The Godavari River, by Joyce van Assche
Characteristics
Location: Southern part of India
Length: 1465 km
Size basin: 313.00 km2
Use of the river: The water management of the Godavari basin is mainly arranged around agriculture.
Problems
Barrages offers solutions against floods, give the possibility tot irrigate farming land and could be a facility to generate energy. But these barrages can also be the cause of enormous disasters and cause large problems sphere of water management.
Also irrigation can bring many problems, although it is necessity to feed the population. Becoming brackish of the ground by standing clear of water in connection with the addition of minerals is a great problem.
The dominated climate in the basin of the Godavari River plays a big part into water management. Monsoon dominates in this area. Three months a year tremendous amounts of precipitation falls and drought rules over in the other part of the year. During the wet periods possibility that floods get the upper hand in the basin is huge. The river isn’t in the position to store the large amounts of water or to discharge them. The result being that the river bursts its banks.
Solution
A real solution for the problems there are not available, because India is a very poor country.
Agriculture gets priority to bring the economy of India up to the required standard. Result is that irrigation is given a sort of precedence and the provision of safe and sufficient drinking- water gets behind.
Abstract
The use of sustainable water management for the Godavari River
The basin of the Godavari River is located in southern part of India (see figure 1). The river passes through the so-called Deccan Plateau and extends from the West Ghats to its estuary in the Bay of Bengal. The total length of the Godavari amounts about 1465 km and the river has a basin with an area of roughly 313.00 km2.
The water management of the Godavari basin is mainly arranged around agriculture. Because agriculture is the main earning- and nourishment source of the population. Anything will be done to maintain the agriculture in the basin, but also to maintain it in the whole country. India is however a developing country, what means that money is hardly available. Whenever there is a threat of food shortage, this is solved by building a barrage, whereby irrigation projects can be started.
Barrages offers solutions against floods, give the possibility tot irrigate farming land and could be a facility to generate energy. But these barrages can also be the cause of enormous disasters and cause large problems sphere of water management. Required barrages make deep inroads, not only in water balance, also in the whole natural and human surroundings.
River Basin of the Godavari River
Also irrigation can bring many problems, although it is necessity to feed the population. Becoming brackish of the ground by standing clear of water in connection with the addition of minerals is a great problem. Irrigation projects ask much maintenance. A country like India cannot offer this needed maintenance. The consequence of this is that the barrages become dangerous en don’t have the desired result in the matter of irrigation.
Another problem is de partition of the amount of water. Farmers with more money, have more power en with this they have disposition over more water. Poverty is strengthened on this way.
The dominated climate in the basin of the Godavari River plays a big part into water management. Monsoon dominates in this area. Three months a year tremendous amounts of precipitation falls and drought rules over in the other part of the year. During the wet periods possibility that floods get the upper hand in the basin is huge. The river isn’t in the position to store the large amounts of water or to discharge them. The result being that the river bursts its banks.
In India the National Environmental Council is the most important, supporting, developing coordination mechanism, on decision- making sphere of environmental matters. Among this also the water management takes place. In the formulated ninth Five- Year Plan, agriculture gets priority to bring the economy of India up to the required standard. Result is that irrigation is given a sort of precedence and the provision of safe and sufficient drinking- water gets behind.
Sustainable water management could be of great influence in a basin like the Godavari on the use of water. The concept of sustainable water management is association with water and its functions that both meet the needs of the wishes of the current population and also that future generations can be provide in their needs. Certainly in this river basin a lot has to be changed in relation to the dam issues and purification of water so that future generations can use the water of the Godavari as well.
Important information on this subject could be found on:
http://www.icid.org/nl2000_2.html
On which barrage problems are worked out with care.
http://irn.org/programs/rewiew/submissions/RBO.India.Submissions.html
On this page the arrangement of the management of river systems in India is explained.
http://www.britannica.com
Here one is on the right place for all general information about the Godavari
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