Problems and prospect of ground water management in Manipur

L Sherjit Singh *

Water scarcity in Imphal City on 30 April 2014 :: Pix - Shanker Khangembam

Abstract

Management of groundwater is a challenging task in Manipur. It involves a combination of supply side measures aimed at increasing extraction of ground water depending on its availability and demand side measures aimed at controlling, protecting and conserving available resources. Ground water management is complex due to diversity of geomorphological, climatic, hydrological, socio-economic setting and multiplicity of the factors related to disposition recharge/discharge conditions, quality aspect and administrative as well as political issues.

The relative problems of ground water management include urbanization, over exploitation, water pollution and sewage contamination. To solve these problems, monitoring of water quality and quantity, cooperative management, good sanitation and rain water harvesting are required.

Introduction

Water is an essential resource for all life on the planet. Of the water resources on Earth only three percent of it is fresh and two-thirds of the freshwater is locked up in ice caps and glaciers. At present only about 0.08 percent of all the world’s fresh water including ground water is exploited by mankind in ever increasing demand for sanitation, drinking, manufacturing and agriculture.

As humans are unable to survive for more than a few days without fresh drinking water, it is our most important natural resource. A major concern around the globe is that demand for water currently exceeds supply, and more than a billion people on Earth already lack access to fresh drinking water, So proper management of water is necessary.

Sustainable water management

For an assessment of the ground water situation in a catchment, a definition of sustainable resource utilization is necessary as a starting point. In the following we will define it as a set of management practices, which avoids an irreversible or quasi-irreversible damage to the resource water and the natural resources depending on it such as soil and ecosystems. Such management allows the resource water to extend its service, including ecological service, over very long periods of time.

The abstraction from a ground water reservoir should in the long term not be larger than the long-term average recharge. The storage property of course allows temporary overpumping. As the quantities abstracted may be used consumptively (e.g. by evapotranspiration in agriculture) and reduce the downstream flows, sustainable management with respect to quantity requires that abstraction is limited to a fraction of recharge in order to guarantee a minimum availability of water in the downstream. These principles are violated in many aquifers all over the world.

Enforcing water restrictions is one very simple and effective method of improving our water usage. Sustainable methods of water management currently being explored include increasing the use of domestic rainwater tanks Cooperation between State and Territory jurisdictions is essential because many of our water sources stretch across borders, meaning that use of water in one area can have very negative consequences in another.

Major water management problems

In its 1992 Willamette Basin Report, the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) identified four major ground-water management issues .They are-
-managing ground-water/surface-water connections,
-controlling long-term ground-water declines,
-managing development of low-yield aquifers, and
-identify areas prone to natural ground-water quality problems.

The mismanagement of water over the past two centuries has severely depleted water supply and degraded water quality in Manipur. Scarcity, over exploitation .damming and pollution are the key areas of concern regarding water management.

Water scarcity / Poor water quantity

Water availability (or lack thereof) is currently a pressing concern. Extremely variable rainfall patterns cycle of droughts and floods, which have become more extreme with increased human impact. Low rainfalls in the wetter periphery region, where the majority of the population resides, are also a major concern. Less availability of surface water also decreases infiltration capacity and hence reducing Ground water recharging.

Overexploitation of groundwater

The overexploitation of groundwater is the increasing deterioration of groundwater quality. It further accentuates the problem of water scarcity. To offset the shortfall in surface water, either because of quantity or quality considerations, many have increasingly relied on groundwater, overexploiting it in the process. The depletion in groundwater is lowering water tables in urban as well as rural areas, causing serious subsidence in major cities, forcing lakes and wetlands to run dry and increasing salinity in and eventually exhausting groundwater reservoirs.

Construction of Dam & recharging structures

A common approach to water use and management in India has been attempting to increase water supplies for human consumption through the creation of dams which hold a large amount of water. This solution has had both positive and negative consequences. The construction of dams (such as Singda Dam & Khuga Dam) in Manipur disrupts the natural properties of water. It also disrupts the flow of water through our river systems and results in a loss of forests and wildlife in surrounding areas. This in turn reduces the biodiversity (range of plant and animal life) of waterways.

Pollution and sewage contamination

Runoff from fertilizers used for agricultural purposes, along with sewage effluent and chemical pollutants from domestic and industrial areas, severely pollutes the water we depend on for survival. Sometimes it leads to the formation of toxic algal blooms (large populations of blue-green algae) in our river systems and wetlands. This problem occurs when algae use contaminated runoffs as a nutrient, which help them flourish. When the algae spread they can become toxic to humans, plants and animals. Pollution and depletion of groundwater are often said to be the result of lack of institutional coordination, poor planning and management of water resources, and lack of enforcement of laws.

Transboundary issues

Transboundary issues like building of Tipaimukh dam by Centre and alleged attempts to divert the Barak River within the country have given rise to serious apprehension and concerns in the region. The upstream-downstream interactions within the region and with respect to the contiguous Himalayan areas are also contributing to the conflict scenario.

Poor water quality

Quality of drinking water is another area of growing concern where conflicts are building up slowly. In the face of increasing contamination of ground water with fluoride and arsenic and resulting health hazards, Government actions have proved to be too ineffective Poor water quality is resulting from insufficient and delayed investment in urban water-treatment facilities. Water in most rivers in Manipur is largely not fit for drinking, and in many stretches not even fit for bathing. Despite many Action Plan, which was launched in recent years to clean up the Nambul River failed and much of the river remains polluted with a high coliform count at many places.

Urbanisation

Urbanisation will be the defining feature of India’s growth including Manipur in the coming years. The problem as of now is not of availability of water. The issues are optimal management, a better distribution mechanism, reduction of high rates of leak-ages, retreating wastewater and harvesting rainwater. If these issues are not treated as utmost priorities, India will have to rely on highly expensive solutions or seriously retard its growth ambitions.

The best way to approach these problems is to adopt innovative and futuristic management techniques - minimum use of water, recycling and reusing waste water for industrial uses and ensuring a higher degree of efficiency in the management of water use in irrigation. Some other measures would be the adoption of the latest technologies for recharging of the groundwater level by means of artificial aquifer recharging. Conclusion Water is a limited and precious resource and must be managed both for immediate needs and for long-term economic and environmental sustainability. With the effects of climate change now a reality, and increasing demands for water, sound policies are required to ensure a sustainable supply of water for present and future generations.

Our water comes from rivers, streams, and lakes (surface water) and water held under the ground in aquifers (groundwater). The government is responsible for the strategic management of the State’s freshwater resources. This involves:
* setting water policy
* determining how available water is allocated to water users
* monitoring the quantity and quality of water extractions
* monitoring the ecological health of our aquatic ecosystems.
* developing statutory water sharing plans