In 2011, more than a year before I
departed on my around-the-world trip for the SOIL Fund, I learned about a
watershed management project in India sponsored, in part, by a Colorado Rotary
Club. I found out from Irv Buck, a
Rotarian from Parker, Colorado, that the project included erosion and sediment
control measures that played an integral part in the improvement of
agricultural productivity, groundwater resources, and water quality.
Arrow brought along his laptop to our
lunch meeting, and I was treated to a photo-illustrated PowerPoint presentation. I learned that there are 672,000 villages in
India where 70% of the population lives.
About 50% of these villages have no support systems. The government has built poorly-conceived water
impoundment dams in many of these villages but they often silt up and become
useless within a few years partly because there are no erosion and sediment
controls upstream. Government corruption
and local “mafias” impede village improvements and most people have no legal
recourse because the courts are hopelessly clogged.
The original objective was to improve
the community’s drinking water system. The water table had been dropping about two
feet per year meaning that the community well went dry earlier and earlier
every year once the dry season set in.
As a result, women had to walk 2 to 3 miles just to find water in ponds where
cattle also drank. The community economy
was stagnant because lack of water limited the farmers to one crop per
year. Furthermore, 65% of the people
were landless and in debt.
It soon became apparent to Arrow and his
colleagues that providing better drinking water was a starting point but much
more was required. The landscape had
been denuded by deforestation some of which was caused by crooked timber
companies who had purchased land cheaply from poor villagers who needed cash. Problems in the community required a holistic approach
which would enable the local economy to grow rapidly and address other
essentials such as health care and education.
With the Bombay Midtown Club taking the lead, a $137,000 grant was obtained
from the Rotary Foundation for a Watershed Management Project.
This more reliable water supply has
enabled farmers to improve crop yields by 20% and raise two or three crops per
year. As a result, they now produce
surpluses providing them a cash income.
An associated reforestation project provides a sustainable supply of
timber for local use and for sale outside the community. 80,000 saplings have been planted on more
gentle slopes while vetiver grass is used to stabilize relatively steep slopes.
These revegetation efforts help to
enable rain water to “walk” down the slopes and improve infiltration.
The project is located in a rural
community in the Thane District a few hours north of Mumbai (Bombay), and I
hoped to visit it while in Mumbai at the end of August. Irv put me in touch with Arobina Sinha Roy of
the Rotary Club of Bombay Midtown. Mr.
Roy, (better known as “Arrow”), a retired advertising executive, doubted I
would be able to visit the community.
The problem was the timing of my visit during the monsoon season. Roads into the community would be in poor
shape after being pounded by monsoon rains for the three months before my visit. As a result, the Mumbai Rotarians generally
only went there during the dry season.
However, Arrow was interested in meeting me, and I had the pleasure of
having lunch with him during my visit to Mumbai.
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| Rotary’s watershed development project is located 115km (70 miles) north-northeast of Mumbai. |
Thane
District Watershed Development Project
Thus, the Rotary Club of Bombay Midtown
decided to bypass the government and start to attack rural Indian poverty in
the local region. Their first project
involves 672 hectares (1680 acres) in the villages of Potkhal and Baste. It was conceived in 2005 and most of the work
has now been completed. Rotary chose this
poor community because the local residents had some education, a common
culture, and a lack of political problems.
Furthermore, women were already involved in community decision making. |
| Several Rotary Clubs from India, the USA, and Switzerland have been involved with the project. |
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| Village women used to walk 2 or 3 miles to get drinking water from this foul pond. |
Role
of Erosion and Sediment Control BMPs
Use of standard erosion and sediment
control best management practices (BMPs) like check dams and infiltration
trenches played a large role in the project.
As Arrow explained it, they had to “teach the rain to walk”. By slowing down or impounding runoff,
groundwater recharge improved and the water table is now rising. Wells now dry up in May (near the end of the
dry season) instead of February (middle of the dry season). Women no longer have to haul contaminated
drinking water from distant locations.
Improvements in recharge will eventually result in a year round supply
of well water.  |
| If you look closely, you can see newly-constructed check dams in the drainages of this deforested hillside. |
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| Infiltration trenches constructed along the contour not only slow down runoff but also help with groundwater recharge. |
Community boys planting saplings.
After 2012, ¼ of the trees grown for firewood will be harvested annually
and new saplings will be planted to replace them.
Reduction of soil erosion in the
community and sedimentation in local streams and reservoirs are secondary
benefits of the watershed management program.
However, I find it very significant that the BMPs we use to control
erosion and sedimentation on construction projects in “Western” countries, can play
a central role in providing potable and irrigation water to rural communities
in developing countries.
My thanks to Irv Buck of the Parker,
Colorado (USA) Rotary Club for providing all the photos used in this story.
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| A build-up of sediment behind this new community dam will still be a problem but erosion control BMPs in the watershed above the dam will extend its life. |
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| Surplus water is enabling community women to plant “kitchen gardens”. |
