Development and Management Issues: Sectoral

3.2.1
Domestic Use

Ideally, water supply and liquid waste manageme
nt schemes should be integrated and for
this it is necessary that water supply pr
ogrammes are not taken up without simultaneous
approval to brink traffic generati
ng activity back to the rivers.

The norms adopted for satisfying the basic
human needs of communities (both urban and
rural) may be reviewed after every 10 years.

The assigned target of 100% coverage in water supply can be achieved only if
impediments like inadequacy of funds are
removed and an autonomous system with
economic viability is encouraged. The latte
r has a direct impact on the generation of
funds for maintenan
ce and development.

To reduce the gap between demand and su
pply, water conservation measures be
accorded highest priority, speci
ally in areas facing water qu
ality and scarcity problems,
with emphasis of recycling/ refu
se of treated waste water.

Poor maintenance of the systems by the utilities results in leakage of costly treated
waters. The discipline of main
tenance should be instilled in
the utilities a
nd they should
be held accountable for it. The importanc
e of maintenance should also be impressed
upon consumers, since considerable leakage
and waste take place in households also.

Improved low cost technologies have to be
developed and adopted to save cost of
construction and maintenance.
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Tariff rates in the urban areas
have to be so revised as to
cover not only the O&M costs
but also part of the capital cost, de
bt service plus some reserve fund.

Water for meeting the minimum requirements of
the urban poor may
be supplied at least
at a nominal charge, so that they also real
ize the importance of treated water supply. The
affluent sections of society should be charge
d at higher rates based
on metered quantity.

Public Awareness needs to
be created for reducing wa
ter consumption. Womens
participation is to be encouraged to
the maximum as they are major users.

Wherever feasible, artificial recharge and rain
water harvesting have to be encouraged.
Instead of looking only for new and distant
sources of water supply or tapping fast
depleting ground water, local bodies shoul
d lay emphasis on water harvesting also.

As efforts by government alone will not be ab
le to solve the problems of 100% coverage,
public/ private and co
mmunity initiative in devel
oping household or colony wise
systems, like withdrawal from
dug wells should be encouraged.

In rural areas, where piped water scheme is
operational or is proposed to be developed,
appropriate model may be adopted, in whic
h local governments and users committees
participate in the development and ma
intenance of water supply systems.

Water-efficient delivery systems in domestic use need to be promoted for conserving
this precious na
tural resource.
3.2.2
Irrigation

Integrated and coordinated development of
surface water and groundwater resources and
their conjunctive use should be envisaged
right from the project planning stage and
should form an integral part
for optimum utilisation of wa
ter resources. Conjunctive use
planning can also be implemented in exis
ting commands by way of
including it in the
scheme for modernisation and im
provement of existing commands.

Over-exploitation of groundwater should be avoi
ded, especially near the coast to prevent
ingress of sea water into sweet water aqui
fers, while implementing the conjunctive use
planning in the new proj
ects / existing commands.

Considerable saving in water can be achie
ved by adoption of sprinkler, drip /micro-
splinkler irrigation systems in water scarce areas, having conditions
conducive to their
application. For better water application effi
ciency, proper design of
field application
methods as well as new methods, like drip and sprinkler need, to be used.

There is a need for:
-
instilling discipline in equitable dist
ribution through WUAs
participation.
-
instilling discipline in
adopting advisable and designed cropping pattern through
intervention of Agriculture Extension Services of State Agriculture Deptt, and
cooperative federations for bringing syner
gy between market forces and farmers and
optimal use of water.
-
operation of canals / distribution network
on demand based rather than supply based
distribution.
10
-
fixing of water rates on volumetric supply a
nd recovery of water charges through WUAs.

The gap between potential created and its utilization, should be reduced to the minimum.
Use of satellite imageries should also be
made for assessment of irrigated areas.
Appropriate guidelines may be laid down for
reporting the figures of
potential created
and the utilization achieved so that there is
uniformity in the figur
es reported from all
States. The figures of the departments a
nd land use statistics s
hould be reconciled.

There is need for periodical reappraisal of
ultimate irrigation potential, created irrigation
potential and actual utilisation in irrigation,
in order to take measures to accelerate the
utilisation of the potentia
l created and make improvements in utilisation.

There is need to undertake State / Basin-
wise assessment of waterlogged and salt
affected areas irrigated comma
nd. The status of protected
and reclaimed land should be
reviewed in every five year plan.

In order that the area under water-logging does not increase, precautionary measures
have to be taken. In areas affected by wate
r-logging, remedial and ameliorative measures
have to be undertaken.

There is need for a paradigm shift in em
phasis towards improving the performance of
existing irrigated agriculture. Marginal ch
anges in irrigation pr
actices may not be
enough to increase produc
tivity. If growth in
irrigated agriculture
is to be achieved,
efficiency of the existing systems needs to be enhanced and water, so saved, should be
utilized to increase irrigati
on intensive farming practices
improved with modern inputs
and technologies. Operation and maintenan
ce have to be substantially improved through
participatory management.

Heavy subsidies in electricity consumed
for agriculture have tended to encourage
wasteful use of energy and also wasteful use of
water. This has also encouraged farmers
to overdraw water from deep aquifers, thus
causing water quality deterioration in many
areas. It is therefore, necessa
ry to gradually reduce the subs
idy on power for agriculture.

Every State Government should make whole-
hearted efforts in introducing Warabandi
system including night irrigation.

