with Watershed Management In India and areas where there is scope of development. It also talks about a solution and our urges that our approach should be based on sustainability.

1. Watershed area development:
- an approach for sustainability

2. In India 70% of landmass is underlain by
hard rocks so percolation is very slow

3. Millions of hectares of prime
agricultural land being laid waste
due to over-irrigation induced
waterlogging and salinity.

4. Why we talk about dry lands only
• Worlds major land mass is part of dry
land
• Major biodiversity located in this
system
• Dry land system is most fragile system
• Desertification is an irreversible
process
• Extinction of species is reduction of
gene pool for future
• Water and soil are most essential input
for food grain

5. Social characteristics of dry-land

8. Common
outlet

10. Geology of India

11. S tatus of irrig ation in
India
Irrigated
36%
Non
irrigated
64%

12. 60-90%
20-30%
10-20%
0-10%
30-60%
NA
Status of irrigation

13. Hydrosphere: water in earth’s
environment…some hard facts
• Global water balance
– Average precipitation less
than 1000mm annually
– More than 95% is sea water
• Of all fresh water
– Large part locked up as ice-
caps
– More than 95% of usable fresh
water is groundwater
– Less than 1% is surface
water
– Not all groundwater is
accessible to man
P = E + RO + GW + ET + SM
P= Precipitation E= Evaporation
RO= Run off GW= Ground Water
ET= Evapo-transpiration SM= Soil moisture

14. Water balance
• Input:
–Rainfall
• Output:
• Evaporation
• Percolation
(ground water)
• Evapotranspiration
• Soil moisture
• Run off

15. Nomenclature of watershed in India
Category Numbers Size (000 ha)
Region 6 25000-100000
Basin 35 3000-25000
Catchments 112 1000-3000
Sub Catchments 500 200-1000
Watershed 3237 50-200
Sub Watershed 12000 10-50
Mille watershed 72000 1-10
Micro watershed 400000 0.5-1

16. The life of a river is its catchment area or watershed,
that is the area from where it literally catches its water

17. Watershed development is
aimed at treating these
catchments areas to slow
down the intensely flowing
water at every point to make it
walk rather than run so that it
remains available for use in the
village for a longer period of
time

18. Different order of streams in a watershed area

19. What is watershed development
Watershed development is not an activity
Watershed development is not just a program
Watershed development is a concept
It is an approach for sustainability

20. Objectives
• To reduce run off
• To reduce soil erosion
• To increase soil moisture
• To make water streams perennial
• To increase ground water level
• To rejuvenate the past flora and fauna
• To enhance productivity of land
• Overall sustainability of ecosystem
Ridge
Valley

21. PRINCIPLE OF SOIL AND WATER
CONSERVATION MEASURE
 Increase the time of concentration and
thereby allowing more runoff water to be
absorbed and held in the soil profile.
 Intercepting a long slope into several short
ones, so as to maintain less than a critical
velocity for the runoff water.
 Protection against damages owing to
excessive runoff.
 Prevent excessive soil and water losses.

22. Natural treatment
. . . Protective Regeneration and Afforestation

23. On slightly lower gradients, staggered or
continuous trenches along contour lines
are recommended.

24. Continuous Contour Trenches
with Plantation

25. On gentle slopes, contour bunds are recommended

26. Gully plugs or boulder checks are small rock dams
made on small drainage lines or gullies

27. GULLY PLUGS ( Stone Wall Terrace )
Increased cultivation Area
Gully treatment in progress

28. GABION STRUCTURE
Breaking run-off
velocity
Increase in irrigated area

29. On larger streams and flatter land, rock and wire dams called
gabion structures are recommended using local stones

30. Low cost masonry gabion structure

31. PERCOLATION TANK
Pre Operational status
Post Operational status

32. Types of Farm ponds
• Dugout farm ponds
• Embankment type farm ponds

33. Dugout farm ponds harvest rainwater
within the farm for protecting the crop from gaps in
rain

34. Farm pond meant for protective irrigation and
the seven harvests
1.With the first major rains, fish fingerlings are
released
2.The second harvest is of edible water plants
3.The major harvest is, of course, the kharif crop
4.Rice is grown at the edge of the pond
5.There is sufficient water to irrigate the rabi crop
6.Unirrigated rabi crops like gram after the water
recedes
7.The seventh harvest is of silt deposits

35. Stone masonry check dams built on larger streams can used
to support Community Lift Irrigation Projects

36. Design of Masonry Check dam

37. BUNDING
Acts as barrier to
check run-off
Reduced soil erosion
and increased soil
moisture, productivity
and biomass

38. LAND LEVELING AND BUNDING
Increased infiltration and time of concentration

39. BRUSHWOOD CHECK DAM
LOOSE ROCK DAM
Reduce runoff velocity and stabilize the gully
Increase cultivated Area
GRADE STABILISATION STRUCTURE

40. Bench terracing
Bench terracing is practised on steep hilly slopes where agriculture
has replaced natural forest and grasslands since time immemorial.
Thus, more reduction in slope length will not be able to reduce the
intensity of runoff water.

41. Bench terracing involves converting the original ground
into level step like fields constructed by half cutting and
half filling, which reduces the degree of the slope. In hilly
areas of Nilgiri hills, in North East hill areas of India and in
Himachal Pradesh, this approach of bench terracing for
agro-forestry models is gradually getting popular.

42. DIRECT OPEN
WELL
RECHARGING
RECHARGING PIPE
RECHARGING
CHAMBER

43. INCREASE IN
WATER LEVEL IN
WELL
INCREASE IN
IRRIGATED AREA

44. watershed management has been defined as an integration of
technology with in the natural boundaries of a drainage area
for optimum development of land , water and plant resources
to meet the basic minimum needs of the people in a sustainable
manner

45. Villager resting under energy plant to restore his energy.

46. Lets save each and every drop of water for next generation