Measures to Improve Water Storage and Irrigation System

Water storage and irrigation systems form essential components of agriculture and water resource management. These systems range from traditional methods like canals to advanced techniques like drip irrigation. Water storage systems like reservoirs and rainwater harvesting provide consistent water supply and reduce dependency on rainfall. Currently, we are facing water shortage as the per capita water availability has come down from 5177 cubic meters in 1951 to 1545 cubic meters, as per the 2011 census. Therefore, we need to take various measures to improve the water storage and irrigation system.

Water Storage and Irrigation System

Water storage and irrigation systems are designed to capture, store, and distribute water for agricultural purposes, ensuring the efficient and sustainable use of water in farming and for other purposes. Brief Overview of the water storage and irrigation system is as follows:

Water Storage Systems

• Dams and Reservoirs: Large-scale structures built across rivers or streams to collect water, creating reservoirs for agriculture, drinking water, and electricity generation.
• Ponds and Tanks: Smaller, man-made water bodies designed to capture rainwater or runoff for agricultural and domestic use.
• Rainwater Harvesting: Collecting and storing rainwater from rooftops or other surfaces in tanks or cisterns for irrigation and non-potable uses.
• Aquifers: Natural underground water storage formations that can be tapped through wells for irrigation.

Irrigation Systems

• Drip Irrigation: Precisely delivering water to the root zone of plants through a network of tubes, pipes, minimizing water wastage.
• Sprinkler Irrigation: Spraying water over crops in a controlled manner using pipes and pumps, mimicking natural rainfall.
• Flood Irrigation: Flooding fields with water to create a temporary shallow pool, allowing for even distribution over the surface.
• Canal Irrigation: Diverting water from rivers or reservoirs through canals to fields for widespread irrigation.
• Subsurface Irrigation: Delivering water directly to the root zone below the soil surface, often through buried pipes with controlled release.
• Gravity Flow Irrigation: Using the natural slope of the land to allow water to flow through channels and furrows to irrigate fields.
• Center Pivot Irrigation: Circular mobile sprinkler systems that rotate around a central pivot point, covering large areas efficiently.
• Treadle Pumps and Manual Irrigation: Low-cost, human-powered pumps used in small-scale farming for irrigation.

Challenges faced by the country in water management

Currently, we are facing water shortage as there has been a decline of about 70 per cent of per capita water available in last 60 years. The decline is expected to progress further, reaching a low of 1140 cubic meters by 2050. As per the government of India, per capita availability of less than 1700 cubic meters is considered a water-stressed condition, and when availability drops to 1000, the situation is termed as water scarcity condition. Since there are large variations in both temporal and spatial patterns of precipitation, many regions in the country are already facing water-stressed or water-scarcity conditions.

The various challenges faced by the country in water management include:

1. High spatial and temporal variability in respect of rainfall distribution and availability of water resources
2. An increase in population is one of the major causes of declining per-capita water availability
3. Inadequate water storage for meeting future water demand
4. Over-exploitation of groundwater resources
5. Droughts
6. Low water use efficiency

Measures to Improve Water Storage and Irrigation System

The various measures that can be taken to improve water storage and irrigation system are as follows:

Watershed Management

Within a watershed, we can manage the land and water resources in a comprehensive manner in such a way that the quality of water and other natural resources is improved, while humans are able to avail the desired goods and services. The implementation of such practices is termed watershed management. Under this, one of the components is checking the wild run-off of rainwater in upper slopes. This reduces soil erosion and increases water percolation, replenishing groundwater reserves.  India has witnessed the launch of several schemes for watershed management like the Desert Development Programme (DDP),  Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP), and Integrated Wasteland Development Programme (IWDP). All these have now been integrated into the Watershed Development Component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC-PMKSY), whose main objective is to restore ecological balance by harnessing, conserving, and developing degraded natural resources like water, soil, vegetative cover, etc. To strengthen WDC-PMKSY, World Bank-assisted Neeranchal is being run to provide technical assistance to the program.

Intensive afforestation and reforestation also form an important component of watershed management. Forests decrease the run-off rate and increase the percolation of water. This prevents floods and helps in recharging groundwater. Since the run-off rate decreases, the soil erosion rate also decreases, preventing flooding of water channels and maintaining the capacity of reservoirs of dams.  The government is implementing the following three major schemes for the development of forest areas:  

1. For afforestation of degraded forest lands, National Afforestation Programme (NAP) scheme was launched in 2002.
2. National Mission for a Green India (GIM) for improving the quality of forest and increase in forest cover
3. Forest Fire Prevention & Management Scheme (FFPM) takes care of forest fire prevention and management measures.

