STRATEGY AND APPROACH FOR WATER SCOOPING AT PANCHAYAT LEVEL

Funding Agency: Formulation Mission for Royal Netherlands Embassy

The quantity and quality of water resources available vary widely in time and space but the problem is in the efficient management, which includes the supply and distribution of water in the most beneficial, equitable and sustainable manner. Proper management of any water resource requires valid locale-specific information. The lack of microlevel information in many occasions has lead to the unrealistic and unsustainable resource planning. The main objectives of the project were to identify the water potential areas at Grama Panchayat level giving information on quantity and quality of water available in each potential zones, identify the methods / options for water scooping in different hydrogeological conditions and carryout field testing of the methodology formulated in one selected Panchayat.

The Water Scooping suggested here was mainly to find out shallow aquifer status and for identifying deeper water sources. The detailed database created using the field level data related to water resources collected on specific formats during PRM was utilised along with the final Ground Water Potential Map of the Panchayat to derive water thickness / depth of water table in specific locations in a given point of time in maximum water potential zones. This was carried out through fine-tuning of the Panchayat level potential map and also by basic mathematical calculations. Assessment of critical depth was made through the study of the depth of water level of nearby wells of the potential sites - with and without saline water intrusion. Pollution and contamination of sources-proximity to salinity and pollution from other sources were identified. Nature of the material – sand, clay etc. were collected and utilised. Detailed Geophysical Survey and exploration was done in the third phase.