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ECO-FRIENDLY TECHNOLOGIES
WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES
WATER
SHED MANAGEMENT
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By
definition a ‘Watershed’ is a drainage area (basic hydrogeological unit)
on earth’s surface from which runoff resulting from precipitation flows
past a single point into a large stream, a river, a lake or the ocean.
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The runoff generated can be collected in a pond or a reservoir by means
of mechanical/structural and vegetative measures. This stored water is
then supplied to fields under gravity flow for irrigation purposes.
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A
watershed maybe of any size but it must be manageable hydrologically. It
is very much ‘natural’ and it allows planners to focus on all the
effects of downhill runoff in a given area and to plan accordingly to
control or contain it.
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Watershed
based management has been accepted as the most rational approach today.
Besides water harvesting with special reference to rainfed agricultural
lands, it includes a wide range of activities including soil and water
conservation, development of degraded and waste lands, afforestation and
employment generation amongst rural people. In the long run, it
preserves the ecosystem, restores the environmental degradation and
stablises and sustains the overall productivity of an area.
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The key
concepts which are included in watershed management are:
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Landuse planning and utilization based on
potential.
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Rain water harvesting
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Maintaining good vegetative cover over the
ground of minimize erosion of soil and water and maximize water
retention in the soil.
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Draining out excess water to pond/reservoir
for future use.
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Developing relevant soil and water
conservation structures to control erosion.
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Maximizing productivity per unit area, per
unit time and per unit of water and increasing cropping intensity.
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Utilization of marginal lands to its
maximum potential use.
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Maximizing and stabilizing income of the
people of the areas through integrated crop-livestock tree labour
complex.
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Developing rural energy management systems,
infrastructural facility and improving health, education and other
socio-economic conditions of local residents.
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Finally, restoration of the ecosystem towards achieving sustainability
Eco-Friendly Water
Technologies
Page Revised on Oct.2009
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