Highlights from a conference
Last month, the Auroville Centre
for Scientific Research (CSR) together with Auroville's unit
Water Harvest organized a three-day seminar on sustainable
water resource management. The seminar, held in the Pavilion
of Tibetan Culture, was not only endorsed by UNESCO under
its HELP (Hydrology for Environment, Life and Policy) programme,
but also received an inspiring
message from the President of India who referred to Auroville as ‘one of
India's spiritual gifts to the whole world' and expressed his
confidence that Auroville, in cooperation with other organizations,
will be able to find a lasting solution to the water problems
of the region. This region, often egocentrically referred to
as ‘the Auroville bio-region', had been defined by the organizers
as ranging from the city of Villupuram west of Pondicherry
to the Coromandel coast and from the city of Cuddalore south
of Pondicherry to the Kaluvelly tank, a brackish water body
of 72 square kilometers near the village of Marakannam north
of Pondicherry. Government representatives, stakeholders, scientists,
technical and legal experts from India, France, Germany, The
Netherlands and Israel came together to share experiences and
proposals about how to remedy, develop and sustain water management
practices with a common vision and approach. Over three days,
a total of 27 scientific papers were presented. The seminar
concluded with an attempt to find a common ground for future
cooperation between the stakeholders of the area.
Depletion of groundwater
Groundwater levels all over India
are fast declining and aquifers in coastal regions are turning
saline. Mr. R.Chakrapaani, Regional Director Central Ground
Water Board, Tamil Nadu, sketched the dire state of affairs
in Tamil Nadu. The available surface water resources have
almost completely been harvested. Ground water is now the
major source for domestic, industrial and irrigation requirements.
As shallow wells have become defunct in many areas due to
declining water levels and low yields, tube wells that reach
into the deep aquifers have become the most common means
of water extraction. However, water tables are dropping at
such an alarming pace that the status of the ground water
resources in Tamil Nadu's 385 administrative blocks has become
a cause of concern. Eight blocks have turned saline, more
than 100 blocks are over-exploited, around 200 blocks are
listed as critical or semi-critical and less than 70 blocks
are considered safe. As for the main causes for the present
state affairs, Chakrapaani mentioned the population explosion
and the consequent environmental impacts; industrial, urban
and agricultural pollution; destruction of traditional water
harvesting systems like tanks and ponds; and the free power
which is being supplied for agricultural purposes. Water scarcity
has led to loss of livelihood, irreversible socio-economic
changes and population migration to urban areas. Tamil Nadu
is now taking measures on all levels – government, industry,
NGO's and self-help groups – to stem the tide. Amongst the
most affected cities is the Chennai metropolis, home to more
than 6 million people. It now imports water from the groundwater
rich Neyveli basin, an area of approximately 3000 sq.kms located
200 kilometres south of Chennai in the Cuddalore district.
Chennai is also planning a big desalination plant.
The status of the groundwater situation
in Pondicherry is not better than in Tamil Nadu. Mr. V. Radhakrishnan
of Pondicherry 's Department of Agriculture explained that
this small Union Territory has an estimated 35 million cubic
metres (MCM) of surface water and 150 MCM of groundwater.
However, the requirement exceeds the availability by more
than 20%. Pondicherry 's observation wells have shown that
the groundwater level has dropped in coastal areas up to
12 metres, inland up to 55 metres. Radhakrishnan listed lack
of surface water irrigation, mismanagement of surface water
bodies and neglect of runoff as the main causes for this
state of affairs. “ Pondicherry has become almost completely
dependent on groundwater and this is being over-extracted.
Intrusion of seawater into the groundwater has been observed
up to 4 kilometres inland in the southern parts of the state,
2 kilometres inland in the city and 1 kilometre in the northern
side.”
Groundwater pollution
The depletion of groundwater resources and the state of disrepair
of surface water bodies are not the only concerns of the Tamil
Nadu and Pondicherry water boards. Pollution of groundwater
resources comes a close third. While some of these pollutants
have a natural origin, such as salinity in some aquifers and
the presence of fluoride and iron in others, other pollutants
are man-made. They come from industrial effluents, such as
from tanneries and chemical industries, from bad solid waste
management which contaminates groundwater both chemically and
microbially, and from agricultural activities through the large
usage of fertilizers and pesticides.
