Sustainable River Flow Management: Hirakund Dam
Hirakud dam, built over River Mahanadi in Sambalpur locale of Odisha state, became operative in 1957. But over this long time of compelling flood control management, there were a few events concerning physical and livelihood security during the monsoons within the upper catchment. While the water assets of Hirakud Dam remain the the pillar of Odisha’s rural success and hydropower possibility, it has experienced some concern over the last two decades when tough decisions had to be taken in working out choices for overseeing the flood occasions when the reservoir is at its greatest holding capacity. So, it is essential to work out feasible arrangements and provide sustainable solutions for managing this pressure discharge to guarantee security of Hirakud Dam and free flow of River Mahanadi.
Hirakund Dam
The Hirakud Reservoir is a stunning sight, with its vast expanse of water and the surrounding hills, located in Sambalpur city of Odisha. Source: OpenStreetMap, synthesized by Author
Visuals from Hirakud Dam and Reservoir surrounding. Source: Telegraph and Author
The dependency of people on Hirakud reservoir water is evident as they rely on it for various needs. Basic dependencies are cultural, recreational, livelihood and industrial.
Percentage of people dependent on the activities are:
Domestic- 3.63%
Agriculture - 41.25% Industry -1.28%
Environment -53.5% Others -0.36%
Source: Government of Odisha, Water resource Department,
The dependency of people on Hirakud reservoir water.
Cultural and Livelihood dependency
This place is famous for its cultural practises. There is a famous temple at the hilltop, where people gather to bow down and respect “Maa Samalai” as their principal deity.
Cultural and Livelihood dependency
This village is an entirely fishermens’ based community. They depend on the Mahanadi antd the reservoir of Hirakud for fishing which they consume and sell it to the nearby towns.
Recreational attractions around reservoir.
The wonderful bewitching landforms carved out by the reservoir creates a beautiful sunset view for the people to enjoy. It is the one of the most visited recreation spots.
Recreational attractions around reservoir
This place is a famous picnic spot. It is on the bank of the reservoir on the foothill. It provides lots of water sports for the visitors and hosts various families to enjoy their picnic with serene landscape and picnic spots
Livelihood and township dependencies
60% of the village male population are daily wage labourers in the industry built on the bank of the reservoir, and the rest are involved in agricultural pursuits which depends on the reservoir
Livelihood and township dependencies
The people in the township depend on this factories for their livelihood. All employees of the industries reside in the township of Hirakud. Officers, factory workers, labourers and industry vendors are the various occupations of people.
This image represents the plan of Hirakud reservoir. Major issue of increase in sediment deposition over the years is evident through the representation. (Source: Subhasri Dutta and Dhrubajyoti Sen, IIT Kharagpur).
Sedimentation can have negative impacts on the reservoir, as it can reduce the storage capacity and lead to flooding in the vicinity.
This section shows the predictable future scenario if the sedimentation is not addressed. It will lead to flooding in the reservoir surrounding submerging various habitable and agricultural lands leading to its destruction. The sediment load and increased inflow of water may also lead to dam failure.
Conceptual section through the reservoir showing the past and present scenario along with future risk.
To address the issue, landscape management of entire watershed of Hirakud needs to be done. This image shows the landscape character map of catchment of Hirakud reservoir.
Site analysis of the watershed, led to identification of the issues which are causing increased inflow of sediments in the reservoir.
Long term Landscape management strategies identified which can be implemented to remove the issue of sedimentation and revive the fragmented river flow.
Strategy 1- i. Riparian buffer as a strategy for Erosion control measures to stop sedimentation.
Zone 1: Undisturbed zone; Zone 2: Managed forest; Zone 3: Runoff control; Zone 4:Cropland
Riparian buffer width details
Strategy 1- ii. Stream edge stabilization as a strategy for Erosion control measures to stop sedimentation.
Strategy 1- iii. Change in agriculture practise as a strategy for Erosion control measures to stop sedimentation.
CHANGE IN FIELD PRACTISE:
(a) Land has been tiled and terraced to better capture water.
