Measuring human impact on rivers

1. Human Impact on Rivers
Water Science and Policy, Module1
Seminar, 26th August 2017
Abhisek Panda, Foundation for Ecological Security
Sudip Banerjee, Development Research Communication and Services Center
J Cathrine, Shiv Nadar University

2. Content
 Human civilisation and rivers
 Importance of river and ecosystem services
 River health parameters to measure human
impact
 Multiple human induced stressors on river
health
 Methods to analyse sustainability of water use
 Case study – River Yamuna
 Recommendations

3. Content
 Human civilisation and rivers
 Importance of river and ecosystem services
 River health parameters to measure human
impact
 Multiple human induced stressors on river
health
 Methods to analyse sustainability of water use
 Case study – River Yamuna
 Recommendations

4. Huang He River civilization 1700 BC River: yellow in china
Indus Valley civilization / Harrapan Civilization in north
western region of South Asia 2600 -1900 BC River : Indus
Egypt civilization 3100 BC River: Nile
Mesopotamia in middle East 5000-3500 BC River: Tigris
and Euphrates
Human civilization – Role of River

5. Human existence
2,09,000 years back
Water management
5000 BC at
Mesopotamia
First Major Irrigation
project (20 km long
canals) in
Egypt by king Menas
3100 BC
Egyptians developed
Water Management as
Basin irrigation in
3100 BC
Great Yu of china
emphasised channel
clearing rather than
dyke construction in
2000 BC on yellow river
Water Regulation
Babylonian king
Hammurabi in 1792 BC
Irrigation Shadoof
1700 BC
Noria 700-600 BC
Egyptian water wheel (
first non human
operated lifting devices)
Sustainable Relationship with River
http://www.irrigationmuseum.org
Noria

6. An ancient irrigation system- Phad system
Initiated : 300 BC ( Mourya’s period)
Area: Maharastra ( Dhule and Nasik district) in
three river basin Panjhra, Mosam, Kan all
originate from Sahardari Hill region.
System :
• Series of weir ( Bandhara) were well built
across the river.
• Each system consists of one diversion weir ,
cannals, distributaries, field channels and
the command area.
• The command area is divided into four part,
each part is called phad.
• Size of the phad is : 10 to 200 Hec
• Constructed by : King
• Managed by: Irrigators
Paper presented at national seminar by Pradip Bhalge

7. Content
 Human civilisation and rivers
 Importance of river and ecosystem services
 River health parameters to measure human
impact
 Multiple human induced stressors on river
health
 Methods to analyse sustainability of water use
 Case study – River Yamuna
 Recommendations

8. Major uses of River
Transportation
Irrigation
Industries
Hydropower Tourism

9. Cultural
services such
as spiritual,
recreational,
and cultural
benefits
Provisioning
services such
as food and
water
Regulating
services such
as flood and
disease
control
Supporting
services, such
as nutrient
cycling etc.
Ecosystem services are the monetary benefits people obtain from ecosystems.
https://millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.300.aspx.pdf
River Ecosystem Services
(River, Riparian Area and
Floodplain/Wetland)
Water Purification
Water Regulation
Recreation
Primary production
Water cycling
Nutrient cycling
Flood control
Climate regulation
Soil formation
Photosynthesis
Nutrient buffer
Carbon cycling
Etc.
New View - River as an ecosystem

10. Range and average of total monetary value of bundle of ecosystem services per biome (in Int. $/ha/yr
2007/PPP-corrected)). Groot et. al., 2007

11. Content
 Human civilisation and rivers
 Importance of river and ecosystem services
 River health parameters to measure human
impact
 Multiple human induced stressors on river
health
 Methods to analyse sustainability of water use
 Case study – River Yamuna
 Recommendations

12. River health
Ecological Values
Human values
Measure of River health
Ecological integrity:
Capacity to support / maintain
natural, balanced, integrative,
adaptive biological system
Resilience to stress:
Ability to recover after
disturbance relative to “reference”
rivers
Goods:
Water supply for irrigation and
industry, Clean water for drinking
and washing
Services:
Cleansing/ detoxifying water,
producing fish, maintaining water
supply , environment for recreation
and spiritual renewal
SCHEMATIC REPRESENTATION OF THE CONCEPT OF RIVER HEALTH (BOULTON, 1999)

