Paper Details

Although rain water harvesting has beenpracticed for ages in India, it has gained momentum amongthe Central and State Governmental officials, waterresources managers, decision makers, practicing engineers,researchers and scientists, Non-GovernmentalOrganization (NGOs), social workers, and the mediapersonnel alike from the last three –four decades. Some ofthe advantages of rain water harvesting normally cited aremaking water available for various purposes when needed,economic prosperity, drought proofing, and sustainabledevelopment etc. Any method or technology has itsadvantages and disadvantages and hence, both must belooked at and evaluated carefully with a view of long- termand short- term benefits and costs alike. This paperhighlights some of the issues related to the possible impactsof the rain water harvesting practiced in Chhattisgarh thatneed to be understood and evaluated carefully beforeimplementing large scale rain-water harvesting projects incatchments of prevailing water bodies viz. Rivers, ponds,streams and waterfalls etc. Some of the considerations thatneed attention are hydrological, environmental, climatic,geo-technical, and seismic considerations. The detailedhydrologic studies capable of evaluating the impacts oflarge scale rain water harvesting practiced over longperiods of time on the hydrological balance of a region, anddetermining optimum strategies of catchment developmentand management are needed.

Prof. R. K. Singh, “Beneficial impacts of rain water harvesting in Chhattisgarh”, International Journal of Advance Engineering and Research Development (IJAERD), Vol. 4, Issue 15, pp. -, January 2017.