Watercourse Improvement

This component comprises of improvement/construction of conveyance infrastructure including lining/improvement of watercourses in the command of small/mini dams and other water sources. It supports the improvement of water conveyance efficiency and ensured the supply of water from various water sources for irrigating crops. It is indicated that access to land and water are considered the keystones for prosperity and improvement. The development of a farm-level water conveyance network is critical to harness the benefits of available water resources. The farm level water conveyance network i.e., watercourses in the command area of most of the small dams either don’t exist or existing structures have not been properly constructed/ maintained due to different socio-economic and technical factors such as undulated topography, fragmented vis-à-vis small land holdings, light soils, etc.

There are very few farmers who have developed their land adjacent to the existing conveyance infrastructure and the majority could not do so, owing to the non-existence of an equitable irrigation water distribution system i.e., Warabandi in the command of small dams. Moreover, agricultural lands in rain-fed areas are usually undulated having hills, dunes, etc., and the elevation difference of one field to the other demands special design considerations and technical expertise, which is currently not available to the farmers. Outlets are not properly designed resulting in the improper working head for downstream outlets, causing troubles in water delivery when it is diverted at the upstream level. Likewise, illegal water diversion through tempering the outlets is a common practice.

It has been observed that a significant portion of irrigation water (about 40%) is lost in the earthen watercourses. The main sources of water losses are seepage, spillage, and side leakage from the watercourses, resulting from various factors. Accordingly, there is a dire need to carry out lining/ improvement of the farm-level irrigation network. These works will be carried out through active involvement of the farming community by organizing them into Water Users Associations. Therefore, it is very important to mobilize the farmers to ensure the rehabilitation of the water conveyance infrastructure/regularize the turnouts by construction/ lining of watercourses.