Talk:Interstate River Water Disputes Act

When I search for Indian Water Disputes, I get a lot of hits. Are any of these related? Should they be linked?  :- ) DCS 12:58, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Answer: India is a tropical country with average annual evaporation rate nearly 1.80 meters water column whereas the average rainfall is less than 0.8 meters water column. The areas which receive less than average rain, face more water shortage as the population density increases and the land resources are made more productive. Water is in shortage and not the land in India for its all round devlopment. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.123.206.236 (talk) 06:57, 3 October 2012 (UTC)

What would happen to a downstream state if the upstream state is not abiding the Tribunal verdict or the earlier agreements?. Is there any physical counter remedy to the downstream state?

Answer: This has already happened in case of Sutlej river water sharing agreement between Punjab and Haryana in construction of Sutlej and Yamuna link canal. Punjab has not permitted the canal construction in its area and unilaterally refused in 2004 to abide by the earlier water sharing agreement. The constructed portion of the canal in Haryana is idling without serving its purpose. If Haryana is interested in getting its water share from Sutlej river, it can construct the remaining canal via Himachal Predesh area bypassing Punjab area totally by tapping water directly from the Bakra reservoir located in Himachal Predesh.

When an upstream state is refusing to honour the water sharing agreement with a downstream state, the downstream state can create huge storage reservoir by building a dam just inside its state boundary across the river submerging vast area in the upstream state territory. This water reservoir would be utilised by the downstream state for its water needs and flood control. Nowadays, the state of art construction technology permits to construct huge storage reservoirs economically if the cost associated with the land submergence is not an issue as in this case. Kwdt2 (talk) 07:07, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

Harnessing all river waters in India by off shore fresh water reservoir projects
India can harness all the water presently joining the sea by constructing off shore fresh water reservoirs on its territorial sea area. As the construction of inland based water reservoirs is becoming more and more difficult, substantial water resources exploitation is feasible only by constructing off shore fresh water reservoirs to store the river flood waters and pump water to nearer uplands through out the year with its abundant solar power resource. The following are the few off shore fresh water reservoir storage projects which can be implemented at comparable cost to the proposed conventional schemes such as Ganga Cauvery inter link scheme.

Offshore fresh water reservoir on Arabian sea along the west coast
Many massive off shore fresh water coastal reservoirs similar to planned Kalpasar Project can be located on the sea area to harness all the surplus waters of Ganga, Brahmaputra and west flowing river basins. Nearly 200 bcm water is joining the Arabian sea from west flowing rivers originating from the Western ghats located in Maharashtra, Karnataka & Kerala. "Spatial variation in water supply and demand across river basins of India" With 500 meters water lifting (maximum), 95% of this water can be pumped and used in all the water deficit rivers of Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and western Rajasthan (up to Sikar). Compared to bringing water from Ganga river located thousands of kilo meters away, this option is many times economical as it would supply water to all high lands and low lands of these states fully for three crops in a year.

Fresh water reservoirs (100 bcm capacity) can be established in the shallow and relatively calm Arabian sea area by constructing sea dikes / bunds/ Causeway at a distance of ten kilo meters or up to the depth of 12 meters from the Arabian sea coast line. Water can be pumped from this artificial fresh water lagoon throughout the year for meeting agriculture, etc. needs. Also these deep sea facing dikes can be used as sea ports for large ships and top surface as coastal road & rail routs. These proposed dikes would be similar to the land reclamation of North Sea area called Delta Works in Netherlands. This man made lagoons would be nearly 1500 km long from Alang to Kanyakumari broken in to parts and interconnected by under water tunnels/ ducts (nearly 500 meters long) wherever existing ports and famous beach resorts are located.This lagoon is also interconnected to sea via locks for using the lagoon area for shipping, ship breaking, ship building, etc. purposes. The evaporation and seepage water losses from this man made lagoon would be less than the rainfall on the lagoon area. Maharashtra is contemplating to store fresh water in Mahim Bay for Mumbai city water supply."State revives reclamation plan along Mumbai coast"

There is no need of transferring Ganga river water to Peninsular India if the water resources available in these states are put to full use with the cooperation of all the states."India’s River-Linking Scheme: A case of troubled waters"

Chhattisgarh and Odisha can utilise all the water of Mahanadi river after sparing adequate environmental and salt export flows to the sea. Similarly Andhra Pradesh can utilize all the surplus water of the Godavari river after sparing adequate environmental and salt export flows to the sea by transferring to its water deficit river basins by moderate lifts (less than 200 meters).Blue Print for Godavari River Water Utilization in Andhra Pradesh As such there is no surplus water available to supply outside the basin states from the east flowing peninsular rivers.