(b) Land has been levelled and furrow irrigated. These methods allow the land to absorb water efficiently and results in less waste.
(c) Creating vegetated buffer strips or wetlands between cultivated land and watercourses to slow surface water runoff and remove pollutants.
(d) Directing agricultural runoff to infiltration ponds, retention ponds and wetland areas to slow runoff and improve water quality.
Strategy 1- iii. Change in agriculture practise as a strategy for Erosion control measures to stop sedimentation.
(i & ii) For Riparian buffer and stream edge stabilization:
Area addressed in the catchment to carry out this measure = 3323 sq.km.
Time required for this measure to run efficiently = 5-10 yrs
Rate of sedimentation currently = 520 Cum/yr
Rate of sedimentation after implementing this strategy = 384.8 Cum/yr
Reduction % in sedimentation = 26.5%
(iii) For change in agricultural practices
Area addressed in the catchment to carry out this measure = 5171.4sq.km.
Time required for this measure to run efficiently = 0-1yr
Rate of sedimentation currently = 520 Cum/yr
Rate of sedimentation after implementing this strategy = 436.8 Cum/yr
Reduction % in sedimentation = 16%
Strategy 2 - Afforestation as a strategy to revive river fragmentation.
Inflow of water can be greatly increased through afforestation. Local community participation along with local authoritative bodies are required to work in coordination for its smooth implementation.
Afforestation
Area addressed in the catchment to carry out this measure = 23187.01 sq.km
Time required for this measure to run efficiently = 20-25 years
Rate of sedimentation currently = 520 Cum/yr
Rate of sedimentation after implementing this strategy = 5.2 Cum/yr
Reduction % in sedimentation = 99.6%
Strategy 2 summarised details of implementation
Strategy 3 - i. Cultivating good water quality for reducing dependency from dam
Cultivating good water quality is a 15 year long term programme, which aims at improving the water quality and flows in that particular watershed. Local farmer participation is very necessary to recover micro-watersheds through terracing and other agricultural practises along with the two mentioned strategies.
Strategy 3 - ii. Improving urban design infrastructure
IMMEDIATE IMPLEMENTATION CAN BE DONE FOR IMPROVING THE URBAN DESIGN INFRASTRUCTURE:
Rain is a vital resource that fills our rivers and replenishes our surface and groundwater supply.
By carefully considering how to design communities sustainably and how to better plan for future growth and development, municipalities can implement innovative techniques that could extend the life of their water supply (i.e., sustain groundwater aquifers and steady base flows for rivers) and reduce their reliance on water supply dams and river diversions.
IMMEDIATE IMPLEMENTATION CAN BE DONE: Incorporating traditional water harvesting structure along with other alternative structures helps in storing water and making the water available at all times.
Strategy 3 - ii. Improving urban design infrastructure
Strategy 3 - iii. Incorporating traditional water harvesting systems on river beds or urban area
Existing scenario of Hirakud dam watershed
Proposed scenario of Hirakud dam watershed after implementation of long term strategies
Traditional water harvesting system as a short term strategy.
Case example of Traditional water harvesting structure “KATA” which brings life to rural community Bijepur, Bargarh near Sambalpur district of Odisha.
Change in landscape over period of time, showing how the degraded KATA got revived again with community participation, serving the entire village with water supply.
Case example of existing tank benefits of Laida, Sambalpur, a systematic water management plan with the use of tanks and ponds.
All of these tanks were made in such a way that they were connected to each other in terms of topography of the land and underground water table
Medium irrigation project was also taken up along with the tanks in Laida, by making a canal for farming and agriculture and ultimately, it served as a permanent solution to water woes that was achieved.
Greenery in the catchment of the individual tanks allowing growth of vegetation, also serving areas for the cattles to graze.
About Shreya Singh | Water Seekers Fellowship 2022
Shreya Singh has done her B.arch from VSSUT, Burla, Odisha and her M.arch in Landscape Architecture from School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal. Currently she is pursuing her doctoral research as well as working as an Assistant Professor in Architecture at Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology, Odisha. This story is based on Shreya's thesis project in Landscape Architecture at School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal in 2022.
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