Water conservation

Siddharth Dubey
The eminent Prof. Madhav Gadgil delivered the Pupul Jayakar Lecture hosted by INTACH  on 18th April, World Heritage Day. The audience at the India International Centre was held in rapt attention through a series of visuals unfolding the concept of a “Community of Beings”. A community “involving not only human population but other beneficent elements such as hills and rivers, woods and trees, birds and monkeys, according such beings respect, even veneration”
India’s rich heritage of conservation traditions evolved in a society that instinctively respected nature in India.
Dalai Lama’s philosophy that human beings are basically of a gentle nature, and they should maintain and extend that gentility and non-violence to fellow beings, and importantly to their natural environment as well. These admittedly are idealistic sentiments indeed, especially in our times when authoritarian social demands have in fact put a tremendous strain on natural resources and green environment.
Rainwater harvesting
In urban areas, the construction of houses, footpaths and roads has left little exposed earth for water to soak in. In parts of the rural areas of India, floodwater quickly flows to the rivers, which then dry up soon after the rains stop. If this water can be held back, it can seep into the ground and recharge the groundwater supply.
This has become a very popular method of conserving water especially in the urban areas. Rainwater harvesting essentially means collecting rainwater on the roofs of building and storing it underground for later use. Not only does this recharging arrest groundwater depletion, it also raises the declining water table and can help augment water supply. Rainwater harvesting and artificial recharging are becoming very important issues. It is essential to stop the decline in groundwater levels, arrest sea-water ingress, i.e. prevent sea-water from moving landward, and conserve surface water run-off during the rainy season..
Realizing the importance of recharging groundwater, the CGWB (Central Ground Water Board) is taking steps to encourage it through rainwater harvesting in the capital and elsewhere. A number of Government buildings have been asked to go in for water harvesting even in Jammu, Srinagar and other cities of India.
All you need for a water harvesting system is rain, and a place to collect it. Typically, rain is collected on rooftops and other surfaces, and the water is carried down to where it can be used immediately or stored. You can direct water run-off from this surface to plants, trees or lawns or even to the aquifer.
Some of the benefits of rainwater harvesting are as follows
Increases water availability
Checks the declining water table  Is environmentally friendly  Improves the quality of groundwater through the dilution of fluoride, nitrate, and salinity   Prevents soil erosion and flooding especially in urban areas
Agriculture
Conservation of water in the agricultural sector is essential since water is necessary for the growth of plants and crops. A depleting water table and a rise in salinity due to overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has made matters serious. Various methods of water harvesting and recharging have been and are being applied all over the world to tackle the problem. In areas where rainfall is low and water is scarce, the local people have used simple techniques that are suited to their region and reduce the demand for water. In India’s arid and semi-arid areas, the ‘tank’ system is traditionally the backbone of agricultural production. Tanks are constructed either by bunding or by excavating the ground and collecting rainwater.
Reducing water demand
Simple techniques can be used to reduce the demand for water. The underlying principle is that only part of the rainfall or irrigation water is taken up by plants, the rest percolates into the deep groundwater, or is lost by evaporation from the surface. Therefore, by improving the efficiency of water use, and by reducing its loss due to evaporation, we can reduce water demand.
There are numerous methods to reduce such losses and to improve soil moisture. Some of them are listed below.
Mulching, i.e., the application of organic or inorganic material such as plant debris, compost, etc., slows down the surface run-off, improves the soil moisture, reduces evaporation losses and improves soil fertility.
Soil covered by crops, slows down run-off and minimizes evaporation losses. Hence, fields should not be left bare for long periods of time.  Ploughing helps to move the soil around. As a consequence it retains more water thereby reducing evaporation.
Shelter belts of trees and bushes along the edge of agricultural fields slow down the wind speed and reduce evaporation and erosion.
Planting of trees, grass, and bushes breaks the force of rain and helps rainwater penetrate the soil.  Fog and dew contain substantial amounts of water that can be used directly by adapted plant species. Artificial surfaces such as netting-surfaced traps or polyethylene sheets can be exposed to fog and dew. The resulting water can be used for crops.   Contour farming is adopted in hilly areas and in lowland areas for paddy fields. Farmers recognize the efficiency of contour-based systems for conserving soil and water.  Salt-resistant varieties of crops have also been developed recently. Because these grow in saline areas, overall agricultural productivity is increased without making additional demands on freshwater sources. Thus, this is a good water conservation strategy.
Transfer of water from surplus areas to deficit areas by inter-linking water systems through canals, etc.
Desalination technologies such as distillation, electro-dialysis and reverse osmosis are available.
Use of efficient watering systems such as drip irrigation and sprinklers will reduce the water consumption by plants.
Lets hope that this lifeline of living beings is taken care of just the way it takes care of the existence of life on planet earth.

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