Sources of irrigation water

 Surface water resources-soil profile, ponds, lakes, reservoirs, rivers

 Groundwater resources-aquifer
 Runoff water from small areas are collected in ponds and tanks
 Flood water from rivers is collected in surface reservoirs by constructing dams at
suitable locations and the water is diverted by weirs or barrages and conveyed through
canals by force of gravity
 Water from underground reservoirs is utilized by constructing wells and installing
water lifts or pumps.
 Depending upon the position of water source w.r.t field, irrigation is classified into
two types: (1) flow irrigation: water reaches the field from source by gravity flow;
and (2) lift irrigation: water to be raised or lifted from source to the field surface.
 The river systems of India can be classified into four groups, namely, (1) Himalayan
rivers: derives flows from rainfall runoff and by melting of snow and glaciers. Have
nearly continuous flow throughout the year (perennial rivers) and cause frequent
floods, ex: Indus, Brahmaputra, Ganga etc. (2) deccan rivers: Rainfed rivers, stable
and non-perennial, ex: Narmada, Tapi, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri etc.(3)
coastal rivers: Specially on west coast, short in length and have limited catchment
area, ex: Vaigai, Sharavati, Periyar etc. and (4) rivers of inland drainage basins: they
are few and far apart, disappear in sands and no outlet to the sea, ex: Saraswati,
Machhu, Luni. The rivers on the east coast are longer and form deltas, ex: Ganges,
Godavari, Kaveri, Krishna etc.
 The groundwater contributes about 50% irrigation water. The groundwater resource
has two components, namely, (i) static resources: they are not regularly replenished
on annual basis, estimated as 10812 billion m3, and (ii) dynamic resources:
replenished annually, estimated as 432 billion m3(annual utilizable groundwater in
India0. As per national water policy, development of groundwater resources is limited
to dynamic component and there is scope for static resources during periods of
drought. The water extracted from an aquifer in a year should be replenished through
recharge from succeeding precipitations (or other sources of recharge). The over
exploitation of groundwater known as mining, occurred at several places in India and
has caused ingress of saline water from sea in coastal areas.
 The groundwater regions of India are as follows, (i)unconsolidated formations:
alluvium formations consisting of sand, gravel, boulder, laterites, silt and clays, yield
 substantially. Occurs in Indus basin, Ganga basin, coastal tracts, Himalayan valley (ii)
semi consolidated formations: sedimentary rocks such as sandstones, limestones, and
conglomerates, yield is moderate. Occurs particularly in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Tamil
Nad, (iii)consolidated hard rock formations: crystalline, metamorphic, volcanic,
sedimentary and meta-sedimentary rocks. Water yield is low.
Irrigation Projects Classification
Irrigation projects are classified in different ways, however, in Indian context it is usually
classified as follows:
Based on Cultural Command Area (CCA)
 Major Irrigation Projects: The area envisaged to be covered under irrigation is of the
order over 10000 hectare (CCA>10,000 ha). This type of project consist huge storage
reservoirs, flow diversion structures and a large network of canals. These are often
multi-purpose projects serving other aspects like flood control and hydro power.
 Medium Irrigation Projects: Projects having CCA less than 10,000 ha but more than
2,000 ha are classified as medium irrigation projects. These are also multi-purpose
surface water projects. Medium size storage, diversion and distribution structures are
the main components of this type of project.
 Minor Irrigation Projects: Projects having CCA less than or equal to 2,000 ha are
termed as minor irrigation project. The main sources of water are tanks, small
reservoirs and groundwater pumping. A number of minor irrigation projects may exist
individually within the command area of a major or medium irrigation project.
The Major and Medium Irrigation (MMI) projects are further classified into two types based
on irrigation method adopted.
 Direct Irrigation method: In this method water is directly diverted from the river into
the canal by the construction of a diversion structure like weir or barrage across the
stream without attempting to store water. This method is practiced where the stream
has adequate perennial supply. Direct irrigation is usually practiced in deltaic tracts
that is, in areas having even and plane topography.
