Alpa Sridhar

Rivers of Mainland Gujarat: Physical Environment and Socio-economic Perspectives

The socio-economic development in Mainland Gujarat has been river centric. The physical environment of these rivers relates to the landscape response to climate change and tectonic forcing. There is a great diversity in the land and water resources of the region; on the one hand, where there is excess run-off in the rivers such as Narmada and Tapi, the population in the Sabarmati basin faces water scarcity. The agricultural growth in these basins has been exceptionally high; however, unplanned irrigation activities have put the surface as well as the groundwater resources under severe stress. The industrial effluents discharged into the main rivers or the tributaries further aggravate these problems. Soil and bank erosion though common are still up to a level where conservation methods can be applied. Thus, the socio-economic relevance of these river basins is very high and a large potential exists to further improve the conditions of water supply, agriculture, soil erosion and pollution. Each geomorphic unit has a unique resource potential, and a scientific evaluation of the potential is necessary for the socio-economic development of the region.

Indian Participation in XVIII International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) Congress, 2011

which has so far been neglected. For any world class city, sustenance and optimal growth depend on scientific management of its urban water cycle namely, rainwater, river water, lake water, groundwater, treated wastewaters. P.B. Ramamurthy, Chairman, BWSSB in his Presidential address highlighted the efforts made by BWSSB in popularising rainwater harvesting, and the establishment of the theme park in the city exclusively devoted to generate public awareness on various methods of rain water harvesting. In this context this book will not only be of enormous reference value but also serve as a valuable guide to all interested in city’s water management. Dr. K. Md. Najeeb mentioned about the huge quantity of waste waters in the city, most of which as of now goes waste, and if treated and recycled, will substantially ameliorate water scarcity. He stressed the need for tertiary treatment of sewage water for bimodal distribution. V.S.Parakash suggested ward-wise monitoring of rainfall in the city through telemetric rain gauges in order to compute realistically the runoff and infiltration factors for precise estimation of rainwater, groundwater, surface water resources of the city.