.After each modernization projec
t is completed, a performan
ce review should be carried
out to assess the benefits and costs. Such
a review should be made for all modernization
projects which have so far been completed.
For new projects to be taken up under this
programme, technologies and reforms should be
included as components of the projects.

.Canal automation is a new tec
hnology, which is being introdu
ced in some projects in our
country. The performances require to be watc
hed carefully and the m
odifications, if any,
to be incorporated in the future can
al automation project identified.

.Re-use is an important method of managing dr
ainage water. The options for re-use of
drainage water would include direct use for
irrigation, blending with
canal water, cyclic
or rotational use, saline agriculture, forestry
system and solar evaporators, aquaculture
and use of saline water through salt tolerant crops.

.Removal of silt from the reservoirs has been engaging attention since long. A cost
effective method of removal of silt has yet to
be devised. Desilting of
reservoir is project
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specific. However research efforts are
required for development of economic
technologies for this purpose.
3.2.3
Flood Control and Management

Dams have played a vital role in moderating the inflow flood peaks and also absorbing the
floods. Adequate
flood
-cushion should be provided in water storage projects, wherever
feasible, to facilitate better flood
management
. In highly flood prone areas, flood moderation
should be given overriding consideration in reservoir regulation policy even at the cost of
sacrificing some irrigation or power benefits.

.In addition to structural measures, non
structural measures also need to be
simultaneously taken e.g. efficient manageme
nt of flood plains, fl
ood-plain zoning, flood
proofing including disaster preparedness & response planning, flood forecasting &
warning, and other non-struct
ural measure such as disaster relief, flood fighting
including public health
measures, and flood insurance. Al
though, it is feas
ible in most
cases to provide a certain degree of prot
ection against floods in terms of reduced
frequency and flood damages, there are no
universal solutions which can provide
complete protection against floods.

.Embankments do provide reasonable protectio
n. The performance review of selected
embankments may be carried out and ba
sed on the findings, planning, designs and
management of embankments may be review
ed for obtaining better results. It is
essential to associate the beneficiaries in
the upkeep and surveillance of embankments
during the monsoon season for prevention of possible breaching.

.The network of flood forecasting and warning at
the Central level needs to be extended
to remaining flood prone areas.
3.2.4
Hydropower

.There is an urgent need to evolve suitabl
e strategies for accelerating the pace of
hydropower development. In north-eastern
region and Jammu and Kashmir where there
is large hydro potential but the transmission co
sts to consuming centers are high, energy
intensive industries could be located close to
the hydropower project sites. This would
attract private participation and accelerate hydro-power development.

.The other measures may be classified broadl
y in two parts; the first as a short term
strategy and the second as a long term strategy.
The short term measures include - full
financial support to public sect
or on-going schemes, through
survey and investigations
and preparation of DPRs stric
tly in accordance with norms,
effective monitoring, sorting
out implementation problems where necessar
y, completion of renovation, modernization
and uprating of old plants and small hydro development. The long term strategies
include expediting the hydro potential revi
ew in consonance with environmental
concerns, resolution of interstate disput
es, promotion of joint ventures, tariff
rationalization, R&R policy etc.

Unlike other water uses, the planning for pow
er cannot usually be restricted to the
demand within a basin alone. The demand for
a region or the nation, as a whole, is
important rather than demand in a basin.
Therefore, the planning should attempt to
generate hydroelectric power wherever feasib
le. The excess power, if any, can always be
used elsewhere thr
ough regional grids.
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3.2.5
Industrial Use

Tariff rates have to be prescribed such th
at the industry feels compelled to look into
technological interventions leading to re
duced use per unit production. For effecting
maximum conservation, production processes
have to be improved, to have lesser
generation of effluent water.

Waste utilisation technologi
es / clean production technologies with emphasis on waste
minimization, recycling and reuse have
to be encouraged for adoption.

Instead of allowing location of hazardous in
dustries and insisting on Zero effluent
condition in semi-arid and arid
areas, industrial zoning be done
in a manner that in such
areas water intensive industries are not pe
rmitted especially t
hose releasing toxic
effluents. Hazardous waste treatment and disposal
need to be so planned and sited as to
protect people and environment from adverse impacts.

Selection and zoning of indus
tries associated with potential risks
especially those
releasing toxic waste, need
a thorough analysis and planni
ng before they are set up in
any water basin. The concerned State Govern
ment and other local bodies should have a
coordinated approach in selec
ting and locating industries of a
specific nature with respect
to their water requirement and facilities for
wastewater disposal.
A policy for zoning the
river basins according to the types of i
ndustries, quantity of water consumed, and
effluent discharge need to be laid down.
3.2.6
Navigation

Development of inland water transport needs basic infrastructure like the fairway,
terminals and navigational aids. State G
overnment should undertake the development.

Water front development programme and rebate
s for investments are necessary to bring
traffic generating activity back to the rivers.
3.2.7
Ecological and Other Uses

Appropriate minimum flow in the river should
be maintained to maintain water quality,
river regime, maintenance of riverine eco-sys
tem, or other public
necessities such as
bathing, recreation etc.

The norms for minimum flow may depend on the
type of river, availability of water in
various seasons, development of
structures on the river etc.

Outdoor activities are generally
associated with the presence or proximity of water,
particularly reservoirs. The water quality
and maintenance of aesthetics around river or
water body is very important for development of recrea
tional activities.

The effects of the development and manageme
nt of water resource
s on the environment,
available to aquatic life need to be
carefully considered in planning.