3.4 Drinking Water Ponds in Spate Irrigation Systems

Drinking water in spate irrigated areas: main issues

o Low annual rainfall o Deep water table / sometimes fluoride

groundwatero Public tubewells out of ordero Water from ponds – for humans and livestock:

o Pollutedo Limited duration of storage

o Major reason for hardship

IMPORTANCE OF DRINKINGWATER PONDS:

LOCAL HINDU SAINT IN PAKISTAN STILL

REVERRED BECAUSE OFTHE POND HE MADE

Traditional system – shallow ponds, water being use by humans and livestock alike

IMPROVED DRINKING WATER PONDS

Have reliable water storage for long period Have ‘relatively’ clean water Have ponds well maintained

IMPROVED DRINKING WATER PONDS

Reliability Close to flood inlet Make ponds deep enough (4-7 meters) to reduce

evaporation Trees on banks of ponds to further reduce

evaporation Where available clay lining Plastic lining – adequately anchored and covered

with at least 30 cm of soils to avoid punching

CONSTRUCTING DRINKING WATER PONDS

Cleanliness/ water quality Fencing to avoid animal tresspassing Use slow sand filter to pump water from reservoir Cascade system – water overflowing from other

(livestock) pond after sediment settled in it Use of sediment trapping vegetation in the

overflow structure Later, sometimes: wells near ponds fed by leakage

CONSTRUCTING DRINKING WATER PONDS

Ease of maintenance Gentle slope Sediment trap (can be part of livestock pond) No entry of livestock

Hand Pump Sand Filter

Appropriate for potable water

Filter of gradedlayers of sand

IMPACTS

Availability of potable water for humans And livestock Reduced out migration Decreased 40 % enteric disorder cases Provide sediment free water

In spite of importance experience from Balochistan (Pakistan) indicates that maintenance of ponds is main challenge

Only 25% of ponds was well maintained. Those that were well-maintained were:

Close to primary schools or mosks Were used by visiting nomads as well, who paid for the

use of the ponds for their livestock

Maintenance

Management is important: Cleaning out the silt Protecting the ponds from animals tresspassing Collecting funds for caretaker and maintenance

Maintenance of Community Ponds

Fencing or trenching– against tresspassing animals

Collecting funds forguarding and cleaning

OR:TO BE ALLOWED TOTAKE WATER YOUHAVE TO FIRSTREMOVE SILT..

WOMEN WITHOUT AHUSBAND EXEMPT FROM THIS DUTY

Local organisation

Manual maintenance limits the capacity of the community ponds

Local organisation

Introduce scraper boards to maintain harvesting pondswill make them deeper and stronger – longer storage time