Downloads - Drinking Water

Introduction to Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) - Open courseware from the United Nations University (UNU)

This introductory course on Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), from the United Nations University (UNU), provides a brief historical background and overview of IWRM and gives an overview of the various aspects of IWRM, from integration, capacity building to applications and case studies.

IWRM has been defined by the Global Water Partnership (2000) as a process, which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems. An important aspect of any IWRM program is therefore, research, planning and action at the river basin level. Read More

Renukaji Dilli Ke Nalon Mein - A documentary about the movement against the proposed Renukaji Dam Project

The Renuka Dam Project proposed over the river Giri Ganga (a tributary of the Yamuna) located some 300km away from Delhi, is a joint project of the governments of Himachal Pradesh (HP) and Delhi, to be constructed by the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL) in Sirmaur district of HP. While HP hopes to generate 40MW of power from this project, Delhi hopes to meet 1250 MLD of its total 3500 MLD requirement from this project.

While Delhi stands to benefit from the project, Renuka Valley is to suffer a high social and environmental cost. 550 families in 17 panchayats will be displaced and 1630 hectares of land, including 49 hectares of Reserve Sanctuary will be submerged. Most of the affected are farmers, who point to the many crops they grow and from which they make a decent living, exposing the false claims of government officials who claim this is a barren and desolate area. Despite local opposition, the project has been granted environmental clearance by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), and forcible land acquisition by the HPPCL is underway.

All this, while Delhi continues to waste water at the rate of 1300 MLD (40% of the total 3500 MLD supplied to city never reaches its people) and make its own rivers, ponds and lakes disappear, to meet its greedy urban expansion plans. Delhi, in fact does not suffer from shortage of water but from unequal distribution, with sarkari areas of Delhi getting supply of 300 LPCD, 10 times the amount of water received in other areas like Mehrauli. And already, Delhi sources water from the Bhakra Nangal Project, Tehri Dam Project and directly from the rivers Yamuna and Ganga, and Renukaji is its next but certainly not last stop.

While the government justifies the dam in the ‘national interest’, the video attempts to brings out the perspective of citizens of Delhi and Renuka Valley, and leaves one wondering just how Delhi is in the national interest and Renuka valley is not.

To support or follow this movement, contact members of the Ma Renukaji Sangarsh Samiti: Puranchand Sharma at +91-9318879228 or Manshi Asher at +91-9816345198, or email Manshi at manshi.asher@gmail.com.

When Pigs Fly: Rainbow Drive Layout's efforts towards water sustainability - Citizens at the centre of Integrated Urban Water Management

This case study report by Biome Environmental Solutions, gives an account of Rainbow Drive Layout Plot Owners' Association's (POA) work on Integrated Urban Water Management, in Bangalore (Karnataka).

Rainbow Drive is a gated community that proactively addressed its water problems in a sustainable manner without resorting solely to short-term coping strategies like buying tanker water or drilling more borewells. Biome Solutions, a company engaged in sustainable water management, worked with Rainbow Drive, in helping them understand their water situation and put in place durable and appropriate solutions. Due to the pioneering nature of the work that was done, Arghyam, a non-profit foundation supported Biome in an intensive monitoring exercise to develop the full picture of Rainbow Drive's water management regime and derive lessons for similar urban contexts and communities. These document are the outputs from this investigation. Read More

Case Studies - Pani Thiye Panjo programme on rural drinking water management - Sahjeevan Trust in Kutch

The following four case studies, describe the work of Sahjeevan Trust and its partners, in organising drinking water, in participation with rural communities in Kutch, Gujarat, through the Pani Thiye Panjo program. Read More