Traditional Water Conservation Methods in India

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Author: Shikha Shah

Many of us who live in big cities enjoy a carefree lifestyle with 24 hours of running taps, swimming pools, Jacuzzis and decorative fountains. Sheltered by this layer of comfort, we remain unaware of the impact of these water-intensive activities on our environment. Rapid urbanization and water pollution have widened the supply and demand gap, putting enormous pressure on the quality of surface and groundwater bodies in India. Clean water is destined to become one of the rarest commodities soon, if the general public is not educated about the significance of storing, recycling and reusing water.

Around 83% of available fresh water in India is used for agriculture. Rainfall being the primary source of freshwater, the concept behind conserving water is to harvest it when it falls and wherever it falls. The importance of storing rainwater through different techniques can be understood by an example of the desert city of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan which is water self-sufficient despite experiencing meager rainfall as against Cherrapunji, which is blessed with the highest rainfall in the world, but still faces water shortage due to lack of water conservation methods.

Water Conservation Methods in India from Past to Present

Since ages, people across different regions of India, have experienced either excess or scarce water due to varied rainfall and land topography. Yet, they have managed to irrigate their agricultural fields using localized water harvesting methods. Their traditional ways, though less popular, are still in use and efficient. They are enriched with the knowledge to manage water in communal ways. Let’s learn about a few traditional water conservation methods in India used by our illiterate yet successful water managers in India:

Katta

Katta - Traditional Water Conservation India

Katta is a temporary structure made by binding mud and loose stones available locally. Built across small streams and rivers, this stone bund slows the flow of water, and stores a large amount (depending upon its height) during the dry months. The collected water gradually seeps into the ground and increases the water level of nearby wells. In coastal areas, they also minimize the flow of fresh water into the sea.

It is a simple and cost-effective method used widely in rural areas. Series of stone bunds build one behind the other have proved to be more effective than modern concrete dams in some villages, as these local structures can be easily repaired by farmers themselves. Although they require many skilled laborers during construction, the cost is mostly shared by all the villagers as it is a common structure. However, with more people opting for personal borewells and handpumps, the water level in open wells has gone down severely, taking a toll on marginal villages. Thus, rejuvenating these community-based Kattas can go a long way in sustainable water management in India.

Sand Bores

Sand Bore - Traditional Water Conservation India

Sand bores provide a safe alternative for farm irrigation without affecting groundwater. This technique uses the concept of extracting water retained by sand particles. Sand particles act as great water filters by retaining the salt content at the bottom and gushing pure water out. White sand is believed to yield water clean enough for drinking too. Sand deposits (as high as 15-30 feet) left along banks of rivers is dug using a manual soil cutter. Casing PVC pipes is inserted to act as filters and an electric or diesel motor is used to pump sweet water out.

The entire set-up costs around INR5,000-7,000 and requires less maintenance when sand deposits are fine and clean. The sand bore technique has been used in Karnataka since decades. The only drawback is that it can only be practiced in coastal areas or in areas with high sand deposits. The adjoining picture shows farmers preparing the PVC pipe filter with holes.

Johads

Johad Check Dam - Traditional Water Conservation India

These water soak pits, called as Madakas in Karnataka, Pemghara in Odisha and Johads in Rajasthan, are one of the oldest water conservation methods in India used to conserve and recharge ground water. Constructed on an area with naturally high elevation on three sides, soil is excavated to create a storage area and used to create a wall on the fourth side to hold water. Johads collect monsoon water, which slowly seeps into recharge groundwater and maintain soil moisture.

Sometimes, many Johads are interconnected with a gulley or deep channels with a single outlet in a river or stream nearby to prevent structural damage. This cost-efficient and simple structure requires yearly maintenance of de-silting and cleaning the storage area of weed growth. Water from Johads is still been widely used by farmers to irrigate fields in many parts of India. In fact, the arid state of Rajasthan has seen a drastic improvement in water conservation due to the efforts of Rajendra Singh from Tarun Bharat Sangh to revive Johads. What needs to be done today is the revival of old Johads, many of which have fallen into disrepair due to the growth of weed plants and waste dumping.

Bawdi/Jhalara

Bawdi - Traditional Water Conservation India

These step-wells called Bawdis or Jhalaras are grand structures of high archaeological significance constructed since ancient times, mainly in honor of kings and queens. They are typically square-shaped step-wells with beautiful arches, motifs and sometimes rooms on sides. Apart from storing water for basic needs, they at times also served for water sports.

Located away from residential areas, the water quality in these Bawdis is considered to be good for consumption. The typical lifespan of Jhalaras is around 20-30 years. Built with large investment of money and numerous skilled laborers, these magnificent structures today stand discarded by our society. Many of these structures have been encroached and act as mere dumping sites. Renovation of few of them in Rajasthan has restored their huge water storing capacity and with the use of electric pumps to draw water, it has proved useful during dry periods. Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka have the maximum number of these traditional water conservation structures, which attract tourists from all over.

Bamboo Drip Irrigation

Bamboo Drip irrigation conservation - Traditional Water Conservation India

Innovated by tribes of north eastern states of India, this technique economically uses water during dry seasons. It is practiced in hilly areas where construction of ground channels is not possible due to sloppy and stony terrain. This arrangement taps spring water to irrigate fields. A network of channels made by bamboo pipes of various diameters (to control flow), allows a downward flow of water by gravity. An efficient system can reduce around 20 liters of inflow water running over many kilometers to 20-80 drops per minute in agricultural fields.

Construction material such as bamboo and fiber is locally available. It is cost effective since it requires less maintenance and only 1-2 laborers, who use tools to create a network of bamboo pipes to irrigate one hectare of land in 15 days. The system lasts for around three years after which the wood rots and decomposes to become nutrient-rich soil.