Mr. Gurunadha Rao of National Geophysical Research Institute,
Hyderabad , presented a study on the impact of industrial effluents
in Pondicherry 's groundwater. The chemical, metal and paper
industries of the Mettupalayam Industrial Estate, established
during 1979 on the fringe of Pondicherry , have generated effluents
that have found their way into the groundwater. These effluents
came from badly constructed drains, from waste dumps and, in
a few outrageous cases, were deliberately injected by the industry
into the ground. This polluted groundwater is now, at an average
velocity of about 30 metres a year, migrating to the Mutta-rapalayam
well field which houses the main wells for Pondicherry 's drinking
water supply. To deal with the issue, water quality monitoring
is now continuous and proposals have been made to drill a few
wells for extraction and treatment of the contaminated groundwater.
Auroville's problems
Auroville is renowned for its successful
reforestation work, for rainwater harvesting, for the construction
of check-dams, and for programmes of tank rehabilitation
in the Auroville bio-region. Is Auroville, as a consequence,
better off with its water resources? Gilles
Boulicot, the Executive of Water Harvest was quick to dispel that idea. “The efforts conducted
so far have not altered the trend of groundwater degradation.
Auroville depends on the bioregion for its water management
and a large part of this area is under immediate risk of a
major environmental crisis. Around Auroville, most of the runoff
still flows into the sea, the area is subject to rampant pollution
and the general environmental degradation is heavy. The response
of the local population is lacklustre, and there is no appropriate
legal structure or regional body to dam the tide.” Boulicot
particularly stressed the dangers of increasing groundwater
salinity by seawater intrusion due to indiscriminate over-extraction. “The
possibilities of further seawater intrusion are very likely
and if left unattended could endanger the entire southern part
of the Kaluvelly watershed, including the Auroville area. The
consequences of such intrusion would be difficult to imagine,
as water for irrigation and drinking purposes would become
scarce.”
In partnership with Harvest, the
hydro-geological situation of the Kaluvelly area is being
studied by Dr. Sophie Violette and a team of French scientists
of the University of Paris under the HELP programme of UNESCO. “The study has shown that
the main exploitable aquifer of the area is being over-extracted
by about 20 times the recharge per year. In this context, it
came as no surprise that the aquifer is increasingly turning
saline, not from seawater intrusion but from underground salt
transfer. We expect that seawater intrusion may happen anytime
in the near future,” said Dr. Violette.
Other studies in the area are being made by the Foundation
for Ecological Research Advocacy and Learning FERAL who gave
a presentation on their ongoing study of the physico-chemical
characteristics of ground water from 65 hamlets in the Kaluvelly
watershed.
But Auroville is not only facing
problems related to the bioregional management. It must also
ensure a coherent, progressive, sustainable and integrated
water management for the emerging city. Is it possible to
develop a city which will not affect negatively the water
resources, and even improve it? And does the future Matrimandir
Lake have a role to fulfil in Auroville's water supply system?
Two of the speakers, geo-ecologist J. Köhler
and geologist C. Schillinger from the German institute LGA,
Nürnberg spoke about aspects of the lake's management
and possible storage systems to supply the lake with water
during the dry season, but did not integrate the lake into
a wider water supply system of Auroville.
Remedial solutions
Measures to remedy the groundwater depletion and battle groundwater
salinity were offered by a number of speakers. To remedy over-extraction
Pondicherry has issued executive orders regulating the construction
of tube wells and the extraction of ground water; banned construction
of tube wells within 6 kilometres from the sea coast; and now
issues ground water clearances only to non water based industries.
Farmers are encouraged, by means of subsidies, to switch to
drip-irrigation techniques and renovate unused shallow wells
for harvesting rainwater. Also the construction of roof top
rainwater harvesting structures in private and industrial buildings
is eligible for subsidy.
In contrast, the treatment and recycling of waste water for
re-use in agriculture and industry has not yet taken off, notwithstanding
its tremendous potential.
