Watershed management aims to conserve soil and water resources through various treatment measures. Deterioration of watersheds occurs due to faulty agriculture, forestry, mining and other human activities, resulting in less production, increased erosion, and lowered water tables. Watershed development components include soil management, water management, afforestation, and other interdependent activities. Measures for watershed treatment include contour trenches, bench terracing, check dams, plantation, and other methods suitable for agricultural land and hill slopes. The overall goal is to develop watersheds in a sustainable manner.

1. WATER SHED MANAGEMENT
( p
(Special emphasis on soil
p
and water conservation)
WRE-I
UNIT- VIII
Prof S S JAHAGIRDAR
BE (CIVIL) ME(ENV ) PhD(persuing)
(CIVIL), ME(ENV.),PhD(persuing)
NK Orchid college of Engg. and Tech. , Solapur

2. Watershed:
• Definition:
“Watershed can be defined as a unit
“ h d b d fi d i
of area covers all the land which
contributes runoff to a common
point or outlet and surrounded by a
ridge line”.
Deterioration of watershed takes place due
to faulty and bad management through
the activity of man and hi animals.
h i i f d his i l

3. Causes of watershed Deterioration:
These activities are:
• Faulty agriculture, f
l i l forestry and pasture
d
(Grass land) management leading to
g g
degradation of land.
• Unscientific mining and quarrying
quarrying.
• Faulty road alignment and construction.
• I d t i li ti
Industrialization
• Forest Fires
• Apathy (less interest) of the people.

4. Results of watershed
Deterioration
D t i ti :
• Less production from agriculture, forests,
grass lands etc.
• Erosion increases and decreases biomass
production
• Rapid siltation of reservoirs, lakes
reservoirs
and river beds.
•LLess storage of water and l
f d lowering of
i f
water table.
• Poverty as a result of less food production.

5. WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT
Possible range of treatment
measures
• Contour bunding
• Contour trenching
• Contour stone walls
• Bench terraces
• Land levelling
• Summer ploughing

6. • Agro forestry with suitable species
• Vegetative barriers
• Ch k dams (Temporary and
Check d (T d
Permanent)
• Retaining walls
• Farm ponds and Percolation
ponds
• Renovation of existing water
bodies and inlet channels

7. COMPONENTS OF WATERSHED
DEVELOPMENT:
• • Human Resource Development (
p (Community
y
Development)
• Soil and Land Management
• Water M
W Management
• Crop Management
• Afforestation
• Pasture/Fodder Development
• Livestock Management
•R lE
Rural Energy MManagement
• Farm and non-farm value addition activities
• All these components are interdependent and
interactive.

8. DEVELOPED WATERSHED

9. Methods for hill slopes
p
• CONTOUR TRENCHES AND
STONE WALLS
• BENCH TERRACING

10. CONTOUR TRENCHES AND STONE
WALLS

13. •Suitable erosion control in
S it bl i t li
hills
•Adopted for hill slopes
>20% %
•Continuous or interrupted

15. BENCH TERRACING

17. • It helps to bring sloping land into
different level strips to enable
cultivation.
lti ti
• It consists of construction of step
like fields along contours by half
cutting and half filling.
g g
• Original slope is converted into
level fields The vertical and
fields.
horizontal intervals are decided
based l d slope.
b d land l

18. Methods for agric lt ral land
agricultural
• Check dam
• Percolation pond
• Micro catchments
• Contour bund
• Broad beds and furrows
• Gully l
G ll plugs
• Tree plantation
• Summer ploughing
S l hi
• Agro forestry
• Vegetative barriers
• Farm ponds

19. Check dam

21. • A low weir normally constructed across the
y
gullies
• Constructed on small streams and long
gullies formed by erosive activity of flood
water
• It cuts the velocity and reduces erosive
activity
• The stored water improves soil moisture of
the adjoining area and allows percolation
to recharge the aquifers
h h if
• Height depends on the bank height, varies
from a 1 m t 3 m and l
f to d length varies from
th i f
less than 3m to 10m

22. Percolation pond

23. • To improve the ground water
recharge.
• Shallow depression created at lower
portions in a natural or diverted
stream course
• Located in soils of permeable nature
p
• Adaptable where 20-30 ground
water wells for irrigation exist with
in the zone of influence about 800 X
900 m

24. Micro catchments

26. • To conserve insitu moisture and
reduce soil loss
• Circular basin of one meter dia
for level lands depending upon
infiltration and rainfall
• Ditches of size 5m x 5m with
trees planted centre
• Saucer basins / semi circular
bunds with 2m diameter to a
height of 15-20cm across the
slope

27. Broad b d and furrows
B d beds d f

28. • To control erosion and to
conserve soil moisture in the
soil during rainy days
• The broad bed and furrow
system is laid within the field
boundaries.
• Conserves soil moisture in dry
land.
• Controls soil erosion
erosion.
• Acts as a drainage channel
during heavy rainy days.
d i h i d

29. Contour bund

32. • To intercept the runoff flowing
p g
down the slope by an
embankment.
embankment
• It helps to control runoff
velocity.
• It can be adopted in light and
medium textured soils.
• It can be laid up to 6% slopes.
• It helps to retain moisture in the
field.

33. Gully plugs
yp g

34. • Gully plug is one of the simple method of
soil and water conservation. It plays an
important role in soil and water
conservation.
• G lli are f
Gullies formed d to erosion of top
d due i f
soil by the flow of rain water. In course of
time, a gully assumes a big shape and
erosion goes on increasing. To prevent
erosion, barriers or plugs of different
types of material are put across the gully
gully,
at certain intervals.

35. Tree plantation
• Instead of uneconomical agriculture,
g ,
farmers can grow grass in this hilly
area and can use that as a fodder for
cattle.
• Farmers can go for dairy development
if good quantity and quality of grass is
available.

36. •For soil and water conservation
this activity will help. Plantation
on common l d will satisfy b i
land ill ti f basic
need of fuel wood.
•Cheapest method for soil and
water conservation

37. Summer ploughing
p g g

38. •Main objective of field
preparation is to control weeds
•Facilitate easy sowing and to
establish good seed soil contact
•For easy absorption of moisture
y p
•To provide sufficient aeration
•To i
improve water holding
h ldi
capacity

39. Agro forestry
g y
• Agroforestry is an integrated
approach of using th i t
h f i the interactive ti
benefits from combining trees and
shrubs with crops and/or li t k
h b ith d/ livestock.
• It combines agricultural and forestry
technologies to create more di
h l i diverse,
productive, profitable, healthy and
sustainable l d
i bl land-use systems.

41. Vegetative barriers
g

43. •Vegetative barriers are also an
g
effective inter-terrace land
treatment in place of earthen
barriers.

44. Farm ponds
p

45. • Rain water is harvested and stored
• Used for storing water for longer duration
duration.
• Covered with polythene sheet to prevent
evaporation.
evaporation

46. Roof top rainwater harvesting
p g
• To recharge the wells (open and
tube wells) particularly
abandoned wells by a runoff
y
collection system.
• Direct on-use of collected water
on use
if storage facility is available.

47. RECHARGE TUBE WELL
• To directly feed depleted
aquifers to fresh water from
g
ground surface so that the
recharge is fast without any
evaporation loss
• Depth of recharge tube well
depends on the present depth of
bore wells in the area