WATERSHED

• The watershed is that area, which is drained by a

stream or a system of connecting streams in such a
way that all stream flow originated in the area is
drained through a single out let

WATERSHED MANAGEMENT
What is Watershed

 Described by many definitions

 We can find any definition suitable but

some conditions should be satisfied
essentially

 It must be a geographical unit

 It must be surrounded by a ridge line or

water dividing line

 It must have overall flow of water to a

particular direction or point in drainage
 WATERSHED
A GEO – HYDROLOGICAL unit,which drains into a common
point (Ridge to Valley Approach)
Watershed is an area, having a common
drainage point for the run-off and is bounded
by the ridge line
Micro Watershed of about 500 ha. may be
- Coterminous with village boundary
- Spread over more than one village or a part of the
village

Ridge Line

Drainage Line

Non-arable Land

Arable Land
Common Point
 Components of Watershed

COMPONENTS OF WATERSHED

• ARABLE LAND
• NON ARABLE LAND
• DRAINAGE LINE &WATER BODIES
 Result of Deterioration

- QUICK LOSS OF WATER

- ACCELERATED EROSION
- INCREASED SEDIMENTATION
- BLOCKING OF RESERVOIRES
- OVER FLOW & FLOODING&
- FASTER RUN-OFF
-FREQUENT DROUGHT
- LOSS OF VEGETATION
 Equity & Livelihoods:
A New Thrust in Watersheds
Quantum of solace
Importance of Water: Two – Thirds of earth’s
surface covered by the water
The Adult Human Body contains of 42 liters of water.
Just small loss of 2.7 liters of water he / she suffers
from dehydration, Irritability, fatigue, nervousness,
dizziness, headaches and weakness.
Earth Summit [1992]: Water has an ‘Economic Value’.
This has caused privatization &
commercialization) of Natural
Resource.
Watershed:Make running water to walk

and walking water to stop

Water is a Life: Every one need it
Water- Elixir of life
Each drop counts
Objectives
Improving the land Productivity,
Soil & water Conservation
Promoting appropriate technologies
for efficient and
Sustainable use of Natural Resources.
 Participatory watershed

• From 1995 onwards participatory watershed

management has emerged as a new paradigm.

• The local people played active role in project

planning, implementation and management of
watershed Projects.
 W/S

• Watershed is a geo-hydrological and biological unit

draining through a common point called out let. It
is a dynamic system of living and non living things.
 Watershed classification
• Basin – 50 to 300 lakh ha
• Catchment- 10 to 15 lakh ha
• Sub-catchment – 2 to 10 lakh ha
• Watershed – 0.5 to 10 lakh ha
• Sub-watershed- 10000- 50000 ha
• Macro watershed- 1000 to 10,000ha
• Micro watershed- 500 to 1000 ha
• Mini micro catchment – 100 to 200 ha
 IMPORTANT NATURAL
RESOURCES
• SOIL
• WATER
• VEGETATION
• LIVESTOCK
• HUMAN RESOURCE
 SOIL

• It is estimated that it takes anything from 400 to

1000 years for formation of just 2.5cm of topsoil
• The annual soil loss in India is estimated to be
about 16 tones /ha
• The loss and precious top soil is mainly due to
erosion by water and wind
Soil degradation
Soil degradation
 SOIL
• Rain contributes to over 60% of the degradation that
has taken place
• Soil and water conservation remains the core activity
• Soil conservation mainly means conserving and
protecting the soil from wind or water erosion
• It also means improving the microbial activities in
the soil and making it LIVE
• So management of rain water becomes the key in
watershed development
Soil degradation
 Why watershed development
• The Agriculture sector provides employment to 56% of the
country's work force and is the single largest private sector
occupation
• In India out of the total geographical area of 329 million
hectares- 57% of the area is suffering from soil degradation
as a result of
• Over population
• Harsh climate condition
• Deforestation
• Over exploitation of natural resources etc
SILTATION
 Watershed development objectives