Water can also be exported to Iran and Arabian Peninsula in exchange for crude oil and natural gas by extending the lagoon up to the Persian gulf. The water available in the Arabian sea coast of India is the nearest Fresh water surplus region to the middle east countries. Cubic meter of Fresh water can be supplied at approximate price of 0.5 US$ which is less than the price of producing sweet water from sea water by energy/electricity intensive desalination process. 200 cubic meters of water can be exchanged for one barrel of crude oil. Nearly 40 bcm surplus waters of Sri Lanka can also be utilised by constructing similar man made lagoon around the coast line of Sri Lanka and interconnecting it with Indian system. Pakistan can also benefit by using some of the available Fresh water in return for allowing the lagoon extension up to strait of Hormuz

Surplus Ganga river water transfer to peninsular rivers via Bay of Bengal sea
The better feasible way of transferring surplus water of Ganga river / Farakka Barrage to peninsular rivers is by storing Ganga water joining the sea from the Hoogly river mouth. Nearly 27 bcm capacity fresh water reservoir (4500 square km area) can be established in the shallow sea by constructing sea dikes / bunds/ Causeway up to the depth of 12 meters from the sea coast line. This fresh water reservoir located on the sea area stretches from sagar (near 21.64472°N, 88.05917°W) to the mouth of Brahmani River (near 20.82694°N, 86.96583°W). From this reservoir, water is pumped up to the elevation of nearly 425 m MSL (near to 21.92139°N, 86.15194°W) in the Brahmani river basin for further transfer in most of the area of Damodar River basin, Subarnarekha River basin, Brahmani River basin, Mahanadi River basin in Jharkhand, Odisha, Chattisgarh and West Bengal states. Further, water can be pumped in to the Bagh reservoir (near 21.06306°N, 80.47028°W) and Upper Indravati reservoirs (near 19.34139°N, 82.86639°W) to transfer Ganga water in to Godavari River basin and further to southern river basins. The Hasdeo Bango reservoir (near 22.61306°N, 82.62417°W) would receive the Ganga water and further pumped in to the Narmada River, Chambal river and Ganga basin for using in Madhya Pradesh, south Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan high lands. See Google earth maps for more geographical information. The advantage of this scheme is that Ganga river water can be stored on Bay of Bengal sea area and more than 50 bcm water transferred throughout the year to other river basins at optimum pumping head. "The Encroaching Ganga and Social Conflicts: The Case of West Bengal, India"

Haldia harbour operations would not get disturbed by this scheme by constructing gated barrages across the two creeks of the Hoogly river. Only right creek of Hoogly river is connected to the fresh water reservoir and the left creek is open to the sea via locks for ships movement. The barrages across the creeks would reduce the transport of sediment in to the creeks / Hoogly river from the open turbid sea due to wave and tidal activity.

Bangladesh to benefit immensely by its river water transfer to peninsular rivers of India
The better feasible way of transferring surplus waters of Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers to Indian peninsular rivers is by storing these river waters on the bay of Bengal sea along the coast of Bangladesh and West Bengal in India. Nearly 120 billion cubic meters capacity fresh water reservoir (20,000 square km area out of which 12000 square km in Bangladesh territorial sea area) can be established in the shallow sea by constructing sea dikes / bunds/ Causeway up to the depth of 12 meters from the sea coast line. This fresh water reservoir located on the sea area stretches from Kutubdia island of Bangladesh (near 21.73972°N, 91.88361°W) to the mouth of Brahmani River (near 20.82694°N, 86.96583°W). The dike would be envisaged with gated barrages to pass to the sea the excess flood waters (total mean annual flow 1200 bcm) received from the Ganga, Brahmaputra rivers, etc for limiting the off shore reservoir's maximum water level to 1.0 m above mean sea level. Locks arrangement (similar to Panama canal) would be provided for the movement of ships from the open sea to harbours located in Bangladesh and West Bengal in India. See also "Bangladesh, a physically growing country"

The sea dike extending 8 m above the mean sea level and 50 m wide at the top surface, would be nearly 520 km connecting Indian mainland to South east of Bangladesh forming transnational high way and rail route from the Indian subcontinent to East Asia up to Singapore and China. This off shore dike would protect the Bangladesh from the wave and tidal activity during the frequent cyclones /floods preventing human & property losses drastically.

Nearly 1000 million tons of sediment from Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers is settling in the sea coast of Bangladesh and the sea area is shallow (up to 12 m ) for at least 50 km wide. Bangladesh plagued with high population density, can reclaim nearly 6,000 sq. km (4% of its total land) area of sea by excavating/dredging sediment from the fresh water reservoir bed without effecting the water storage of the off-shore fresh water reservoir. Presence of the protective sea dike, makes sub sea soil dredging more easier and economical by warding from rough sea waves. This reclaimed area from the sea, can be advantageously utilised for locating a megacity with international standards to cater to the modern needs of Bangladesh.

