Over the last decade, demand for spring management has increased as traditional spring sources have started drying up or becoming contaminated. In response, communities, NGOs and state agencies began dedicated spring protection programmes. In the Himalayas, the State of Sikkim and organizations such as Central Himalayan Action and Research Group (CHIRAG) and People Science Institute (PSI) started identifying and protecting spring recharge areas around 2007. The difference between these programmes and many other previous efforts is that they went beyond supply-side improvements to focus on the use of hydrogeology to map springsheds for targeted interventions. The Advanced Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (ACWADAM), a research and capacity-building organization comprised of hydrogeologists and other experts began lending their expertise and building capacity of stakeholders. ACWADAM provides technical support, training and materials in hydrogeology to all network partners as well as others in India and the region. Similar programmes began independently in most of the mountain regions of India. Arghyam, a funding organization that was supporting many of these programmes, noticed that these disparate initiatives shared commonalities despite geographic diversity. They thus organized and funded a meeting of these various organizations in June 2014, and the Springs Initiative was born. The springs initiative aims to tackle the current water crisis and to ensure safe and sustainable access to water for all, by promoting responsible and appropriate management of aquifers, springsheds, and watersheds and conserving ecosystems in partnership with communities, governments and other stakeholders. This presentation has been developed as a part of the springs initiative to promote an understanding of springs and their role in mountainous areas.

1. Springshed Development and Management:
Concept and Approach
PRASARI
Contributors

2. Concept of Springshed Development

3. Springs are indicated by locations or points on the
ground surface, where water from beneath the
ground emerges onto the surface.
Points of
groundwater
discharge
What are Springs?
A spring may be considered as
an ‘overflowing aquifer’
Springs represent ‘natural
ground water discharge that
feeds streams and rivers, often
making such streams and rivers
perennial…

4. Forms of Springs
Point Source Wetland Seep
Springs vary in size, type, location; often remote and difficult to access;
and vary in discharge through seasons
It is crucial to identify the type of spring in order to understand how they behave
in space and time

5. Regional Spring-scapes of Indo-Nepal Region

6. What is a Springshed ???

7. What is Watershed?
Watershed is an area which is
bounded by a ridge area from
all sides and drains out through
a common point
Watershed boundary
?
?

8. Classical watershed….
Ridge to valley approach…..

9. Watershed-1
Watershed-2
Concept of springshed , a springshed is a set of watersheds and aquifers that integrate
into a system that supplies water to the springs in the springshed.

10. Concept of Springshed….
Recharge area Recharge area
Watershed-1
Watershed-2
Watershed-3
Watershed-4
Springshed-1
Springshed-2

11. Springs and aquifers as commons…
Springs may emerge at given point
on any land parcel but the aquifer
that provides water to the spring often
extends below many such land
parcels….
The relationship between a spring, the
aquifer system below and the watershed
above define the ‘springshed’…

13. Village-A
Village-B
It also tied into the larger concept on groundwater
management: shift in focus needed – from sources...
Watershed -1
Watershed -2
Borewell
Aquifer
...to a ‘resource’, i.e. aquifers
Natural Recharge area

14. Springshed Development – Principles & Practices
Regenerating underground seepage
through engineering, vegetative and
social measures in the spring recharge
area
Principles:
• Increase Time of concentration
• Increase Infiltration
• Reduce Soil Erosion
• Improve Water Quality
• Promote Equitable Water Sharing
Practices:
• Trenching (SCT and CCT)
• Treatment of Drainage Channels
• Small Check Dams/Gully Plugs
• Vegetative Measures
• Social Fencing

16. View of SCTs & CCTs

17. Rainfall vs Spring Discharge
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
Dungkhao Village, Longleng District
Monthly Rainfall (mm) Spring Discharge (LPH)
Annual Rainfall: 3113 mm
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Kinunger Village, Mokokchung District
Monthly Rainfall (mm) Spring Discharge (LPH)
Annual Rainfall: 2549 mm
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
OLd Jaboka Village, Mon District
Monthly Rainfall (mm) Spring Discharge (LPH)
Annual Rainfall: 2925 mm
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
Gidemi Village, Phek District
Monthly Rainfall (mm) Spring Discharge (LPH)
Annual Rainfall: 1020 mm
Rainfall vs Spring Discharge across Villages of Nagaland

18. 0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
45000
Daily
Water
Demand
and
Lean
Season
Supply
(Litres/day)
Village, District
Water Demand vs Supply in Lean Season (Litres/Day) : 2016-2017
Demand Lean Season Supply
Water Availability During Lean Season across villages of Nagaland
Demand Norm = 55 lpcd
Water Availability & Demand Estimation

19. Water Quality Standards
S. No. Parameters IS: 10500 (Limits for Drinking Water) Permissible limit in the absence of alternate source
1. Temperature -
2. Colour Colourless Colourless
3. Odour Agreeable Agreeable
4. pH 6.5 to 8.5 No relaxation
5. Alkalinity, mg/l 200 600
6. Hardness, mg/l 200 600
7. Nitrate – N, mg/l 45.0 No relaxation
8. Fluoride, mg/l 1.0 1.5
9. Chloride, mg/l 250 1000
10. Iron, mg/l 0.3 No relaxation
11. Faecal coliform Absent 0
(Bureau of Indian Standards (2012)
Note: Faecal coliform (FC) values should meet for 90% times, Failure to comply with one or more of the above limits shall imply assignment of the next lower class.
Spring Water Contamination: Ground Water & Sanitation Interactions

