KMFusion

Acceleration of climate change due to the excessive use of fossil fuels, destruction of geological features for mining for minerals and metals, for building purposes, and accelerating destruction of natural forests changed the climate of the world. The planets, stars and asteroids in the vast expanding Cosmos adding more complexity to the phenomena. Because of soil getting very dry due to rising temperatures and droughts and short heavy rain afterwards doesn’t lead to absorption of water by the soil. The water runs over the soil without adequate absorption as the soil is too dry causing flash floods, forest fires and droughts. Another reason for less water absorption by the soil of rain or snow melt water may be due to the increasing built up areas of many cities, and housing complexes. At the same time the underground water level reduces in volume. Secondly when the rainfall or snowfall continues for many days the excessive water released cause landslides and floods dispensing havoc to human lives, animal lives, and destruction of infrastructures. This leads to the destruction of crops and livelihood of many farmers. Forest fires leads to the destruction of ecosystems, adding to the climate change and shortage of water resources. This require to rethink agriculture and water management strategies to accommodate these new developments on the basis of data collected in recent years.

Reservoirs

When we hear about reservoirs of water, we think of artificially created reservoirs of big dams. Reservoirs can be natural or artificial. For example a natural lake or artificial lake created through the construction of a dam in a river are reservoirs of water which can be used as a source of water supply. Ancient civilizations around the globe used many kinds of storage facility to store water for later use. The reservoirs of water can be different types, for example reservoirs of dams, rock wells, rock gully catchments, soak pits, tree root catchments, rock hollows, holes created by bombs and quarries, lakes, hafirs or haffirs, tanks, cisterns or underground chambers, grass watering holes, basins, water harvesting pits, pottery, capture tank of fog nets, underground natural aquifers all can be considered as reservoirs of water. Some of the reservoirs may be very big containing trillions of litres of water like the reservoir of three Gorges dam in China and others may contain few litres of water.

Ancient kingdoms used reservoirs to mitigate the effects of droughts and floods around the globe. They can control the water flow by collecting and storing flood water during heavy rainfall or water released during snow melt after heavy snow fall. Some civilizations even diverted the rivers to reservoirs to store water for later use. Reservoirs capture and store water during time of abundance like rainfall or snow melt. Storing of water during abundance regulate water supply during floods by acting as a means of flood protection. Water stored in the reservoirs provide a stable water supply during dry season, supplying water for irrigation, domestic use, and industrial use. Reservoirs can help to manage water resources by regulating water supply throughout the year thus mitigating the effects of droughts and floods. For example reservoirs in the foothills of the Himalayas capture water during monsoon and use it in the cultivation of crops during dry seasons. If we keep our rivers clean without pollution, we can redirect water to reservoirs which can provide water during droughts to mitigate the effects of droughts at the same time reducing the effects of floods. Reservoirs near the forest may increase the humidity in the air preventing forest fires during very hot summers.

Hafir, or Haffir

Artificially constructed water catchment basin or reservoir called hafir, or haffir is used for collecting water in semi-desert conditions during rainy season to supply water during dry season. Hafir or large reservoirs excavated in the ground, were commonly used in North Africa and the Sahel region to store rainwater runoff. Basin irrigation, refers to capturing and redirecting water from rivers or streams into large basins or depressions to irrigate crops. Hafir, or haffir is used in countries like Sudan from ancient times.

Dams

Dams are barriers that halt the flow of water in rivers or streams resulting in reservoirs of water. The process of collecting water in the reservoirs of the dams, regulate water flow in the rivers or streams in which the dams are built, during the high rainfall and snowfall time. The water in the reservoirs can be used for electricity production and for irrigation. With the advanced turbines we can generate electricity from canals and field channels so reservoirs and associated canals and field channels can produce electricity more than the electricity produced from the reservoirs alone. So the water stored in the reservoirs during the rainy season or snow melting time can reduce carbon foot print by supporting the growth of vegetation through irrigation as well as the production of green energy through the use of different types of turbines which convert the mechanical energy of flowing or falling water into electrical energy. The water in the reservoirs can also be used for water supply in the dry season for agricultural irrigation, domestic use, commercial and industrial use. This can lead to regulation of water availability throughout the year.

Bomb Craters

Bomb craters left behind from wars, in some regions of the globe, like in Vietnam, over the years filled with water and are now used in some parts of Vietnam for raising fish. The wars generated ready-made reservoirs. Holes left by the extraction of the rocks can also be used as reservoirs for water. Some places reforestation achieved through making use of craters of big and small quarries to store water. Humans extract minerals, coal, gas, oil, gems, stones, sand, marbles and metals from the earth, all these evacuations create craters or holes which can also be filled with water if the water will not get contaminated with the remains of the extraction processes.

Cisterns and Underground Chambers

Cisterns and underground chambers constructed with clay or stone linings, ensured a reliable water supply for communities in areas with limited surface water. In Ethiopian Highlands, underground chambers, known as “gultes,” were carved into rock formations to store water for domestic use and irrigation. Cisterns and underground chambers reduce water contamination and evaporation in arid regions.