 Indirect or Storage Irrigation Method: In this system, water is stored in a reservoir
during monsoon by construction of a dam across the river. The stored water is
diverted to the fields through a network of canals during the dry period. Evidently
indirect irrigation is adopted where the river is not perennial or flow in the river is
inadequate during lean period.
Procedure for Setting up a MMI Project in India
The state planning to start a new irrigation project shall have to prepare a report based on
“Guidelines for Submission, Appraisal and Clearance of Irrigation and Multipurpose
Projects” brought out by the Central Water Commission (CWC). This report has to be sent to
the project appraisal organization of the CWC for the clearance with a note certifying the
following:
1. All necessary surveys and investigations for planning of the proposed
irrigation project and establishing its economic feasibility have been
carried out depending on certain guidelines.
2. 10% of the command area of the proposed project has been
investigated in details in three patches of land representing terrain
conditions in the command for estimation of the conveyance system up
to the last farm outlets.
3. 10% of the canal structures have been investigated in full detail.
4. Detailed hydrological, geological, construction material investigations
have been carried out for all major structures, that is, dams, weirs (or
barrages, as the case may be), main canal, branch canal up to
distributaries carrying a discharge of 10 m3s-1.
5. Soil survey of the command area has been carried out as per IS 5510-
1969.
6. Necessary designs for the various components of the project have been
done in accordance with the guidelines and relevant Indian standards.
Necessary studies for utilization of ground water have been done with
special regard to the problem of water logging and suitable provisions
have been made for conjunctive use of ground water and drainage
arrangements.
7. The cost estimates and economic evaluations were carried out as per
guidelines issued by the CWC.
It may be noted that similar report has to be made even for multipurpose projects
having irrigation as a component. Apart from the above techno-economic studies carried out
by the state design organization, the project report should be examined by the state-level
project appraisal/technical advisory committee comprising representatives of irrigation,
agriculture, fisheries, forests, soil conservation, ground water, revenue and finance
departments and state environmental management authority. The techno-economic feasibility
report should also be supplemented with “Environmental Impact Assessment Report” and
“Relief and Rehabilitation Plan” because of major impact of an irrigation project on
environment.
The project proposal submitted to the CWC shall be circulated amongst the members
of the advisory committee of the ministry of water resources for scrutiny. Once the project is
found acceptable it shall be recommended for investment clearance to the planning
commission and inclusion in the five year plan/annual plan.
Environmental impact of irrigation projects
Environmental clearance is mandatory for all major irrigation, multipurpose and flood
control projects (Central ministry of environment & forest, 1978). Environmental appraisal
committee decides acceptance of the project.
Nearly one half of water used in irrigation is reusable. Climate effects of irrigation-
surface temperature, amount of water vapour in atmosphere (thereby cloud formation and the
solar radiation contained within or reflected back to atmosphere) and release of greenhouse
gases. The major detrimental effects of water projects are:
 Project construction activities in remote and pristine areas result in increased
deforestation, creation of gullies on steep slopes leading to landslides and
hunting of wild animals
 Larger reservoirs and canals may lead to submergence of land and human
settlements, displacement of people and livestock, loss of occupation
 Standing water in the ecosystem may cause temperature stratification and
variation in dissolved oxygen at different level, which may influence aquatic
and riparian life originally existed in the area
 Effect on wildlife: provide drinking water during dry season, may cause
drowning of wildlife, splitting of interdependent species, changes in food
chain
 Flora could be adversely affected by construction activities or drowning
 There could be reservoir induced seismicity, leading to earthquakes, for which
adequate safeguards are required to ensure safety of dams
 Effects on river flow regimes: reduction in flow, silt load and nutrient content
at downstream of the dam, which would have an impact on lives, occupation
and livelihoods downstream, decreased water quality and increased pollutants
in downstream river
  The older dams are not adequately designed for anticipated peak flow, there
may be overtopping and possible failure
 The construction of canal networks could disrupt natural drainage leading to
drainage congestion. Canal irrigation can lead to waterlogging and salinization
of extensive areas in the command areas
The main steps in EIA process
All water resource projects, whether for irrigation or for hydro-electric power or for
flood control or for water supply have definite impact on the surrounding ecosystems and
environment. If the projects are properly planned and suitably designed, the adverse impacts
can be minimized. Environmental evaluation or assessment is generally done at the planning
and design stages of the project. There is a need to develop a complete checklist of the
impacts and an environmental evaluation system to quantify the impacts of irrigation
projects. The way in which an EIA is carried out is not rigid: it is a process comprising a
series of steps.
