Addressing water crisis with springshed management

Kohima, June 5 (MExN): In Nagaland, mountain springs are the lifeline and the primary source of water for domestic and agriculture purposes. In recent years, demand and need for water, for drinking and agricultural purposes, has increased. Despite receiving abundant rainfall, it was observed that there is depletion in groundwater and mountain aquifers in the region.

However, a springshed management project initiated by a consortium of partners, comprising the state Rural Development and Land Resource Departments (LRD), Tata Trusts and the North East Initiative Development Agency (NEIDA) seem to have turned the water crisis around.

As of today, 11,857 households in 95 villages of Nagaland, covering 23 blocks across 11 districts, are all-weather water sufficient as a result of the springshed management project which rejuvenated 105 springs.

According to a press release from the Tata Trusts on Friday, the project was taken up in 2018 on a pilot basis, focussing specifically on springshed rejuvenation to provide drinking water security in 100 villages in rural areas of Nagaland. The overall project goal was to develop a state wide springshed development programme to achieve sustainable water security and enhance resilience of vulnerable mountain communities to climate change. The project also aimed to build up expertise in the state of Nagaland on a scalable, scientific and participatory approach to spring revival, it stated.

NEIDA, an initiative of Tata Trusts, supports in enhancing the capacity of para-hydrogeologists of the LRD in collaboration with Peoples Science Institute, Dehradun and Advanced Center for Water Resources Development and Management (ACWADAM), Pune and coordination amongst stakeholders. Whereas, the LRD allocates human resources, develops detailed technical reports (DTR) and supervises the project implementation. The Rural Development department provides the implementation cost in the form of MNREGA labour days for treating springsheds and facilitates and supervises implementation, the release stated.

The project also provides an innovative model of Public Private Partnership where the resources from existing government programmes are leveraged with non-government funding partners joining hands to provide solutions to rural communities.

Case study of Enhulumi village
The release presented a case study of Enhulumi, a hilltop village in Phek district comprising of 230 households which was selected as one of the pilot villages. Although the village was highly dependent on 7 springs for drinking water and domestic needs, during a PRA exercise, it was found that the spring in the village has been drying up in the last 10-15 years, it said. As such, the community had been facing acute water shortage particularly during the lean seasons from December – April or until the arrival of monsoon.

Under the project, the Mewi Dzukhou (spring) was selected for rejuvenation through a participatory approach. The spring water is collected in a dug-out spring box which has a storage capacity of about 3,000 litres which provides sufficient water to about 100 households in the village during monsoon. During lean seasons, however, the households depend on other springs in the village for their domestic water requirements.

According to the press release, after the signing of agreement between the stakeholders and the village council, para-hydrogeologists from the LRD trained the community representatives on the significance of springshed management and its technical aspects.

The rejuvenation works were implemented in June 2019 with the participation of 143 villagers. Cost of labour for earthen works and spring box construction was borne through the wage component of MGNREGA from RD department. The community had also contributed free labour in cleaning up the spring box and footpath leading to the spring, the release stated.

The water demand and supply assessment of Mewi spring based on spring discharge data in March 2019 indicated a large gap resulting in water shortages which was far below the 55 litres per capita per day (LPCD) water requirements as per the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) guidelines. It said that the spring discharge measured was only 4% of the water demand (27,500 lit are required for 500 populace taking an average of 5 people per household).

However, post the springshed treatment measures, the discharge measurement recorded in March 15, 2020 showed increase in water flow by 70%, followed by a 158% increase as of March 15 this year.

As per the release, the data collector in Ehulumi village Wekhrolo Lohe reported manifold increase in spring discharge and that the surplus water is used for agricultural purposes. The Village Council Chairperson expressed his wish that the overflowing spring water be connected through pipelines to the village that would provide access to potable drinking water for more than 100 households. He also shared that the community had resolved to conserve and protect the recharge zones of the springs from all developmental and farming activities. The community led by the Village Council are managing the operation and maintenance of the spring and carries out regular de-siltation of the trenches, the release stated.

About Tata Trusts
Tata Trusts, India’s oldest philanthropic organisation, has played a pioneering role in bringing about an enduring difference in the lives of the communities it serves. The Trusts’ purpose is to catalyse development in the areas of health, education, water, sanitation and hygiene, livelihood, digital transformation, social justice and inclusion, environment and energy, and skill development, among others, and its programmes are achieved through direct implementation, partnerships and grant making.

Source: https://morungexpress.com/addressing-water-crisis-with-springshed-management