13. River Ecosystem Health
Anthropocene syndromes affecting ecological integrity
Parameter River symptoms
Flow Regulation Water discharge, level,
floodplain reduction,
chanellisation, permanent flow
to seasonal drought
Fragmentation Impoundments, river bed
changes, biotic changes,
Sediment
imbalance
Changed TSS, Accelerated bed
erosion/deposition
Salinazation Na+, Cl-, sulphates, carbonates
Chemical
contamination
BOD, COD, DO, Inorganic,
Xenobiotics
Acidification Decreased pH, loss of
biodiversity
Eutrophication P, N – High, Low Silica, Algal
bloom
Microbial
contamination
High faecal coli etc.
Global analysis of river systems: from earth system controls to Anthropocene syndromes, 2003

14. pH, Alkalinity and BOD
Increase in solubility of phosphorous
and other nutrients – making more
accessible for plant growth, Causes a
change from oligotrophic phase to
eutrophic phase.
BOD is a measure of the oxygen used by
micro-organisms to decompose organic
waste.
Organic matter in waste + O2 in
stream CO2+H2O
Initial DO – Final DO = BOD (Unit:
ppm or mg/L)

15. Content
 Human civilisation and rivers
 Importance of river and ecosystem services
 River health parameters to measure human
impact
 Multiple human induced stressors on river
health
 Methods to analyse sustainability of water use
 Case study – River Yamuna
 Recommendations

16. Beginning of Anthropocene epoch
http://humanorigins.si.edu/research/age-humans-evolutionary-perspectives-anthropocene
Water usePopulation
Drastic rise in human impact in the form of population rise, water use, CO2 emission,
Ozone depletion etc.

17. Water
mismanagement
also became fall
of several empire
Over exploited
water systems
destroyed Angkor
civilization in
Thailand
Eco-Centric to
Human-
Centric
Approach
Irrespective of the
geology,
topography or
hydrology a
centralized system
rooted in
knowledge of
localized water
management
system took back
seat
Cities were
planned for water
but not for waste
water
Waste water
started polluting
the water source
of the city like
Yamuna in Delhi
Source: https://greenangle.net/history-of-water-from-ancient-civilizations-to-modern/

18. By 2047, waste generation five fold to
touch 260 million tons per year- Energy
and Research institute Delhi
BOD level is much higher(>20mg O/L)
Coliform concentration above 500
MPN/100 ml.
India -Water stressed country, by 2025,
India’s per capita availability of Water will
further reduce to 1,340 cu mt.
By 2025, nearly 3.4 billion people will be
living in ‘water-scarce’ countries- UN report
on water
40% Brazil’s population faces water stress
China- 50,000 river- 23,000 (1950s- till
now)
 Sand mining breaks the link
between river flow and water table
Loss to the exchequer-Rs.1,000crore
(Noida and Greater Noida)
3 major impacts- Physical, Water
Quality, Ecology
WWW.CWC.nic.in , Articles- The Hindu, One India
More than 5000 large dams and
barrages have been constructed in
India
Most of them in Maharashtra,
Gujarat, MP
Alter Aquatic ecology and disturbs
upstream and downstream river
Present
Situation

19. Content
 Human civilisation and rivers
 Importance of river and ecosystem services
 River health parameters to measure human
impact
 Multiple human induced stressors on river
health
 Methods to analyse sustainability of water use
 Case study – River Yamuna
 Recommendations

20. Measurement and assessment of water resources carrying capacity in
Henan Province, China, 2015
1. Water resources carrying capacity
Using water quantity, quality and socioeconomic data

21. Result - According to the simulation results of the model, there were 33 overloaded
sub regions in 2010; the loaded total population was 10 265.0 × 104, and loaded GDP
value was 23 519.06 × 108 RMB. The province's water resources carrying level is suitably
loaded.