20. Water Quality Data of Springs of Sihphir Village, Mizoram
Spring pH
TDS
(mg/l)
Hardness
(mg/l)
Alkalinity
(mg/l)
Chloride
(mg/l)
Iron
(mg/l)
Nitrate
(mg/l)
Faecal
Chhim Veng 7.3 137 103 32 5 0.1 18 High
Sihphir Lui 6.9 122 86 32 7 0 22 Medium
Luinai 7.1 133 112
24
15 0 19
Low
Maul Lui 7.9 144 78
36
6 0.3 18
Medium
Permissible Limit 6.5-8.5 500 300 200 250 0.3 45 Nil

21. Benefits of Springshed Development
• Reduced Peak Flow
• Increased Base Flow
• Reduced Lean Flow Period
• Higher Plant Survival Rate
• Increased biomass production
• Increased Fodder Availability
• Household Water Security
• Improved Water Quality
• Increased Life of Downstream
Storage Structures

22. Approach

23. Approach for Springshed Development

24. Orientation of Government Officials
Planning Exercises with Communities
I : Need based Capacity Building of Stakeholders
Exposure of Extension Agencies
Training of Para Workers on Water Quality

25. Training Modules
Theory
• Groundwater and its significance
• Introduction to springs
• Introduction to geology and hydrogeological
properties of the rocks
• Introduction to Springshed Management
• Spring discharge measurement
• Groundwater quality: An introduction
• In-situ water quality testing
• Springshed planning: Water demand, supply and
gap estimates
• Introduction to use of instruments like GPS,
Brunton
• Community mobilization (Sandesh Yatra)
• Social and resource mapping
• Field Work: Transect walk, Identification of springs
and rocks, geological mapping
Theory
• Revision of the first training
• Identification of recharge area
• Springs regeneration methods
• Engineering survey: contour mapping: use of
A-Frame, slope measurement
• Engineering and Vegetative measures
Field Work: Slope measurement, Contour
mapping, Layout of SCTs
Training Module – I Training Module – II
Training Module – III
Theory
• Revision of the second training
• Formation of Spring Water User Group
• Protocols for WUGs including social fencing,
sharing of water, contributions..
• Monitoring Systems: Rainfall, Discharge &
Quality
Field Work: Formation of WUG, Installation
of rain gauges
Pedagogy: classroom lectures, group discussions,
practicals & field exposure

26. Creation of Spring Inventory Geological Mapping of Exposed Area
Hydrogeological Map of Spring
Specific Recharge Area (hectare) 0.75
Size of Trenches (m) 2 X 0.6 X 0.45
(40-50% slope)
No. of Trenches 52
Vertical interval (contour) 8-10 m
Proposed Area of grass on bund 720 sq.m.
Proposed no. of saplings 200
Springshed Treatment Activities
II: Hydro-geology based Planning

27. III: Community Driven Interventions
Capacity Building of Para Workers
Community Awareness Programs Formation & Capacity Building of WUG
Drafting of Spring Protocols

28. III: Community Driven Approach (Contd.)
Monitoring Rainfall, Spring Dis. & Quality
Operation & Maintenance
Community Nurseries Contributions for Digging Trenches

29. • With SWI technique, the
average grain and straw
yields went up.
• Introducing SCI for maize,
vegetables and spices
helped farmers (58 out of
152 households in 3 villages)
earn additional income
IV: Integrating Demand Management
2.4
3.3
3.9
4.8
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Grain Straw
Yield
in
Ton/hectare
Conventional SWI
1.3
10
22
1.5
12
25
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Maize Green Chilli Ginger
Yield
in
Ton/hectare
Average Production in Tons/Ha
Conventional SCI
Improvement in Crop Water Use Efficiency

30. V: High Resolution Hydrological Monitoring
a) Hilly terrain of Almora watershed
c) Auto Weather Station d) Spring location e) Parshall flume at stream
f) Lean flow in stream g) Non-recording rain
gauge
i) Installation of Pan Evaporimeter
b) Mountainous terrain of Pauri
watershed

31. Average Stream
Discharge
Maximum
Flow
Minimum
Flow
0.013 m3s-1 0.033 m3s-1 0.0026 m3s-1
Average Spring
Discharge
Maximum
Flow
Minimum
Flow
20.9 LPM 44.4 LPM 1.6 LPM
Shiv Gadera Watershed, Almora
Area Cum. Rainfall Stream Runoff Spring Discharge
176 Ha 483.5 mm 0.013 m3s-1 20.9 LPM
Spring and Stream Discharge vs Rainfall- Shiv Gadera

32. Increase in Lean Season Discharge
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Wokha Tuensang Dimapur Kohima Mon Kiphire Longleng Peren Phek Zunheboto Mokokchung
Lean Season Spring Discharge (Pre and Post Treatment)
Discharge for February, 2017 (LPM)
Discharge for February, 2018 (LPM)

33. Way Forward
• Village level water security planning based on water budgeting, spring
recharge activities, and capacity building of institutions.
• Introduction of water efficient technologies like SCI leading to more rational
ground water use.
• Creation of a cadre of para-hydrogeologists equipped to extend science
based springshed development in the region.
• Sanitary protocols for recharge areas leading to access to safe drinking water
and reduced health risks
• Community based monitoring of spring discharge and water quality to ensure
ownership and sustainability
• Strengthened village level institutions for managing springs in a sustainable
and equitable manner.
• Monitoring of impacts including access to water, biomass availability, soil
conservation and enhanced livelihoods.
• Documentation of scientific database and hydrological modelling for
planning springshed development in other areas.
Community's involvement helps managing groundwater (springs) as a common
pool resource

34. PRASARI
Thank You