Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Organized by
Auroville Centre for Scientific Research
Auroville Water Service Harvest
Today Auroville is an emerging township of around 1700 people, drawn from more
than 35 countries. The present community of Auroville consists of around 90
settlements of varying size, separated by village and temple lands. The activities of
the inhabitants are multifarious, and include afforestation, organic agriculture,
educational research, health care, village developments, appropriated technology and
construction, small and medium-scale businesses, town planning, culture and
municipal services. The climate is tropical, the average temperature during
September is 29C with high humidity and sometimes rainfall during the evening and
night.
TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT FOR AUROVILLE AND THE BIOREGION
Duration
Resource Persons
Designation / Organisation
Topics
09.30 - 09.45
15 min
Welcome to Auroville
09.45 - 10.00
15 min
Opening address
10.10 - 10.40
30 min
10.50 - 11.05
15 min
11.05 - 11.35
30 min
11.45 - 12.05
20 min
12.05 - 01.00
45 min
Tea break
01.10 - 14.30
14.30 - 15.00
30 min
Shri R. Chakrapaani
15.10 - 15.40
30 min
15.50 - 16.05
15 min
16.05 - 16.35
30 min
Shri V. Radhakrishnan
16.45 - 17.15
30 min
17.30 - 18.30
52 min
19.30
Tea break
TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT FOR AUROVILLE AND THE BIOREGION
Duration
Resource Persons
Designation / Organisation
Topics
09.30 - 09.50
20 min
10.00 - 10.30
30 min
Deputy Director, Department of Agriculture Prevention and remedies of groundwater contamination around coastal areas
- Pondicherry
of Pondicherry
10.40 - 11.10
30 min
Shri C. Anandane
11.15 - 11.30
15 min
11.30 - 12.10
40 min
Shri Gopalswamy
Dr. Kumaravel
12.20 - 12.40
20 min
&
Consultant - Hyderabad
Professor - IITM, Chennai
12.50 - 14.30
14.30 - 15.00
30 min
LGA, Germany
Lake Ecology
15.10 - 15.40
30 min
LGA, Germany
15.50 - 16.05
15 min
16.10 - 16.40
30 min
16.50 - 17.20
30 min
Tea break
17.30
Matrimandir Visit
19.30
TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT FOR AUROVILLE AND THE BIOREGION
Duration
Resource Persons
09.30 - 09.45
15 min
09.50 - 10.20
30 min
10.30 - 10.45
15 min
10.45 - 11.30
45 min
11.40 - 12.10
30 min
Topics
12.30 - 14.30
Shri Vasanthakumar Reddy
Shri R. Chakrapaani
14.30 - 16.00
Designation / Organisation
90 min
Shri K. Ragupathy
Hydrogeologist
Secretary to C.M. - Pondicherry
Regional Director, CGWB
SECR-E,wing - Chennai
Chief Engineer, PWD Groundwater
Division, Chennai
Hydrogeologists, Paris
Dr Israel Gev
Mr Jeen Kootstra
16.00 - 16.15
15 min
Tea break
16.15 - 16.45
30 min
19.00
There are 162 villages and three town panchayats in this area, besides Auroville. The total
population of the area is 355,000 inhabitants. The main economic activity is agriculture, but
Industrial activity is developed in the scattered areas belonging to Pondicherry Territory.
The Kaluvely Swamp (72 km2) is one of the last unpolluted water bodies of South India and a
wintering place for migrating water birds (more than 100 different species). The local
population makes diverse use of the swamp in traditional activities including:
- Catching fresh and brackish water fish and prawns for consumption
- Reed and grass harvesting for building purposes, firewood and fodder
- Salt manufacture
- Cultivation of crops (mainly paddy) in the drier parts
- Harvesting many species of plants for healing
The issues facing the area of interest are briefly summarized below:
Need for relevant database: Information about the status of the development of the area
is collected by the Village Administrative Officer's (VAO) and other department local
officers. They are compiled at the taluk level and at the district level. The data give a
general impression about the situation, their level of accuracy is not satisfactory, and even
sometimes in contradiction of ground reality. Key information such as number and
characteristics of tube wells are non-existent. Most of the information about the tanks
(such as tank capacity) is often unavailable. Tank memoirs have not been prepared for
this area. Maps are difficult to acquire, and their accuracy does not allow using them in
computer modeling of the watershed. Topographic maps are inaccessible (classified)
Need of ground water research in the area: The area, being classified as a backward
area, has attracted very little interest from the concerned departments to explore the
groundwater parameters in detail. Only two areas are known: the southeast, Auroville
region where two studies have been conducted by the Central Ground Water Board
(CGWB) .One in 1976 and the other one in 1984. These studies give broad knowledge
about the behaviors and the conditions of our main aquifers. In the northwest part,
DANIDA has conducted some drinking water schemes with TWAD (Tamil Nadu Water
and Drainage Board). More elaborate and in-depth studies are available for Pondicherry
territory, and Tindivanam district, but do not always address the central problem faced
today. An in depth geological investigation has been carried by Oil and Gas Corporation
(ONGC) in this area, but the study is difficult to access.