• Conservation of Soil, water and vegetation

• Effective utilization of Natural resources
• Prevention of silting in water bodies
• Enhancing crop production and increase the
farmers’ income
• Minimizing degradation of natural resource base
• Support rural enterprises
• Ground water improvement
BIRD-K Approaches in watershed
development
• Trench cum bund across the slope at appropriate
intervals
• Vegetating the bunds with grass cover and tree
plantation
• Planting of 500 to 1000 mixed forestry species on field
bund to protect the bunds and provide necessary tree
cover to the land
• Plantation of dry land horticulture species in the field
• Promotion of sustainable dry land agricultural practices
 BIRD-K Approaches

• Increasing biodiversity and crop diversity in

the watershed
• Excavation of farm ponds at the rate of one
pond for every 2 hectares
• Horizontally connecting 10-15 ponds through
trench cum bund in a given contour line to
ensure maximum percolation of water in the
upper reaches of watersheds
 Watershed treatments
• 1.Bunding: Earthen field bunds are built along the
contours on gently sloping land to reduce surface runoff
and erosion
• Bunds are constructed out of excavated earth from
barrow pits of 1 to 3m width and 0.3 m depth and cut at
a distance of 3m from the heel of the proposed bund.
• Borrow pits are taken on the upstream side of the bund
so that they can be easily ploughed down during
cultural operations
• Width of barrow pits can vary depending upon the
quantity of earth work required
 Functions of Bunds

• To conserve moisture
• To reduce soil erosion
• To reduce velocity of runoff
 W/S Treatments

• 2.Field out let: A structure made up with stones

for draining surplus runoff from the farm is
called field outlet.
• At least one out let is kept for a row of bunds
• The outlets are located at a point from where
the surplus water flows, towards the main
channel. Normally a natural depression is
preferred
 Farm pond

• 3.Farm pond is a dugout pond for water storage.

A farm pond is recommended where the
topography does not permit the storage of water
by construct ring an embankment, but the water
is required to be stored any way.
• Pond size vary from as small as 5m*5m to as big
as 20m*20 m depending upon the land holding
available with the farmer or a group of farmers.
 Farm pond

• Harvest rain water to provide protective

irrigation to rain fed as well as rabi crops
• Making water available to animals and
vegetables cultivation in all seasons
• Useful in water scarcity area.Its main aim is to
protective but it also serves the purpose of
recharging ground water
• Very useful for small-scale enterprises like
fishery development.
 Farm pond-Site selection

• It can be undertaken in any field ( individual or

Common land) from where farmer can easily
provide water to crops,nursery,animals and
vegetables
• The main factors in deciding the location of
farm pond are soil type natural flow of
water(runoff water) possibilities of siltation and
the topography. It must be ensured that all the
water from field and also water from catchment
area can be diverted in to the pond.
Awareness building methodologies

• Formal and informal meetings with community

• Cycle jatha
• Street play/ video shows
• Gramasabha
• PRA
• Exposure visits
 Principles of watershed
management
• Utilizing the land according to its capability
• Adequate vegetative cover during the rainy season
• Conserving as much rain water as possible at the
place where it falls
• Draining out excess water with a safe velocity and
diverting it to storage ponds/ recharge ponds for
future use.
• Effective utilization of surface and ground water
resources.
• Avoiding gully
W/Sformation
Principles
and checking at suitable
intervals to control soil erosion and recharge
ground water.
• Optimizing productivity per unit area, per unit
time and per unit of water.
• Adopt integrated integrated soil,water,nutrient
and pest management options
• Safe utilization of marginal lands through
alternative land use systems.
• Ensuring sustainability of the ecosystems
benefiting the man-animal-plant-land-water
complex in the watershed.
Benefits of watershed development

• Increased production and higher profits

• Reduced soil erosion
• Improved soil quality and better drainage
• More efficient use of rainfall, with excess water
stored for supplemental irrigation
• Better conservation of natural resources
 HIVRE BAZAR: A Case Study

Project Conditional ties

1. Ban on cutting of
trees
2. Restriction on free
grazing
3. Ban on alcohol dens
4. Family Planning and
5. Voluntary
Shramadan
 ‘Two’ Rules of Water
(Voluntarily adopted by the
1. Restrictions on Villagers)
Cultivation of
water – intensive
crops.

2. Restrictions on
the digging and
use of bore wells.