Save the Water

General Studies Paper 1

 CONTEXT

• During the last few years, the delay in onset of monsoon is observed, for e.g., recently, it arrived in Mumbai and New Delhi on the same day June 24. The monsoon’s onset in these cities is generally around June 10 and June 30, respectively.
• As, immediately after its arrival, many places across India received heavy to very heavy rainfall. It is unusual to see flooded rivers and cities in June/early July since most of the flooding usually occurs in the later months of the monsoon.

THERE IS NEED FOR FLOOD MANAGEMENT TO HANDLE THE FLOOD DISASTER

• Studies and expert appraisals have concluded that citizens, properties, and infrastructure in India cannot be provided with complete flood protection.
• As, after the end of the flood season in October, many parts of the country begin to face scorching summers and droughts.
• Therefore, there is need to shift attention and efforts from flood control to flood management.
• But the hydro-infrastructure for river regulation in India is inadequate for effective flood management. If a large part of the flood flows can be safely conserved, damages would reduce.
• The saved water would help partially mitigate the upcoming droughts. Storage to manage river flow variability and mitigate droughts is an attractive opportunity for India.

IMPACT OF FLOOD AND TOOLS FOR ITS MANAGEMENT

• In recent times, India has faced at least one major flood event each year and floods are beginning to repeat the pattern of damage and destruction.
• According to the National Disaster Management, every year 1,600 lives on average are lost due to floods, Authority. Floods also affect 75 lakh hectares of land and inflict damage worth Rs 1,805 crore to crops, houses and public utilities.
• In order to handle it, a range of tools are available to manage floods, Broadly, these are classified as structural and non-structural.
• Structural measures include
• storage reservoirs, embankments, and diversions.
• These reduce flood hazards by keeping damage-causing waters away from agricultural areas, cities, industries, etc.
• Storage reservoirs moderate the flood peak by storing water during high-flow periods and releasing it after they have subsided.
• They also conserve water for irrigation, electricity generation, water supply, etc. Their effectiveness in flood moderation depends on the space available.
• In addition, tanks and ponds are traditional means of water conservation in India. They also aid in groundwater recharge and promote biodiversity.
• Non-structural methods such as flood forecasting, warnings, and flood plain zoning, help in the timely evacuation of people and regulate the use of floodplains.
• A forecasting and warning system provides a priori estimate of approaching floods so that people and movable assets are relocated to safer places in time.
• India has more than 5,500 large dams. Accurate inflow forecasts help moderate floods by estimating the space needed for storage in reservoirs.
• As s common saying goes: “Floods are acts of God but flood losses are largely acts of man”.
• Non-structural methods don’t involve construction and hence don’t create an adverse impact on the environment or otherwise. However, the resource (water) is neither conserved nor put to alternate use.
• Large and medium water conservancy projects can save huge quantities of damage-causing water. So, to manage increasing variabilities, existing infrastructure should be upgraded or new infrastructure created.

THERE IS NEED TO CONSERVE WATER DURING FLOOD TIME

• In India, most of the water comes from the Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra, Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, Mahanadi, Narmada and Tapi river basins. The monsoon’s presence makes Indian rivers highly seasonal.
• During the four months of monsoon, Indian rivers carry about 75 per cent of their annual flows
• Therefore, there is need for water conservation during the high flow of water in river basin
• However, Options for water conservation vary in size from large storage to farm ponds and the impact also varies local in scale to a large region based on its advantages, limitations, concerns and requirements.

CLIMATE CHANGE ADDS A NEW DIMENSION TO FLOOD MANAGEMENT

• Climate change will add a new dimension to flood management — rainfall patterns, intensities, and durations are likely to change.
• Recently IPCC released Assessment Report 6 where they noted that intense rains are likely to become more common in this warming world.
• Therefore, flows in Indian rivers and their variabilities will increase in the future. This will lead to more instances of floods and droughts.