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.
 W/S Principles
• Avoiding gully formation 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 Villagers)
1. Restrictions on
Cultivation of
water – intensive
crops.

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