Wakel River Basin Project Flashcards
where is the Wakel River Basin Project
northern hemisphere
Asia
north west India
south Rajasthan
near Arabian sea, bay of Bengal and Indian ocean
borders Gugaret
physical characteristics of the Wakel area
poorest state
NEE
near Thar desert with 65 degree summers
erratic rainfall
quickly infiltrates
rain evaporates quickly
96% rain is June - September
more than 250mm rain per year
human characteristics of the Wakel area
agriculture provides little income
lack of education and infrastructure
lots of people migrate there
poor sanitation
71% are tribal communities
poor literacy rate (38%)
malnutrition
poor health
what are some reason why there is water security in the Wakel area
water is mostly used to meet community demands for domestic uses and crop production
open wells and hand pumps are major sources for drinking water
Rajasthan covers at least 10% of India but only 1.16% of all surface water in India is there so it is labelled as ‘critical’
90% of drinking water and 60% of irrigation needs groundwater
over-exploitation of groundwater is causing issues with quality and quantity of water
increasing population is causing water scarcity
water per person is 15% lower than required
steep topography causes rapid surface run-off
overuse of irrigation has led to salinisation of groundwater
over-abstraction from unregulated pumps causes water tables to fall so aquifers and wells dry up
consumption of polluted water causes waterborne diseases to increase expenditure on health
lack of infrastructure for irrigation causes dependency on monsoons which have erratic rain which causes crop failure and food insecurity
what were the two main aims of the Wakel River Basin Project
increase water supply and storage using appropriate local solutions
raise awareness in local communities of the need for effective water management
who funded the Wakel River Basin Project
United States Agency for International Development - part of an project called The Global Water for Sustainability Program
how are local people and communities involved in the Wakel River Basin Project
as they are educated to increase awareness on how to conserve water, and they are involved in the decision making process to make water management successful and socially sustainable
what is a taankas
can hold 20,000L
3-4m underground
accessed by bucket and rope
3m diameter
collects water from rooftops that has been collected during a monsoon and it stores the water underground
what is a johed
a dam that is built to trap water gathered from surface run off or a monsoon and stored to give enough time to percolate the groundwater which increases the water table by 6 meters
what is a pat
a small dam is built, leaving a small gap for a stream to divert through agricultural fields, the only problem is that they are high maintenance as they break easily
