Abstract:
A comprehensive watershed management plan for the degraded Tumri watershed in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh covering an area of 2391 hectare has been developed by rigorous hydrological analyses. The watershed is a part of the Bundelkhand region, known as a water scarce and drought prone area. Analysis revealed that estimated surface water potential of 7.80 MCM could be tapped for creation of storages within the watershed instead of let it remained unutilized because of poor management practices. The average annual rainfall and the corresponding water availability of the area have not proven condition prone to hydrological drought rather outlined lack of appropriate management practices on watershed basis. The SCS-CN model has been employed for simulating rainfall-runoff events. The surface water storage sites and areas for artificial groundwater recharge have been identified based on the analysis of topography, soil textures, water availability and geologic formations. The average soil loss from the watershed has been estimated to be 14.6 ton/hectare/year, and 23% of the watershed has been found 'prone to very high erosion rates exceeding 20 ton/hectare/year. Four sub-watersheds covering area of 453 hectares have been delineated for treatment on priority basis. The gross irrigation requirement estimated to be 0.974 and 5.60 MCM respectively, for kharif and rabi season has been found meet up satisfactorily from the harnessed surface water within the watershed. The SCS-CN model could simulate the daily runoff with an efficiency of 96% and 80% against the data of years 2006-07 and 2007-08, respectively. Seven sites for creation of surface storages and 32.08 ha as most-favorable area for artificial groundwater recharge :lave been identified.
