Demonstration and Standardization of PGWM Model with Innovation and Technological Interventions:

Participatory Ground Water management – PGWM , now renamed   as K- MARC (Kankavati  Managed Aquifer through Community), aims to provide water security through the demand and supply management of the region . This is achieved by  creating strong resonance among the all stakeholders, through system driven capacity building, coupled with action research pilots. This has led to standardized procedures, robust implementation mechanism, local capacity and ownership, and infusion of technological solutions. This, in turn provides sustained improvements to cater the need of the communities.

 

Phase 1: Aug 2019 to July 2019 (completed)

Phase 2: Aug 2019 to July 2020 (completed)

Phase 3: Aug 2020 to July 2021 (ongoing)

Action Research and Showcasing Locations as Bhujal Knowledge Dissemination Centres (Technology innovations)

  • Monitoring Systems e.g for. Measurement gauge, flow meter, on site water and soil testing, local weather station, soil moisture station, borewell level sensor
  • Development of smart agriculture and water management data system
  • Aquifer Performance tests at Control and Recharge Sites
  • Prototype of Defunct Recharge Chamber for BJs enterprise
  • Seasonal groundwater monitoring
  • Bhujal Knowledge Dissemination: Online training material and programs for scaling up
  • Water Use Efficiency Study for major crops of the area

Demonstration and WSP Implementation 

  • Continue and spread water recharge activities
  • Conjunctive use of Surface and Groundwater, crop water budgeting with farmer groups.
  • Campus water harvesting, Household RRWHS, and its scale up led by Women BJ 
  • Women Groups for Bridging gender gap in PGWM program
  • Demonstration of Solar pump for GW as common resource (5 to 8 Users)

Community Mobilization & Capacity building

  • BJ’s Capacity building for PGWM Protocols development and follow up (BJs, and Field team)
  • Gram Panchayat member’s training for PGWM protocols at block scale (Mandvi Block) 
  • Community training: for Farmer Groups, Women groups
  • Training of Block level Govt employees on PGWM

Awareness and Advocacy

  • Village level PGWM data display board
  • workshop for agriculture level demand management in Govt collaborations
  • KMARC learning sharing Seminar at District level in Govt collaborations
  • Scale up meetings with informal regional aquifer management group

PGWM has also extended its activities  in the Coastal Saurashtra hydro-geological region: “ Implementing Decentralized Drinking Water Schemes in Coastal Villages of Khambhaliya Block of Devbhumi Dwarka District, Gujarat,  applying the common concepts and learnings. It aims to generate region specific strategy, practices and protocols suitable for this region, and empower communities and locally selected Bhujal Jankars with knowledge and competency to execute these.

 

Achievements over 1st two years: 

 

Institution and Capacity Building

  • “Bhujal Jankar” from village youth
  • Systematic and practice-oriented training on geo-hydrology, Water Security planning, socio-economic profiling, program coordination
  • Play a lead role in coordinating village community participation in water planning, generate village water security plan and coordinate plan execution
  • Bhujan Jankar team organised as independent for profit social entity for sustainability
  • Farmer Groups and Women’s groups formed, in villages for institution building, adopting innovative practices for demand and supply optimisation, e.g. drip irrigation adoption by 150 farmers
  • Strengthening linkages with government bodies for water related planning and execution

Water Security Plan (WSP) for 19 villages

  • Water supply and demand planning, and management 
  • Socio economic needs study to determine needs on holistic basis

WSP projects carried out :

  • Ground water recharge: in village water bodies, river-bed, abandoned bore-well in farms (over 100 through the program + over 250 by well off farmers through awareness building)
  • Desilting, embankment repair for village water bodies along with ground water recharge from excess water flow
  • Farming intervention support like drip irrigation, fodder crops, silt application, SRI Wheat cultivation, bore-water metering, village level STP plant etc. 
  • Measurement and analysis tools and practices (rain gauge, soil and water analysis) – 500 wells monitored, new technology for water and soil testing at field level introduced
  • Project field research lab at Bidada, with water testing and geo-survey equipment operated by the Bhujal Jankar team
  • Output: In 1st year 12% deficit covered (3.32MCM out of total deficit of 29MCM), with significant improvement in water levels and quality in spite of poor rainfall in 1st year

Knowledge Management

  • Evidence and data through above Action Research (AR), Technology Interventions 
  • Ongoing data collection through monitoring of water levels and quality in wells, ponds, and other sources through the lab and in field
  • Standardization of Practices, Protocols and decision-making tools based on above evidence
  • Evolve the above (people, systems, processes, data) towards developing a virtual centre of excellence for water management for the Kutch hydrogeological region,
  • Further distill concepts to be applicable to other hydrogeological regions.

 

 

About  Arid Communities and Technologies (ACT) and Dr. Yogesh Jadeja, Founder

Principal Investigator : Dr.Yogesh Jadeja, Ph.D. (Geology ,) Director, Arid Communities and Technologies

ACT is a professional voluntary organization based at Bhuj, Kachchh district in Gujarat, India. Registered under Societies Act, 1860 and Charitable Trust Act, 1950. It is founded by a group of like-minded young professionals interested in improving the quality of development delivery by Government and Non-government agencies. ACT strives to strengthen livelihoods in arid and semi-arid regions by improving access to technological and institutional solutions for resolving ecological constraint in collaboration with communities, with strong focus on water security in remote areas. 

ACT stands by the following values in pursuing its mission:(a) professionalism, excellence, quality working conditions;(b) transparency and participatory nature of approach; (c)relevance to context and tangible impact on the ground.

 

For more details, visit ACT website

 

Publications:

  • Dr. Jadeja Y., Dr. Bhimani S., Karithiya G., Kankavati Sandstone Aquifer Mapping and Attempts on Water Scarcity -A Case Study on Groundwater Management in Kutch Dist, Gujarat, National Conf. and Field Workshop on ‘Recent Studies on The Geology of Kachchh Basin’ organized by Dept of Earth and Envir. Sci., K.S.K.V. Kachchh Univ., Bhuj, Dec 2018.
  • Dr. Bhimani, S,1  Dr. Jadeja, Y. 2, Mr. Karthiya, Water Security through Participatory Groundwater Management in Mundra-Mandvi Block, Kutch District, 7th Intl. Groundwater Conf. on Groundwater vision-2030, New Delhi, Dec 2017, Organized by: National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee and Central Groundwater Board, India, with Assocn. of Global Groundwater Scientists, and Texas A & M Univ., USA

 

Further Information:

  1. PGWM Phase-1 – Annual Project Report (click here)
  2. Project Presentation  (click here)
  3. Note on  Bhujal Jankars (click here)
  4. Bhujal Jankars Refresher Training Report (click here)
  5. Ground Water Recharge Village-wise Activity Report (click here)

SRI Method in Wheat cultivation – Case Study (click here)