SUBSURFACE DAMS AS SUSTAINABLE WATER INFRASTRUCTURES IN THE SWARNAMUKHI RIVER BASIN, TIRUPATI, A.P. INDIA

Water harvesting structures play an important role in integrated water resources management to meet the ever-increasing demand on groundwater resources and to effectively harvest the surplus surface run-off during the monsoon period and utilize it during dry season.

Swarnamukhi river rejuvenation project was the first of its kind in the entire world, at a cost of about 1 million euros.

To monitor the effect of Subsurface dams, water levels were recorded (Jan.2001-Sept.’01), upstream and downstream, before and after the construction (Oct.2001-Dec.2002), using piezometers, indicating a rise of 1.42 m in the post-monsoon and 1.71 m in the pre-monsoon periods. After 13 years of construction, a survey was carried out in 2013 to know about the impact of Subsurface dams on the water levels, water availability, change in cropping patterns, change in yield, additional area under cultivation, management practices and socio-economic status. Also, potable water was made available to most of the households. Additional water released from the storage of the dams was increased by one third and now the farmers go for second crop, leading to an increase of income of about 100 %. With the result,water intensive crops (paddy and sugarcane) are on the rise,due to their higher selling price,benefitting the farming community.