Underground Water Sources Access

Wells, step-wells, ponds, bore wells, oases, qanats, Puquios, well and bucket systems, are all used to access underground water sources. Some of these are used for collecting water as well as for accessing underground water sources. Viking created wells in their communities to secure a freshwater supply. They were often lined with stones for stability. Traditional wells with stone or brick linings were constructed to access groundwater, reliable source of water for drinking and agriculture in many ancient civilizations. Saharan oases created by digging wells to access underground water sources, lead to establishment of agricultural practices around these oases, which was crucial for trade routes and settlement sustainability. Step wells are architectural marvels, known as “baolis” or “vavs” in India. They are architectural structures that combine water harvesting, storage, and access. A series of steps or platforms that descend into the well, allowing for the collection, storage, and retrieval of water even during dry periods. Chola dynasty created intricate step wells in South India. Step wells, are unique to the Indian subcontinent and are found across different regions. They were designed to access groundwater and provide a consistent water supply. Medieval monastic gardens, developed gardening techniques that involved efficient water use, and some monasteries even had fish ponds and water features.

Puquios

Puquios(from Quechua pukyu meaning source, spring, or water well) are ancient systems of subterranean aqueducts which allow water to be transported over long distances in hot dry climates without loss of much of the water to evaporation. American Puquios shows a spiralling downward tunnel reimbursed by stones to access ground water. Puquios also serve as water harvesters during excessive supply of water but also as water providers during drought.

Khadins

Khadins are community managed run-off rainwater collecting systems locally developed in the hyper arid zones of Rajasthan, India. They sustained life and crop production in the region. Rajasthan’s Johads or “taals” are artificial reservoirs that were constructed to capture and store rainwater. They play a crucial role in irrigation, flood control, and domestic water supply. These traditional water harvesting structures including check dams and ponds, helped to recharge groundwater and supported agriculture in the region.

Rock Gully Catchments, Soak Pits or Tree Root Catchments

Rock gully catchments are carved depressions in rock surfaces to collect rainwater run-off. Soak pits are shallow pits lined with clay or grass to collect and store rainwater. Tree root catchments, directed rainwater run-off from tree roots into containers or rock depressions.

Fog Nets

Fog nets along with water tanks are used in some countries to collect water from the fog. They are used in some African countries. This technology for collecting water is under research in some dry regions of Spain to support vegetation.

Complex Water Management Strategies

There are few complex water management strategies which were useful in some parts of the world for millennia, where water resources are scarce. These water management programs combines many reservoirs in the form of tanks or in the form of ponds with the canals, and channels over a vast area of water catchment as well as water distribution. This act as a self-sustaining system better than one single big dam or reservoir. These kinds of systems collects water during heavy rain or snow melt in the tanks or ponds, so that downstream flooding is reduced. Water in the tanks or ponds refills the groundwater aquifers. The collected water in the tanks or ponds increases the humidity in the air, reducing the chances of forest fires. During the summer these tanks or ponds can act as the water sources. Srilanka’s cascading connected tanks helped agriculture for almost 2000 years. Canals and field channels used in the water management strategies can be also used for the electricity production using mini or micro hydroelectric power plants. Energy production from the rivers, canals and fields channels can reduce the energy cost at the same time reducing the use of fossil fuels and contributing to green energy production as a by-product. This is an under exploited area of energy production.

Complex Water Management System

Complex water management system created by the ancients for example in India help to meet the water requirement of vast areas in the country for many centuries. Kallanai dam with its water regulators, canals, ponds, and field channels irrigated vast areas for more than a millennium as the dam was constructed in 150 CE. This complex water management system has the water capacity equivalent to that of some of the biggest lakes in India. This complex water management system collects as well as distributes water in the vast areas of South India.

Complex water management system created by the ancients for example in Sri Lanka serve the country for more than a millennium. Reservoirs like connected cascading tanks in ancient Sri Lanka helped to change the arid wasted lands to productive agricultural lands. For almost two millennia connected cascading tanks, canals and water regulators converted unproductive arid lands in Sri Lanka into productive agricultural areas, forests and natural ecosystems for animals and birds. The area of Sri Lanka with the less rainfall every year achieved this agricultural miracle through collecting every drop of water released by rainfall to serve humanity before water reach the sea as expressed by Parakramabahu I (~1123– 1186).

New Initiatives

Ancient African water management techniques were used recently to convert exceptionally arid lands to food forests halting the desertification process of the extension of Sahara Desert. Thousands of families in the region created food forests which provided enough resources to sustain these families but also helped to create a green belt which halted the spread of the Saharan Desert.

Reforestation can also be achieved through food forests. These food forests are filled with trees, shrubs, tubers, climbers and creepers like a natural forest but the products of these trees and plants are food to the human population. The forerunners of food forest are excited about the results since many of them are self-sustaining without the addition of fertilisers and pesticides. Moreover the yield is also very good because the whole vegetation of food forest imitate natural forests, creating a natural self-sustaining ecosystem.

Land classified as wasted land is converted into flourishing forests in many parts of the world with very simple actions like digging ditches, holes and ditches with stone walls in the wasted lands. Over the years these ditches, and holes filled with water by capturing rainwater. Presence of water attracted birds and animals. The droppings of the birds and animals helped to reforest these land areas in India and China. The return of vegetation along with standing water increased ground water levels.

We have accumulated a lot of weather and geological data for past hundreds of years. Research and development has contributed a lot of knowledge in the water management area. We also invented many measuring instruments in the last century. All these must help us to develop better water management strategies and systems to reduce the effect of floods and droughts on humanity.

Thank you for visiting our website. Kindly circulate through links, if you like the material here. If you are making use of the material, then please don’t copy and upload, it will only clutter the internet. Use the material to extent the field, by adding your experience based knowledge to it, making our knowledge grow and evolve.

If you have suggestions to improve, the current water management strategies from your field of knowledge, and experience, then share your suggestions online on our channels. You can also visit our website, (https://kmfusion.com/) for more articles and videos, Before you leave, please don’t forget to subscribe to our channels.