Also Tamil Nadu has made rainwater harvesting mandatory for
all government buildings. In various locations in Tamil Nadu
experiments are being done with forceful injection of rainwater
through injection wells. But by far the most interesting of
the remedial measurements is the renovation of the water storage
tanks and their feeder channels in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry
. Most of these tanks were constructed by the Pallava Kings
during 500-900 CE. For example, the Bahour Lake , the second
largest tank in Pondicherry , was in existence before the Chola
Period. (850-1150 CE), and the Usteri lake, the largest lake,
was built by the Vijayanagar rulers around 1110 CE.
Auroville's involvement in tank renovation programmes in the
bio-region is extensive. Funded by national and international
organisations, Auroville's units Palmyra and Water Harvest
have renovated many irrigation tanks.
Mr. Anandane, Project Director, gave
a presentation on Pondicherry 's Tank Rehabilitation Project.
He explained how the system of surface water management,
which depended on irrigation tanks and their feeder canals
from rivers, became obsolete when borewell technology became
available, together with a government subsidy on electricity
and the Green Revolution which stimulated ground water exploitation. “While
in 1930 an area of 8,500 ha was under irrigation by tanks,
it had been reduced to 6,500 ha in 1962 and became almost
negligible in 1988.”
In 1999, the Government of India
concluded a bilateral agreement with the European Commission
to rehabilitate all the 84 remaining tanks and feeder systems
in the Pondicherry area. The main objective of the 38.5 crore
(US $ 8,3 million) project – for
80% funded by the EC – was to diminish the reliance on groundwater
resources. A secondary aim was to empower communities to own
and manage their tank system and stimulate surface water usage.
This social mobilisation is done by several NGOs who have experienced
that women's participation has proven to be essential. Anandane
considered the project a success, though a few villages continue
to expect the government to solve their problems.
Innovative concepts
The seminar also discussed a few
more far-reaching solutions to stem the tide. Boulicot suggested
that a feasibility study be made of turning part of the 72
sq. km swamp of Kaluvelly north of Auroville into a major
fresh water resource area. Closing the swamp's outlet to
the sea would affect the interests of part of the local population,
such as those involved in salt extraction or shrimp farming. “But a large freshwater
body would benefit all people in the area,” says Boulicot. “With
the involvement of the major stakeholders, the rejuvenation
of the irrigations tanks and related drains and a concerted
and long-term planned water management, this region could be
transformed into a model sustainable area.”
Another solution offered is seawater
desalination. Messrs. Gopalaswami and Kumaravel, connected
to the Suryal desalination system designed in the UK , made
a passionate plea for Auroville to enter into this area of
research. As desalination is highly energy-intensive, they
advocated that Auroville use alternative energy sources,
preferably a combination of solar and biomass. “Then
Auroville could truly be a global model for environmentally
friendly living and a bridge between the past of global water
depletion and the future of perennial supply of sweet water
from the ocean using renewable energy.” It is however understood
that desalinisation of seawater cannot at present be considered
an option for agricultural activities, but only for drinking
water supply.
But as the main problems of the bio-region
are over-extraction and lack of regulation, the need for
an integrated water resource management for Auroville and
the bioregion became the focal point of the seminar's conclusions.
The Dutch engineer Jeen Koostra has developed such a management
system for the Ambaji-Danta Region in Gujarat , a 600 km2
area with a population of 140,000 people living in 193 villages
together with tribal communities. “Though
there are certainly limits to such a management system, it
has proven to work and there is no reason why it could not
work for the Auroville bio-region,” said Kootstra. His ideas
were supported by senior hydrologist Dr. Israel Gev of the
Water Authority of Israel, who proposed that a Master Plan
for Water Resources be developed for the entire Auroville bioregion
with active participation of the governments of Tamil Nadu
and Pondicherry . By evaluating accurately the water demand
and the various water resources, including recycled sources
(wastewater, desalinised sea water) and the future trends,
it should be possible to develop a scalable development plan
that includes the socio-economic factors.
Given the encouragement of the President of India such a plan
may not be a distant dream.
A scientific monograph on the conference will become available
from CSR, Auroshilpam, Auroville. Email csr@auroville.org.in .