As explained another 200 bcm water (in addition to 50 bcm via Hoogly river in India) of entire Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers can be diverted to the peninsular rivers of India with the consent of Bangladesh. The minimum water flow from Bangladesh coast to the Bay of Bengal sea is 7,000 cumecs which is equal to 220 bcm annually. This water can also be put to use in addition to the impounded water by the water reservoir.

Off shore fresh water reservoir to store Krishna river water for irrigation, etc requirements.
Presently, the rain water in the catchment area below the Prakasam Barrage and the upstream Krishna river water which is overflowing the Prakasam barrage, is going unutilised to the sea. This water which is nearly 300 Tmcft can be stored in an off shore fresh water reservoir located on sea area. The sea area up to 12 meters depth adjacent to coast line between the locations (near 15.77528°N, 80.8125°W) where southern branch of the Krishna river joining the sea and the mouth of the Gundlakamma River (near 15.55639°N, 80.22694°W), is highly suitable for creating the off shore fresh water reservoir. The width of the sea up to 12 m depth is nearly 17 km wide and the required length of the sea dikes is nearly 70 km. The area of the off shore reservoir would be nearly 1200 sq. km and gross water storage capacity is nearly 7 bcm (250 Tmcft). A barrage/weir would be constructed across the Krishna river (near 16.07806°N, 80.88028°W) near Mopidevi town. A flood canal (25 km long) from this barrage would feed Krishna river water to the off shore water reservoir. Later, a flood canal from Dowleswaram Barrage would also connect by gravity to this proposed barrage to feed Godavari water to the off shore fresh water reservoir. The off shore dike up to 8 m msl high, would also drastically reduce the cyclone damages and reduce drastically flooding in Chirala, Bapatla and Nizampatnam coastal areas. It would also greatly improve the irrigated coastal lands drainage in Guntur and Prakasam districts. The sea dike can also serve as an access way to a major deep sea port which can be located on the deep sea side of the 70 km long dike.

Vast lands in coastal districts of Prakasam and Nellore, are drought prone and do not have adequate water sources for irrigating the coastal dry lands. Water from this off shore fresh water reservoir can be pumped uplands to Obachettapalem water tank (near 15.62694°N, 79.81306°W) which is at 85 m msl. From this water tank, dry lands in Prakasam and Nellore districts up to Pulicat lake can be brought under irrigation by gravity canals. The total cost would be less than Rs 200 billions which is nearly Rs 1,00,000 per acre of irrigated land.49.207.221.221 (talk) 16:24, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

Gigantic multinational water export projects
If we include surplus waters of Ganga and Bramhaputra rivers after meeting total needs of entire India, nearly 700 billion cubic meters water can be exported to Middle East countries.

There are vast deserts in all continents (western part of South America, Northern and south western Africa, Middle East in Asia, South eastern part of USA, Australia, etc.) and also water surplus regions nearer to these deserts. It is technically and economically feasible to construct man made fresh water reservoirs / lagoons on the continental shelf of the sea up to 12 meters depth from the coast line to supply fresh water to desert areas from nearby water surplus/high rainfall areas. Excess water from the high rainfall regions will be collected in the man made lagoons at sea level and this fresh water is pumped to irrigate desert lands from the other end of the lengthy man made lagoons. In other words, the proposal is interconnecting rivers with a sea level / sub sea level contour canal (at least five km wide) to facilitate water transfer.

It is estimated that the construction cost of sea dikes would be of the order of 10 million US$ per kilometre length. The benefits in terms of agriculture production, shipping, road transport, rail transport, etc are enormous and the entire cost would be paid back within a decade. These massive multinational projects would galvanize the stagnating world economy and also create long lasting productive infrastructure. However the negative aspects of these man made lagoons are to be evaluated in detail and proper remedial steps shall be incorporated to minimize the damage to coastal ecosystem by the presence of fresh water lagoon as barrier to the sea.

The following are the possible projects in each continent:


 * Water transfer from the west central Africa (Congo River basin, etc) to Northern Africa (Sahara desert) and South West Africa (Namibia and South Africa deserts)
 * Water transfer from the south east Africa (Zambezi River basin, etc) to North east Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia. Sudan, Egypt, etc).
 * Water transfer from the north western part of South America continent (south of Panama Canal) to desert lands of Chile and Peru.
 * Water transfer from the Papua New Guinea island (South east Asia) to Northern Australia.
 * Water transfer from the north and south coastal areas of western 'North America continent' to south western region of USA and central parts of Mexico.

The above gigantic projects would cover most of the desert areas of the world except the high lands of central Asian deserts. Thus most of the lands which are not available for cultivation and forestry can be turned in to habitat to copious greenery which would help to mitigate the global warming process.