GWD to undertake study of chain tanks in TS

Hyderabad: State Ground Water Department (GWD) will soon be taking up a scientific study of the chain tanks in the State, after the current monsoon period.

According to sources in the GWD, the main objective is to understand the ground water engineering, the network structure and its impact on various aspects like ground water recharge and irrigation. The traditional chain tanks have a geographical pattern because of which water is taken from one tank to another and the water flows on gravity throughout the network of tanks.

This unique feature shows how in the olden days, people had identified a definite pattern and developed the chain of tanks to meet their water demands and sustained them for decades.

Speaking to The Hans India here on Monday, a senior official from GWD said that each district has been classified into several basins. For the purpose of the pilot study, the department had identified existing tanks in different districts and borewells in the upper reaches and lower reaches with a specified distance from the water body.

The study monitors the water levels during the pre- and post-monsoon periods in the borewells. If the rain water harvested in the tanks causes recharge of ground water, then, the water levels in the borewells gets automatically recharged. At the same time, the impact on bore wells in the upper reaches of the tanks needs to be studied.

For this purpose, the department has decided to rope in experts from JNTU (Hyderabad), Kakatiya University(Warangal), other State Universities, research institutions and other agencies of the State, the official added. If the outcome of the study is positive, then, the model could be replicated in other districts, wherever feasible.