K. Padmaja (7222256)

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D   WATER RESOURCES AND USE: PADMAJU19522nd WEDC Conference New Delhi, India, 1996Resource management for water supplyMrs K. Padmaja, IndiaREACHING THE UNREACHED: CHALLENGES FOR THE 21ST CENTURYFRESH PROTECTED DRINKING water facilities are at presentavailable to only 75 per cent of the rural population inAndhra Pradesh state. Out of 19596 partially coveredhabitations in the state, about 17777 habitations are yet tobe fully covered.Resource management is the most desirable develop-ment stage of any water supply system, the basic aspectsof which are:• Human resource management.• Financial resource management.• Technical resource management.• Water resource management.Human resource management ororganisational sustainabilityHuman resource management is vital for the planningand implementation of water supply systems. Technicalorganisations are good at area survey, designing, tender-ing, construction and supervision but are weak in opera-tion and maintenance of completed schemes. Usually,design of projects, supervision and construction are em-phasised and considered more attractive than simplemaintenance of schemes.Very often PWS schemes do not function due to lowpressure, leakages or irregular water supply, Water sup-ply is also pumps or public stand posts.Institutional arrangement and legislationFor an effective system to be formalised with centralisa-tion/decentralisation, it is essential to have task analysis,proper personnel management, training and monitor,coordination and communication.Manpower development and trainingProper manpower planning, training and selection oftrainees are key issues for human resource management.Training must be based on careful assessment of skillsand requirements. Human resource management accountsfor salary, income generation, career planning, job rota-tion etc. For effective personnel management and main-tenance of water supply systems, job satisfaction, motiva-tion, training, community involvement and participationare important.Monitoring and controlProper human resource management is essential for datacollection, inventory management, quality control, spareparts provided etc.Departmental experienceAt present there are about 1454 pump mechanics and 185mobile teams working. In the three tier system, there isone mobile team for 500 H.Ps, one pump mechanic for 50H.Ps and one caretaker for each H.P. The departmenttrains the mechanics on the field, and bears 50 per cent ofthe cost of training.Financial resource management orfinancial sustainabilityWater supply, a basic necessity is provided free of costwith capital investments subsidised to 100%. Very littlemoney is collected from people using public taps/handpumps. O&M of PWS schemes/handpumps areeither under funded or not funded, while depreciation ofassets are not accounted. Water bills are not properlycollected and even if collected are not properly main-tained.Financial resource requirements• Requirements for labour, goods, services capital etc.,• Activities - construction/restoration, plg./cons, of newworks, replacement of worn out equip., Extn./upgradation of services.• Maintenance requirements - Routine repairs, preventa-tive maintenance, unanticipated repairs.• Major repairs - Inadequate O&M, poor materials/cons, misuse/vandalism.• Management and overheads - Personnel manage-ment, works, supplies, training, monitoring etc.• Financial management and accounting - accountingbudgeting, billing/collection, etc.• Cash management - Management info, shortage offunds, cash raising options, community fund raising,indirect tax, user charge, effective utilisation of assets,proper mtc, and replacement.Departmental experienceAt present the govt. provides financial inputs for newPWS schemes or augmentation of the existing facilities.For O&M purposes, there is very meagre allocation ofresources, as a result of which PWS schemes are either notmaintained or very poorly maintained.Technical resource management ortechnological sustainabilityThe existing technology employed to supply water torural areas are through protected water supply schemes,D   WATER RESOURCES AND USE: PADMAJU196Mini pws schemes, public stand posts or handpumps asthe case may be. The existing defluoridation techniquesinclude handpumps fitted with defluoridation plants,(NEERI, Activated alumina, Resin etc.) Fill and draw typedefluoridation plants, PWS scheme or a handpump froma fluoride free source or a combination of the above. Thedesalination techniques are based on Reverse Osmosistechnique or Electro dialysis technique.Technology choice• Technology selection must be based on identifiedmaintenance requirements and local resources/userinvolvement.• Technology must be affordable, for maintenance andoperation costs are to be paid by users.• Technology must be feasible, quality of the systemacceptable to suit local conditions.