Rainwater Harvesting, Groundwater Recharge And Water Conservation For Drinking Water Supply under Jal Jeevan Mission

Date : 2-4 August 2022.

A 3-day residential training on “Rainwater Harvesting, Groundwater Recharge and Water Conservation for sustainability of drinking water supply, accompanied by field exposure visit” was organized at Anil Agarwal Environmental Training Institute (AAETI) under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) by the Rural Water & Waste Management Unit of Centre for Science and Environment from August 2 – 4, 2022. The training programme was tailor made for Level 2 officials working in Rural Water Supply and implementing Jal Jeevan Mission programme in the different states.

The objective of the training was to provide in depth knowledge and insight of the concepts, activities and technologies to recharge the sources of water supply to maintain their longevity and sustainability. The design of the training program included the topics of groundwater hydrogeology, groundwater recharge techniques, use of traditional water harvesting structures, use of GIS tools for locating and mapping of resources, participation of community for operation and maintenance.

The field exposure was planned in a way so that the training participants get an exposure to recharge structures, their construction and operation and impact too. This was followed by interaction of the participants with the beneficiary communities to understand their perspective and role in operation and maintenance of the rain water harvesting and recharge systems.

There weretotal 37 participants from nine states and Union Territories– Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, Manipur, Meghalaya, Puducherry.

On day 1, the topics covered were: groundwater, hydrogeology, including the recharge options for groundwater recharge to achieve the source sustainability, decision matrix for source recharge and watershed management techniques.

Second day of the training was organized for field visit to a village Neemli, which is situated in the Tijara block of Alwar District, Rajasthan. The field exposure was planned in a way so that the training participants get an exposure to recharge structures, their construction and operation and impact too. This was followed by interaction of the participants with the beneficiary communities to understand their perspective and role in operation and maintenance of the rain water harvesting and recharge systems. The participants were very excited and happy to meet the village community and water user groups, who explained their mechanism of operation and maintenance of the recharge structures.

The training on second day also included the topics of sensitization for community participation for ensuring operation and maintenance of water supply systems - experts from fields shared their insights and experiences about their strategies and planning of community participation.

On the same day of the training program, the topics covered were on application of Geographic Information System (GIS) tools in locating and planning of groundwater recharge structures for making the groundwater source sustainable from the experts working in academic at national and international level. The lecture was supported by group activities and hand hold exercises.

On the third day, the participants had a group discussion and laboratory visit on water quality monitoring and advanced laboratory instruments to monitor water quality. Finally, the training concluded with distribution of certificates to all the participants and getting their feedback.

The participants were very positive about the training and overall arrangements in the green campus of AAETI and provided good feedback. They expect more such trainings to be organized so that regular orientation and support can help in maintaining the pace of Jal Jeevan Mission’s objectives.

The speakers of the training were from Ministry of Jal Shakti, Centre for Science and Environment, National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (Hyderabad), Ex Sarpanch (Hiware Bazar), Central Groundwater Board