 Screening: First stage of EIA, which determines whether the proposed project,
requires an EIA and if it does, then the level of assessment required. The output from
the screening process is often a document called an Initial Environmental
Examination or Evaluation (IEE).
 Scoping: The process of determining the most critical issues is done in this stage.
Scoping is important for two reasons. First, so that problems can be pinpointed early
allowing mitigating design changes to be made before expensive detailed work is
carried out. Second, to ensure that detailed prediction work is only carried out for
important issues. The main EIA techniques used in scoping are baseline studies,
checklists, matrices and network diagrams.
 Prediction and Mitigation: Once the scoping exercise is complete and the major
impacts to be studied have been identified the prediction and mitigation work can
start. This stage forms the central part of an EIA. The aim is to introduce measures
which minimize any identified adverse impacts and also to enhance the positive
impacts. Some of the techniques used for prediction are Mathematical
modelling and Expert advice where as Checklists, matrices, networks diagrams,
graphical comparisons and overlays are mitigation techniques.
 Management and Monitoring: The main output report called an Environmental
Impact Statement contains a detailed plan for managing and monitoring the
 environmental impacts both during and after implementation of the project. The part
of the EIS covering monitoring and management is often referred to as
the Environmental Action Plan or Environmental Management Plan. The purpose of
monitoring is to compare predicted and actual impacts, especially if the impacts are
critical to the society or ecosystem or the scale of the impact cannot be accurately
predicted.
 Auditing: Finally, an audit of the EIA process is carried out some times after the
implementation. The audit serves a useful feedback and learning function. The audit
should include an analysis of the technical, procedural and decision-making aspects of
the EIA.
 Managing Uncertainty: An EIA involves prediction and thus uncertainty is an
integral part. There are two types of uncertainties that associated with the EIAs viz.
processes and predictions. For processes, the uncertainty lies in the proper assessment
of the importance of the different aspects and in accepting or discarding of the
recommendations. For predictions the uncertainty lies in the accuracy of the findings.
Points to remember
 The average annual surface water flow in India is about 1869 billion m3, out of which
690 billion m3 is utilizable
 There are 12 major river basins (catchment area of ≥20,000 km2) and 44 medium river
basins (catchment area of 2000 to 20,000 km2) out of which 24 are flowing east, 17
are west flowing and 3 flowing into neighboring countries
 The major and medium river basins accounts 90% of rainfall-runoff in India and the
minor river basins (catchment area of≤2000 km2) accounts 10% of the runoff
 Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin is the largest and Godavari is the second largest
river basin in India
 The longest flowing river in India is the Ganges or Ganga followed by Godavari,
Yamuna, Krishna and Narmada.
 The longest river which flows through India is the Indus which originates in Tibet
and enters Pakistan before flowing into the Arabian Sea.
 The part of the River Ganga which flows into Bangladesh is known as Padma.
 Most of the Indian rivers flow into the Bay of Bengal but some
like Narmada,Tapti, Netravathi and Periyar flow into the Arabian Sea.
 Five rivers of erstwhile Punjab are Sutlej, Ravi, Beas, Jhelum and Chenab
 The river also known as Dakshin Ganga is Godavari
 The Brahmaputra is known as Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet and as Dihang in
Arunachal Pradesh. The Brahmaputra river is known as Jomuna in Bangladesh.
 The river known as Singi Khamban (Lion's mouth) in Tibet River Indus
 The river known as Bengal’s sorrow is River Damodar
 Prayag or Allahabad is believed to be the confluence (sangam) of these
rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati
 There are three Trans-Himalayan rivers which originate in the high Tibetan
Plateau and cut across the mighty Himalayan ranges. Indus, Brahmaputra,
and Sutlej.