3.2.3.3 Water: The Wakal River Basin - Local Scheme in LIC/NEE to Increase Sustainable Supplies of Water Case Study

Question 1

Where is Rajasthan located?

Answer 1

• a region in the north west India
• it is the driest and the poorest part of India

Question 2

What is Rajasthan largely covered by?

Answer 2

largely covered by the Thar Desert

Question 3

What can Summer temperatures reach up to in Rajasthan?

Answer 3

53 degrees C

Question 4

Why is there little surface water in Rajasthan?

Answer 4

little surface water as rain quickly soaks away or evaporates

Question 5

How much rainfall does Rajasthan receive and which months is it concentrated in?

Answer 5

• less than 250mm of rainfall per year
• 96% between June and September

Question 6

What are the issues with water supply in Rajasthan?

Answer 6

• water management in region generally been poor
• over-use of water for irrigation has led to waterlogging and salinisation
• over-abstraction from unregulated pumps has resulted in falling water tables in aquifers and some well have dried up
• with access to wells controlled by households or villages there has been little coordination of water management

Question 7

Where is the Wakal River Basin located?

Answer 7

South of Rajasthan

Question 8

What has the USAID funded and how has it been woking with the local people in the Wakal River Basin?

Answer 8

• USAID funded a project called the Global Water for Sustainability Program (2004-2014)
• the NGO has been working with local people in the Wakal River Basin to improve their water security and overcome the problems of water shortages
• local people needed to be actively involved in the decision-making process to make the water management successful

Question 9

2 aims of USAID funded Global Water for Sustainability Program:

Answer 9

• increase water supply and storage using appropriate local solutions
• raise awareness in local communities of the need for effective water management

Question 10

How have schemes in the Wakal River Basin increased water supply?

Answer 10

• the project has encouraged greater use of rainwater harvesting techniques to collect and store water
• this benefits villages and individual families

Question 11

What are taankas?

Answer 11

• underground storage systems approx. 3m in diameter and 3-4m deepl
• they collect surface water from roofs

Question 12

What are jahad’s?

Answer 12

small earth dams to capture rainwater

Question 13

How have Jahad’s helped to raise the water table in the Wakal River Basin?

Answer 13

have raised the water tables by up to 6m

Question 14

How many rivers now flow through the Wakal River Basin due to the use of jahad’s?

Answer 14

5 rivers that used to dry up following the monsoon now flow throughout the year

Question 15

What are pats?

Answer 15

irrigation channels that transfer water to the fields

Question 16

How does the pat system work?

Answer 16

• in the pat system, a small dam called a bund diverts water from the stream towards the fields
• bunds are made of stones and are lined with leaves to make them waterproof

Question 17

How is the pat system maintained?

Answer 17

• villagers take turns to irrigate their fields using water controlled in this way
• the irrigation channels need regular maintenance to avoid them breaking or silting up
• this is done by the villager whose turn it is to receive the letter