Inadequate public awareness: Stakeholders in this area have little knowledge about
management of water, particularly ground water, and are ill trained to adopt remedial
measures on their own. Pressures of modern society have eroded their traditional forms of
management. People are actually unaware about natural resources degradation of the
Kaluvely watershed. The connection between rain, groundwater, ponds, ocean, saltwater
intrusion, bore wells, crops, erosion, trees, pollution etc is not yet fully understood.
Farmers do not always show concern at the state of the village tanks and are interested
only when the tanks are full of water.
Non-availability of water: The receding availability of water will affect more than one
hundred thousands people living in the coastal area by depriving them of the supply of
safe drinking water. It will also affect interior towns that are pumping their drinking
water. Farmers will be severely affected in the absence of suitable irrigation water to meet
their requirements. This lack of safe drinking water is both quantitative and qualitative.
Pollution of ground water: Farmers, misinformed, are making abusive use of fertilizers
and pesticides thus spoiling the quality of the groundwater. Recent analyses have shown a
serious increase of pesticide load in the water. The salty intrusion that has started in the
south of the Kaluvely swamps is today affecting severely the quality of the ground water
of the region.
Excessive irrigation: In the areas where paddy, sugarcane or coconut trees are grown, it
is common to observe irrigation up to 10 times the water demand of the crop, because of
lack of adequate knowledge and awareness of the farmers.
Poor storage of surface water: Most of the tanks are heavily silted up; they cannot hold
the rainwater that is running off to the sea.
Local Industrial development is not always following Central Pollution Guidelines and is
generating water and soil pollution.
Kaluvely wetland is facing since a few years an expanded growth of unauthorized shrimp
farming.
Areas of achievement
Auroville needs to demonstrate that it cares for its environment and for the larger bioregion.
Also, that its activities are ecologically sustainable rather than exploitative.
In fact, since 1968, Aurovilles many faceted environmental work has had a significant
impact both on land owned by Auroville and on the surrounding region.
If Auroville wants to grow into an urban settlement while also aspiring to be a site of
material and spiritual researches, translated into the field of water management this will
possibly include :
Utmost use of rainwater harvesting, water conservation, water recycling and such
other practices that shall ensure minimum impact on the natural water quality and
quantity regimes in the area and shall particularly not affect in any adverse manner
the use, quality and availability of water to neighboring and adjacent communities. In
fact it should enrich the regional water resources.
Minimum use of fossil fuel based or conventional energy sources, for lifting and / or
conveyance of water.
It is expected that the initiatives shall significantly help with the upgrading of the
overall environment and aesthetic quality of the region in general and Auroville in
particular.
It is expected that such initiatives shall also provide enough scope for variations and
diversity, enabling research and development on various management practices.
Erosion control
Started in the early years and aimed at minimizing water run-off so that the water can
percolate down into the aquifers which Auroville and the surrounding bioregion depend on.
Afforestation
Much of the land in the Auroville area was eroded and minimally productive. And integrated
soil and water conservation programme and the planting of over 3 million trees has
transformed the landscape and created the substantial beginning of a Green Belt, an
afforested zone which will eventually surround the city area. Over recent years there has been
a new emphasis upon recreating the indigenous Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest which
formerly covered much of the region.
Organisations working to promote afforestation, revitalizing traditional medicinal plant
knowledge, developing of a shared forest management plan, regeneration of degraded and
marginal land activities are Auroville Herbarium at Shakti, the Pitchandikulam Bio-Resource
Centre, the Botanical Garden in the Green Belt, Palmyra Centre of Ecological Land Use and
Rural Development.
systems like the baffled tank reactor, resulting in reducing the size and the cost of the overall
system. The treated water can be used for irrigation purposes.
Several systems have been implemented outside; the largest among them is the treatment
plant of Aravind Eye Hospital, Pondicherry, a 1600 bed hospital.
Ecological agriculture
From the beginning, Auroville has practiced organic farming, to heal and nourish the often
depleted earth. Farms cover approximately 400 acres of cultivated land. All of them work
with a combination of fruit trees, field crops, vegetable gardening and animal husbandry.
Several food processing units have been established and produce a range of products.
Renewable Energy
In an attempt to be self-sufficient in its energy needs and to cause minimal atmospheric
pollution, Auroville has a policy of experimenting with and implementing renewable and nonpolluting energy and appropriate building technologies.
Today, Auroville represents the biggest concentration of alternative and appropriate systems
in India. Major forms of renewable energy utilized are
Solar, at present there are around 250 kW of electricity generating solar photovoltaic
(PV) panel, the Matrimandir solar power plant of 37kW, the solar bowl at the Solar
Kitchen generating steam for preparing community meals.
Wind, wind pumps of which there are nearly 30 installed within the community and
more than 100 in nearby states.