Hydrologic Assessment of Check Dam Performances in Semi-Arid Areas: A Case Study From Gujarat, India

Abstract

In semi-arid India, managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is often used to enhance aquifer storage, and by implication, water security, and climate resilience, by capturing surface runoff, mainly through check dams implemented at the community level. Despite their extensive use, the design of these structures typically does not follow a systematic method to maximize performance. To aid in the improvement of check dam design parameters and location siting, we develop a dynamic tool, which integrates the daily water balance of a check dam with analytical infiltration equations to assess check dam performance measured as temporal dynamics of storage, infiltration, and evaporation. The tool is implemented in R environment and requires meteorological and hydrogeological data, as well as check dam geometry and nearby well-abstractions, if any. The tool is applied to a case study in Saurashtra in Gujarat, where field visits were conducted. Simulations show that typical check dams in the area are able to store a volume between three and seven times their storage capacity annually. Infiltration volumes highly depend on hydroclimatic and hydrogeological conditions, as well as the formation of a clogging layer, highlighting the importance of site selection and periodic maintenance. The tool is validated with data from a previous study in Rajasthan, where daily water balance parameters were monitored. Validation results show an average R2 of 0.93 between the simulated and measured water levels. The results are adequate to suggest that the tool is able to assist in check dam planning in semi-arid environments.

Benefits, equity, and sustainability of community rainwater harvesting structures: An assessment based on farm scale social survey

“…Recent research has shown that this significantly impacted CDs functioning with recharge in dry years being very limited and insufficient to meet the irrigation demand in the catchment (Alam et al, 2022b). Mozzi et al (2021) have reported similar dynamics with the number of fillings being lowest in the dry years, followed by normal and wet years. However, they did not account for CDs in series so this could even be lower, especially in dry years when runoff is limited (Alam et al, 2022b).…”

“…However, these benefits are mostly accrued in wet years and are least in dry years (Figure 3A) when irrigation demand is the highest. This is due to limited rainfall and runoff in the dry years that limits inflows to the CDs (Alam et al, 2022b;Mozzi et al, 2021). Thus the duration of water availability in CDs decreases from 8 months in wet years to only 3 months in dry years (Figure 3B).…”

“…Most of the studies assessing the impacts of CDs in the region (Shah et al, 2009;Jain, 2012;Patel et al, 2020;Alam et al, 2022b) have been technical in nature either at a larger spatial scale (regional or catchment) (Shah et al, 2009;Patel et al, 2020;Alam et al, 2022b) or focus on standalone CD structures (Patel et al, 2002;Sharda et al, 2006;Mozzi et al, 2021). These studies do not shed light on how farmers, the ultimate beneficiaries of CDs, perceive the impacts of CDs and benefit from it.…”

Water Quality Evaluation of Groundwater and Dam Reservoir Water: Application of the Water Quality Index to Study Sites in Greece

“…The combination of high E.C. and Cl − values is indicative of seawater intrusion, which is a serious degradation factor for coastal aquifer systems [32]. According to the seasonal variations, Cl − presents higher concentrations during the dry period for most of the samples.…”

Unintentional Recharge of Aquifers from Small Dams and Dykes in Spain: A GIS-Based Approach to Determine a Fractional Volume

“…Two methods to estimate the WA i were tested. The first is the formula by Mozzi et al [39], devised to estimate the recharge from check dams in India. According to these authors, the wetted area can be computed through Equations ( 2) and (3).…”