Water is needed for life, vegetation and industry. In hot climate areas of deserts, requirement of water is more while supply is less.
Requirement of water for agriculture varies as per climate, topography, soil ( sandy, porous, black sticky), crop type and pattern.
Requirement of water for cities is a growing concern and is a big drain on availability for agriculture and rural habitat.
Components of Watershed development
1. Grassland development
2. Gally Plugging
3. Tree planting
4. Contour bunding
5. Land leveling
6. Water conservation structures
7. Lift irrigation
8. de-silting of lakes and dam reseviors.
Basic philosophy and technique
Optimum management of every drop of water that can be made available in the area is watershed development. By very nature, the development is augmentation of natural resources of the area. There can be two or three watersheds in a village. These have to be coordinated in a manner where by social justice is met for all.
Grassland development
Most villages have some waste land. Traditionally it belongs to no one in particular and is known as Sarkari Zamin for cattle grazing. These lands are unfit for cultivation and may be rocky or undulated. The quality of soil is also unfit for agriculture use.
When such fields are permitted to be used as common grazing grounds, the animals often up root the grass while grazing. animal hoofs also damage the grass roots. More important is that the grass is not allowed to mature so that seeds could be formed , which in turn during next monsoon will germinate. Cattle grazing therefore is injurious to grassland development.
If the animal grazing is stopped and grass seeds spread in such waste lands, quality grass can develop on its own and the biomass can be used to feed cattle in intensive cattle farming.
Good quality grass is useful to feed cattle in developing lucrative milk business. It can also be used for goats and sheep raising.
However from the point of watershed development, grassland development is very useful in four ways. Firstly it stops soil erosion as grass roots hold the soil particles together, secondly the water runoff is checked and thirdly grass roots help percolation of rain water in the soil underneath thereby helping raise under ground water table level and lastly it allows forming of bio fertilizer for agriculture use.
It is advisable not only to prohibit free grazing by cattle but also to limit number of live stock. Only useful cattle will aid to village economy. Non productive cattle is a drain and should be gifted to relatives in other villages where they are needed.
Grassland development is therefore an important constituent of watershed development
Gully plugging – loose boulder structure
All lands are catchment areas for some water reservoirs. In undulated land, there are gullies in the slopes where from the rain water runs off during monsoon. Such water along with it, takes away some of the loose soil causing soil erosion. These form in to storm water nallahs which in turn silt lakes and water reservoirs.
Such water runoffs besides causing soil erosion and silting of reservoirs also cause denudation of ravines of grass and shrubs which are useful eco conservation tools as explained earlier.
The simplest way to remedy this problem is to plug the ravines with loose boulder structures without any cement. Sufficient stone boulders of various sizes and shapes are to be duped to erect a wall of required height. Water will still find its way through these plugs but the force of gushing water will considerably reduce.
This will help in preventing soil erosion and allow larger quantity of water to percolate through soil. Additional benefits as mentioned are prevent silting of reservoirs and allow growth of grassland..