Farmers of Khasi and Jaintia tribes have successfully used this unique water conservation technique to irrigate fields of black pepper, betel nut, etc. It has been replicated in urban areas too, where water stored on rooftop tanks is flown through bamboo channels to irrigate fields and back gardens. This system’s main advantage is it does not pollute like its plastic counterparts and is highly economical and simple to construct.

Innovative-Water-Conservation-Practices

Pioneers-of-Rainwater-Harvesting-in-India

Avatar photo
Shikha Shah has been working on water conservation and rural development activities ever since she joined TERI University for her master’s degree in Water Resources Management. She is currently an aspiring social entrepreneur working in the Rural Technology and Business Incubator (RTBI) cell of IIT Madras.

54 COMMENTS

    • Pls help me for my child’ s project “method of conservation of water in India, France ,Ireland”. It’s model making sent me any method pls.

  1. it’s really of great help…highly educative explaining various ways of water conservation in a country like ours.
    thanks a lot Shikha

  2. I’ m hydrogeologist and your article is very informative. I am researcher about the differents types of groundwater captation in Brazil. I want know more about the Bawdi/Jhalara. If you want share informations about this captation, I’m available.

  3. Thanx Shikha for your informative article.. Can u please help me out relating to paper presentations on the water conservation topics? As i am a beginner and inerested in doing paper presentations.

  4. Dear Shikha and team at Ecoideaz

    Greetings from the Bhoomi Magazine Team!

    Eternal Bhoomi, is a quarterly magazine printed out of Bangalore, India which is committed to offering holistic and cutting edge perspectives on sustainability by renowned writers and thinkers from around the world as well as practical ideas and examples of earth conscious living. The Bhoomi magazine is brought out by Bhoomi Network, a not-for-profit organization committed to education and action for sustainable living. At present some of our contributors include The Dalai Lama, Vandana Shiva, Satish Kumar of Resurgence, Jonathon Porritt, Helena Norberg Hodge to name a few. Our website http://www.bhoomimagazine.org will give you an idea of Bhoomi’s work till now.

    In the last 6 years, Eternal Bhoomi has been sent to 4000 school and college Libraries as well as to many others. Feedback from teachers around the country that they appreciate articles from the Bhoomi Magazine and use them for discussions in their classes does motivate us to keep bringing it out. As a magazine without commercial ads, we survive in a gift culture where several authors, artists and photographers give us gifts of their work. In every issue the Bhoomi magazine has focused on themes like Food, Ecological Sanity, Rethinking Education, Gaia – Our living Earth, Community and Commons and so on. In addition, we cover articles that share holistic perspectives on earth consciousness and sustainability as well as stories that offer positive and practical ideas for transitioning to eco-wise living.

    We would be happy if you can support us by letting us re-publish this blog post as well as the one on innovatiove water conservation methods in India.

    Please do also let us know the best way we can credit you for your kindness.
    Looking forward to hearing from you!

    Best Wishes
    Adil Basha
    Bhoomi Magazine

    http://www.bhoomimagazine.org
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  5. Thank u shika shah for posting such valuable information so.that i could complete my assignment. Thanks a lot to ecodeaz thanks..

  6. Thank you so much SHIK SHAH for posting such a beautiful and valuable information. I could complete my project …….thanks a lot …. thank u once again.

    • Thanks Natasha,
      please do consider implementing some of these ideas in your our Green Lotus Avenue project. infact you can list that in our green directory

  7. Shikha its a very much better and useful for my holiday homework thanks for the article you have posted on Google chrome
    Best wishes

  8. SAP and Vectus tackle the problem of water waste and scarcity in India. A forward thinking company with a state of the art digital core and a network of tech savvy plumbers are helping farmers kill two birds with one stone: save water and feed more people every year.

  9. Thanks so much for spreading this knowledge Shikha. Please consider looking into Sahaja Yoga to help you consider this in the context of looking after Shri Adi Bhoomi Devi (Mother Earth) and getting your Self Realisation.

  10. Great article. We also need to concentrate on cities. There is a need to implement small projects at school level for innovating ideas for water conservation. This will help to produce green solution. The most water wastage happens in cities & people dont care for it & generally the plastic storage tank overflows and lot of water is being wasted. Water alarm in cities are must.

    • Thanks Akshay,
      you can post info about your water alarm in our green directory since we dont allow any web links in comments

  11. Hello Sikha,
    I’m SBI youth for India fellow 2015-16 batch worked on pond rejuvenation in Rajasthan and also worked with Barefoot College water team. Currently I’m setting my own organisation on water conservation in Surguja, Chattisgarh. I have some questions regarding water conservation in hilly areas. Can i contact you over the mail?

  12. Rainwater harvesting is the best way to save water and reuse it for fututre betterment, but lots of us doesn’t know about it.
    Inquire about rainwater harvesting cost in india

  13. Hello, I am planning to build a bamboo house, with natural material foundation ( hopefully using rocks, clay & limestone). Also was planning to have a solar panels as roof. The problem I am facing is the expertise. I have checked a few of the sites but they are all commercial and they have kind of pre built.

    Does anyone have any experience in doing any of the above.

  14. I need the equivalent Tamil names of various traditional water conservation methods of India or their phonetics.

    • Hope the below is helpful to you.
      கட்டா – Kaṭṭā
      மணல் துளைகள் – Maṇal tuḷaikaḷ
      ஜோஹாட்ஸ் – Jōhāṭs
      பாவி / ஜலாரா – Pāvi/ jalārā
      மூங்கில் சொட்டு நீர்ப்பாசனம் – Mūṅkil coṭṭu nīrppācaṉam

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