Spring Protection:Safe & Sustainable Drinking Water in the Western Ghats
Dr. Jared BuonoMr Dhananjay AmbraleWorld Water Day, 2014
IIT Mumbai
Outline• Hydrogeology • Social importance • Ecological status • Grassroots restoration efforts
Western Ghats
Focus Area: Satara District
Monsoon, Patchputewadi Village
Dry Season, Patchputewadi
Water is #1 issue:• Degraded watersheds • Over pumping • Natural conditions
Basalt:• Fine grained• Groundwater flow
limited to cracks, vesicles
Deccan traps• 66M year old lava• 500K km2 area• ~2000m thick
Present day Iceland
Generalized Geology
Massive Basalt
Compound Flows
Talus & Soil
Typical Groundwater Flow Paths- At contacts- Occasional fractures
Spring Formation
Spring recharge zone
Discharge zone
Well recharge zone
Springs
SpringFormation
Laterite Cap
Typical Groundwater Flow Paths- At contacts- Occasional fractures- Laterite plateaus
Laterite tableland formations in Satara District
• Up to 1,00,000 liters per day• 50 to 1400m above sea level• Geology: basalt, laterite or talus• Spring type: contact or fracture
General Spring Characteristics
Water quality of springs
• Water quality very good; min & max values
– Temp: 17 – 22 °C (winter)– Ph: 7.3 – 8.3 – TDS: 35 – 160 mg/l– EC: 70 – 320 mmho/cm – Hardness (CaCO3): 30 – 140 mg/l – Na: 2 – 25 mg/l
– K: 0 – 2 mg/l– Ca2: 10 – 36 mg/l– Mg2: 1 – 12 mg/l– HCO3: 31 – 177 mg/l– Cl: 7 – 14 mg/l – Fe2: 0.4 – 0.7 mg/l *****
From Naik et al. 2000
• Only iron shows marginal excess• Pathogens are rare at source (e.g. no fecals)
Laterite
Basalt
Villages Accessing Spring Water
Potential Spring Locations
Socioeconomic value
– Uses: drinking, irrigation, temples, animals– Safe and sustainable source of drinking water• Gravity-fed = no pumping cost• Year round supply • Water quality very high
Cultural value
Credit: Rohit Gowaikar, Wikipedia/Flickr
Historic value
Current State of Springs
Typical spring box • Installed in 1970s as drought
response• Poor design & maintenance =
leaks, contamination• Declining flow due to adjacent
pumping, ecological degradation
The Rush for More
Ecological Degradation
• Anthropogenic fire• Over grazing• Fuel wood collection
Almost all springs under threat
Declining flow due to:• Deforestation• Groundwater
exploitation
• How many springs are there? • How many people
affected?
Karjat Area:Elevation – 50 mFlow – ~7 l/m Use – irrigationStatus – disuse, loss to bore wells
Pune Area:Elevation – 700 mFlow – ~10 l/m Use – drinkingStatus – loss to bores, wells
Koyna Area:Elev – 800 mFlow – ~30 l/m Use – drinkingStatus – healthy in unpopulated area
Panchgani Area:Elev – 1200 mFlow – ~9 l/m Use – drinkingStatus – loss to bores, wells
Western Ghats
Western Ghats
Satara District
Maharashtra Location Map
SATARA DISTRICT SPRINGSLegend
District Boundary Taluka Boundary Spring Locations (Subsample) Laterite Tableland Formations
• Our growing map of springs• For every point there are probably
100 more
Detailed survey:• >20 spring systems• 10 dependent villages• >10000 people• All springs threatened
Western Ghats
Modified from Molur et al. 2011
National Importance of the Western Ghats
Western Ghats Watersheds- Cover 9 states- Direct water supply for
120 million people - Indirect, >400 million
*Molur et al. 2011
Modified from Molur et al. 2011
Western Ghats
Laterite tableland formations in Satara District
Source: Wikimedia Commons; Hillebrand, Steve
Prec
ipita
tion
Time
Discharge
Springshed Restoration & Recharge
Standard Spring Box
Nalla-box (sand dam)
With livestock or wildlife guzzler
Empowerment
Spring recharge zone
Discharge zone
Well recharge zone
Springs
Piryachiwadi Village: Recharge & Discharge Zones
April 2013
Godavalli Aquifer Contour
Feb 2014
WellsSpring
*
Longitude (decimal degrees)
Latit
ude
(dec
imal
deg
rees
)
Elevation (m)
WellsSpringFlow Vectors
*
Godavalli Aquifer Feb 2014
Massive Basalt
Vesicular Basalt
Talus & Soils Complex
1315 m
1220 m
1187 m
1125 m
1090 m
Massive Basalt
Vesicular Basalt
Laterite Rocky Plateau
RECHARGE ZONE
SPRING – DISCHARGE ZONE
Godavalli Village: Recharge & Discharge
ZonesFeb 2014
Massive Basalt
Vesicular Basalt
Talus & Soils Complex
1315 m
1220 m
1187 m
1125 m
1090 m
Massive Basalt
Vesicular Basalt
Laterite Rocky Plateau
Recharge ZoneFeb 2014
RECHARGE ZONE
Lineament/Fracture Zone along Nala Management – Reforestation Management – Roof Water Harvest & Limited Pumping Laterite - Basalt Contact Contour
N
Management RecommendationsFeb 2014
Map Credit: wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons
• Part of initiative by Arghyam to make springs national priority
•We are partners for Western Ghats
• Expand to more villages• Create a knowledge base in area• Applied research to better understand springs
• Hydrologic importance of laterite plateaus• Quantify land-use effects on spring flow
• Provide spring-specific policy recommendations
Future Activities
THANKS!Now come work with us…
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REFERENCES:
Molur, S., Smith, K.G., Daniel, B.A. and Darwall, W.R.T. (Compilers). 2011. The Status and Distribution of Freshwater Biodiversity in the Western Ghats, India. Cambridge, UK and Gland, Switzerland, IUCN, and Coimbatore, India: Zoo Outreach Organisation.
Naik, P.K., · A.K. Awasthi, P.C. Mohan. 2002. Springs in a Headwater Basin in the Deccan Trap Country of the Western Ghats, India. Hydrogeology Journal (2002) 10:553–565.
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