• Level of available expertise, quality of systems andcomponents, availability of spare parts and tools,environmental and geohydrological considerations.• Standardisation of technology simplifies maintenance- develops national and regional capacities for main-tenance.• Supply and distribution of spare parts should beguaranteed and organised before implementation.• Immediate repair facilities essential - local conditions,alternatives, additional facilities.• Replacement of system components with better qual-ity spares.Departmental experienceOut of 19474 PWS schemes including extensions com-pleted, about 681 need repairs. A majority of could be putto optimum utilisation with better technology for O&Mand availability of spare parts. On an average, about 9000borewells need repairs every year. Out of 216618, about6626 hand pumps need repairs while 1700 borewellsrequire flushing.A fifth of the piped water supply is lost due to leakageson account of mismanagement and poor maintenance.In DHAKA 62 per cent of the water is lost due to poorO&M.In MANILA AND JAKARTA the losses are 58 per centand 57 per cent respectively.Water resource management or ecologicalsustainabilityDynamic ground water management is needed whereaquifer recharge is essential in drought prone areas. De-pleting water table is common and shallow dug wells dryup in summer. Indiscriminate drilling of borewells with-out adequate recharge leads to further lowering of groundwater table. Effective watershed management deals with:• Rain water.• Soil moisture.• Ground water.• Sub surface dams.• Surface waterRain waterRain water run off when allowed to percolate improvesaquifer recharge. Bunds, furrows, conventional soil con-servation techniques can be taken up in the rainfed area toencourage percolation. Small storages with a water spreadarea of 0.5 ha. will prevent floods, reduce gully forma-tions, prevent soil erosion and ensure soil moisture.Soil moistureSoil moisture is available in the unsaturated zone i.e. zoneabove the water table. About 60 per cent of the rainfall isstored in the unsaturated zone, depending upon theporosity, depth of zone, rate of precipitation and annualrainfall. Conservation of soil moisture is effected by rais-ing green manure or cover crops.Ground waterFor maintaining ground water table level, mini percola-tion tanks have to be constructed in the boundaries ofselected areas of 20000 ha. of watershed and subwater-sheds. For water spread purposes, d/s areas of the minitanks are used as discharge zones. Percolation tanksconstructed on the d/s of the watershed are expensiveand submerge land for considerable lengths of time. Minipercolation tanks are more cost effective than percolationtanks. For deep percolation a trench may be excavatedparallel to the tank bund.Sub surface damsSubsurface dams are used for storing ground water andpreventing loss of ground water from the watershed.Subsurface dams are simple and economic in design withone meter puddle clay.Aquifer managementSummer irrigation crops are to be avoided to conserveground water for drinking purposes. Small diversionweirs/check dams are to be constructed across streambeds with proper abutments to conserve water.Surface waterSurface water bodies are mini percolation tanks, percola-tion tanks and minor irrigation tanks. Mini percolationtanks are feasible in a watershed. Feasibility of MI tanksare more situation specific and may or may not be possi-ble in a watershed.Increase in recharge increases the base flow in streamsand ground water flow from catchment of mini and microwatershed into the streams. Such surface flows are pumpedand used for irrigation purposes. Suitable diversion weirscan be planned at regular intervals in the stream. Diver-sion works are highly cost effective, their capital costbeing 1/5th of the conventional storage works.Departmental experienceAbout 50 per cent of the defunct schemes do not functionproperly due to failure of the source. Proper selection ofD   WATER RESOURCES AND USE: PADMAJU197a suitable water source/water shed management wouldhave either prevented the scheme from becoming de-funct/increased utilisation.China’s experienceThe above “Four water concept” is tested and refined forseveral years in Nampi experimental station in Hebeiprovince in China. Mining of water or external diversionsfrom other basins were avoided.Similarly water levels were raised in Xiong Xian countyin central part of Hebei province. A strict common re-source management resulted in substantial energy savingand increased yields. “Village service teams” were estab-lished to guard against illegal pump operations andmonitor ground water levels.References1 Departmental observations (Engineer-in-chief. P.R,Hyd.)2 Four water concept (T. Hanumantha Rao, 1996).3 WHO publication on Financial principles.

Resource management for water supply

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Resource management for water supply

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