Dear Prof. R. Jagadiswara Rao,

Your reply is quite interesting. As I was attached to National Water
Resources Authority you answer is very helpful for me.

For the last ten years, we are trying to approve a Water Policy to Sri
Lanka. Every Government comes in to power they are afraid to take this Bill
to the Parliament. They say that we are trying to sell water either within
Sri Lanka or multi national companies.

Please give me an answer for this. So that I can submit it to relevant
Authorities

With kind regards,

Senaka Samarasinghe
----- Original Message -----
From: Prof. R. Jagadiswara Rao <jagadiswara@...>
To: <gwrm@...>
Sent: Sunday, May 08, 2005 5:00 PM
Subject: [gwrm] Re: Community level social regulations in Ground
Watermanagement


Dear Rama Mohan

I am a retired Professor of Geology settled at Tirupati. I have been
actively engaged in the study of water resources at grassroots to
advanced levels since 1965 as a teacher, researcher, extension worker
and consultant to offer pragmatic solutions to government, industry,
NGOs, farmers and individuals to obtain water (particularly ground
water) of adequate quality and quantity in a cost-effective and
sustainable manner. Most of my work remained unpublished until I
started publicising it since 1999 mainly through Internet. This has
led to the receipt of a Water Voice Messenger Award in the 3rd World
Water Forum, Kyoto in March 2003 besides invitations to participate
in a few national and international conferences.

I am happy to know that you have been working in rural water
management for the past one decade and presently working with Centre
for World Solidarity to introduce social regulations in ground water
management in four villages in Andhra Pradesh. I congratulate you for
achieving some success in bringing water equity and control to
provide drinking water, besides introducing the concept of making
irrigation water available to those who don't own bore wells. Your
success is evidently because of your appreciation that controlled
extraction of deep ground water rather than revival of traditional
minor irrigation works such as tanks can meet the rural water needs
on a more sustainable basis.

I agree with you that ground water is a public property and anyone
can exploit it to the extent required/possible. Although your NGO
cannot prevent people who can afford from developing deep ground
water, you can develop additional deep ground water for sharing by
those who cannot develop it on their own. By taking up such a work on
a large scale, you may yourself become a culprit for accelerating
ground water depletion.

To achieve success, it is important for your NGO to take up the
following works.

. Take drainage basin rather than village as unit

. Quantify the quantum of ground water that could be withdrawn
on sustainable basis by taking into account rainfall, evaporation,
transpiration, infiltration, surface/ground water runoff,
surface/ground water conveyed into/outside the basin
naturally/artificially

. Establish a strategy for all round development of people in
the basin through optimum use of the available water by introducing
various water conservation methods including

o Motivating people to adopt one-child norm
o Evolving methods for primary workers to become secondary and
tertiary workers
o Plugging unproductive losses of water through evaporation and
transpiration
o Preventing surface/ground water leaving the basin
o Obtaining as much surface/ground water as possible from
outside the basin
o Introducing improved methods of irrigation such as drip/pulse
irrigation
o Using hydrophilic soil amendments to prevent evaporation of
soil moisture
o Encouraging farmers from growing dry crops instead of water-
intensive crops
o Finding good marketing facilities from farmers to get good
return from their produce
o Transforming some weed crops such as Prosopis juliflora that
need very little irrigation water into a cash crop for use in biomass
power plants that presently deplete forests

I hereby offer my services in anyway you want for the success of your
work, which can include training for taking up the above works
effectively.

Best wishes

Dr. R. Jagadiswara Rao
Former Professor of Geology, S.V. University
63A, 2nd Cross West, Vidyanagar
Tirupati, AP 517502, India
Email: jagadiswara@...
Mobile: 94401-84012

--- In gwrm@..., "Rama Mohan R.V." <rvrm2@y...> wrote:
> Dear All,
>
> I am Rama Mohan working in Rural Water Management
> since 10 years in India. I presently work in Centre
> for World Solidarity, a non-profit organization
> located in Hyderbad, India.
>
> I am looking for cases of ground water management and
> regulations by communities in rural areas either in
> India or overseas.
>
> I am sending a brief of what we are doing in 4
> villages in Andhra Pradesh, India. The project is
> titled "Social Regulations in Ground Water
> management" with specific focus on irrigation. As a
> part of this, we are working to develop community
> level social regulations on use and managemnt of
> Ground water. Ground water levels had fallen to
> alarming levels in these districts and
> over-exploitation continues unchecked. In this
> scenario, only few bore well owners gulp all the water
> and poor people not having bores are denied their
> right. So far, we could acheive some success in
> drinking water equity and control. In irrigation
> water, we could cultivate the concept of sharing of
> water by borewell owners with people without any bore
> well or source of irrigation. This is a pilot project
> coming to end by Sept 2005.
>
> Ultimate goal of this project is to advocate that
> lands rights are not water rights and groundwater is a
> public property and ensure the rights of poor and
> water loosers. After implementing one and half years,
> we would like to explore and learn from similar
> experiences elsewhere.
>
> Can any one help find out and link us / provide
> contact within your reach any such projects being
> implemented. We would like to visit for exposure and
> sharing of our own experience.
>
> Thanking You in advance,
>
> R.V.Rama Mohan
>
> CWS, Secunderabad
> India
>
>
> __________________________________________________
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