Micro-irrigation

Agriculture is a water-intensive activity. Globally, agriculture consumes 70% of the water used for human activities. In India, this number is as high as 90%. This makes micro-irrigation the best solution to the problem of depleting water resources. The micro-irrigation techniques reduce water consumption in agriculture in the range of 30-70%. Fertigation and chemigation are added advantages, leading to the efficient application of fertilizers and pesticides. All this is not just environment friendly, but also highly cost-effective. Also, micro-irrigation results in better crop productivity and helps in bringing cultivable wastelands and water-deficient areas under cultivation.

Micro-irrigation in India has a penetration of just around 20%. The percentage is less than 2 for Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, the two states where water-intensive crops are cultivated and intensive agriculture is practiced in large areas. Though India introduced micro-irrigation way back in 1992, it has been given a thrust as a component of PMKSY (PMKSY- Per drop more crop) and as an important part of the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture.

Rainwater Harvesting, Traditional Methods, and Groundwater Recharge

Rainwater harvesting is simply about collecting and storing rainwater at the surface or in sub-surface aquifers to prevent rainwater from getting lost as runoff. Rainwater harvesting is practiced since ancient times in India. Recently, traditional methods like Johads, led by Waterman of India, Shri Rajendra Singh have got a shot-in-the-arm. Traditional methods are not only inexpensive but can be implemented by the local population especially in rural areas. Urban areas, however, require more modern methods due to the large-scale concretization of the landscape.

In 2019, Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) was launched in 256 districts in mission mode for improving water availability including groundwater conditions. In addition, the ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan – Catch the Rain’ campaign has been launched recently in March 2021 for creating appropriate Rain Water Harvesting Structures (RWHS) suitable to the climatic conditions and sub-soil strata before monsoon. Mission Water Conservation has been launched to ensure synergy between MGNREGS, PMKSY-WDC, and Command Area Development & Water Management (CAD&WM) programmes.

Under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) has been constituted for regulating and controlling groundwater development and management in the country. It advises states on measures to be taken for managing groundwater and issues No Objection Certificate (NOCs) for groundwater abstraction to industries and large-scale projects. It has undertaken Aquifer Mapping of India for formulating aquifer-specific management plans.

Mass awareness programs and National Water Awards have been constituted for incentivising good practices in water conservation and groundwater recharge. World Bank-funded Atal  Bhujal  Yojana  (ABHY) is being taken up in identifying over-exploited and water-stressed areas for sustainable management of groundwater with community participation.

Inter-Linking of Rivers

To overcome the challenge of high temporal and spatial variability in respect of rainfall and availability of water resources, the interlinking of rivers to transfer water from areas with excessive water to areas deficient in water has been envisaged. The interlinking will be done through a network of canals, resulting in the prevention of floods in water excess areas and overcoming droughts in water deficit areas. This will also enhance the irrigation potential of India as well as help in recharging groundwater. There are three components of the project: Himalayan component, southern Peninsular component, and starting 2005, an intrastate rivers linking component.  However, due to high ecological, human, and cost impacts, the project has been moving at a slow pace.

Rehabilitation of Dams

Along with a variety of other uses, flood prevention is one of the major advantages of reservoirs created by dams. India has more than 5000 large dams in operation and more than 400 are under construction. Being essential to the water security of India, their management and safety become important. To improve the safety and operational performance of more than 200 dams, Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) was launched with World Bank assistance. It was successfully concluded in March 2021. Since then, DRIP Phase II and III have been given nod to include more than 700 dams under its safety net.

Conclusion

The problem of depleting sources of water can be managed through increasing water use efficiency through micro-irrigation, recharging groundwater aquifers through watershed management, intensive afforestation, and reforestation and rainwater harvesting with a special focus on traditional methods in rural areas, and rehabilitation of dams. Mass awareness campaigns with IEC (information, education, and communication) approach will go a long way in water conservation efforts. Other techniques like recycling wastewater for uses other than human consumption may be taken up in cities. This will free the freshwater for human consumption. All these approaches implemented in synergy, along with population control, will lead to better per capita availability of water.

FAQs on Measures to Improve Water Storage and Irrigation System

1. What should be done to increase the water storage?

To increase water storage, implement efficient rainwater harvesting systems, promote water conservation practices to reduce wastage, encourage community participation in sustainable water management.

2. What are the methods of irrigation to minimize the loss of water?

Drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation are effective methods to minimize water loss by delivering water directly to the root zone of plants, reducing evaporation and runoff.

3. What is the water storage efficiency in irrigation?

Water storage efficiency in irrigation is a measure of how effectively stored water is utilized for crop irrigation, aiming to minimize waste and optimize agricultural water use.

4. Why do we need to store water for irrigation?

Storing water for irrigation ensures a reliable water supply for agriculture, mitigating the impact of water scarcity and supporting consistent crop production.

5. What is the best way to store water and why?

Water should be stored away from the sunlight in a cool, dark place. Sunlight and heat can gradually break down plastic containers, giving a typical funky smell and flavour to the water.