Wakel river basin project (local)

• The Wakel River Basin

  • Located in north-west India in the south of Rajasthan
  • The driest and poorest part of India
  • Rainfall of less than 250mm per year quickly soaks away or evaporates
• Water supply issues in the Wakel River Basin


  • Water management in the region has been poor
  • Over-use of water for irrigation has led to waterlogging and salinisation
  • Over-abstraction from unregulated pumps has resulted in falling water tables in aquifers
  • Some wells have dried up
• Increasing water supply in the Wakel River Basin

  1. United States Agency for International Development working with local people

  2. Aims to improve water security and overcome problems of water shortages

  3. Encouraging greater use of rainwater harvesting techniques
• Rainwater harvesting techniques


  • Taankas - underground storage systems which collect surface water from roofs
  • Johed - small earth dams that capture rainwater
  • Pats - irrigation channels that transfer water to the fields
• How the pat system works

  1. A small dam called a bund diverts water from the stream towards the fields

  2. Villagers take turns to irrigate their fields in this way

  3. Maintenance is done by the villager whose turn it is to receive the water
• Increasing public awareness


  • Education is used to increase awareness of the need for communities to work together to conserve water