22. Implications of WRCC
 Determine the maximum socioeconomic scale that
water resources can sustain after meeting the needs of
the ecosystem
 Describe hydro-economic interaction in highly
populated regions and to choose the best strategies to
alleviate the conflict between socioeconomic
development and water resources exploitation.
 Future projection of load intensity

23. Green
Water
Footprint
The amount of surface water and groundwater
required (evaporated or used directly) to make a
product.
The amount of rainwater required (evaporated or used
directly) to make a product.
The amount of freshwater required to mix and dilute
pollutants enough to maintain water quality
according to certain standards as a result of making
a product.
Blue
Water
Footprint
2. Water Footprint Analysis
http://www.gracelinks.org/1336/water-footprint-concepts-and-definitions
Grey
Water
Footprint
Blue
Water
Footprint
Virtual
Water
It refers to the sum of the water use in the various
steps of the production chain. It is the sum of blue
and green water

24. Burning Our Rivers: The Water Footprint of
Electricity, By Wendy Wilson, Travis Leipzig
& Bevan Griffiths-Sattenspiel, 2012
Global grey water footprint related to
anthropogenic Nitrogen loads to fresh
water, 2015
Assessing water footprint at river basin level : a
case study for the Heihe River Basin in
northwest China, 2012
Water footprint of a Megawatt-hour
Virtual water in Indian crops, 2012

25. Implications of footprint analysis
 Linkages between water and different products established
 Indirect measurement of water loss in the form of exports (
virtual water)
 Sustainable method of water utilization in water scarce regions –
import products (virtual water) Eg. Mexico
 Crop pattern adjustment
 Comparing water footprint with water availability can help
determine water scarcity intensity
 WF vs. water withdrawal measurement
 Comparison of water use in different energy production
methods
 Quantification of the pollutant concentration

26. Content
 Human civilisation and rivers
 Importance of river and ecosystem services
 River health parameters to measure human
impact
 Multiple human induced stressors on river
health
 Methods to analyse sustainability of water use
 Case study – River Yamuna
 Recommendations

27. The flowing water,
the river bed, the
floodplain forest
and grassland
ecosystems are
locally extinct
40 to 50 mg/l BOD
and almost zero DO
levels and extremely
high coliform density
(2,40,00,000/ml)
Encroachments
using
combinations of
bunds roads, guide
bunds and spurs
Reduced recharging area
for flood waters leading to
the reduction in ground
water recharge and
ecological disasters
Case : River Yamuna and its
floodplain
Cultivation of
vegetables and
seasonal crops with
high inputs of
fertilizers and
pesticides
The urban stretch of the river
of 22 km receives only
sewage from 22 drains .
Domestic sewage of 3452 mld
(million litres per day) and
180 mld from planned and
unplanned industries. Also,
pollution from tributaries
The NCT of Delhi
constitutes less than 1%
of the total catchment
of Yamuna but
contributes more than
50% of the total
pollutant load in the
river
The river channel
and flood plain
has silted up in
many parts
Restoration and Conservation of River Yamuna, Submitted to the National
Green Tribunal, 2013

28. Expert Suggestions
• Allow 50% of the virgin monsoon flow (July – September) for transport of the river
sediment and for adequate recharge of floodplain aquifer along the river.
• For the lean period (October to June) allow flow necessary to avoid growth of still
water algae and to support river biodiversity
• Efficient treatment of waste water and removal of coliforms.
• Natural features such as forests, wetlands near river Yamuna should be conserved.
• Relocate settlements and identify alternate landfill sites
• Yamuna River Front Development plan of the DDA must be stopped
• Dredging to remove excessive sediments and sludge
• The inter-agency coordination in the Delhi stretch needs to be substantially
improved and inter-state coordination must also be enhanced.

29. Content
 Human civilisation and rivers
 Importance of river and ecosystem services
 River health parameters to measure human
impact
 Multiple human induced stressors on river
health
 Methods to analyse sustainability of water use
 Case study – River Yamuna
 Recommendations

30. Group recommendations for reducing stressors
and restore river life
1. Controlled human settlements/ infrastructure – in flood plains.
2. Though “River is a state matter”, it should be nationalized.
(National level policy)
3. Encourage/ incentivize bottom to top approach – Participatory
management ( planning and implementation)
4. Regulate E- Flow in the rivers to protect river biodiversity.
5. Flood insurance and living with the flood concept
6. Encouraging/incentivizing industries to shift to efficient sewage
treatment, recycling.
7. Urban planning with provisions for healthy water bodies
8. Incorporating indigenous knowledge in irrigation
9. Awareness about water stress and willingness to engage in judicial
use – common people and policy makers
10. Develop tools to aid policy makers in formulating well informed
policies

31. Take home points
 Importance of scientific analysis of human impact
 Prevent policies that harm the river
 Gap – strategies to induce public willingness

32. Thank you