Water management

Watershed and Land Management

One of the greatest factors in ensuring water security is sustainable management of water resources. The Pure Water Project will provide informational resources to assist in building the necessary technical expertise for both watershed management and land management, as the integrated ecosystem approach is recognized as the most sustainable method for water resources management. Watershed management and land management principles include:

• forestry / reforestation helps avoid soil erosion and flooding
• ensuring sufficient vegetal cover aids water conservation, (this includes establishing plantation with contour hedges), and helps prevent silting at the water source
• agricultural and horticultural practices to avert soil erosion and promote water conservation, including:
• no till farming, as appropriate
• drip irrigation and night irrigation, which significantly reduce agricultural water requirements
• mulching, which can reduce the need for irrigation significantly.
• animal husbandry – community control of indiscriminate grazing by domestic animals

Clean agriculture and bio-dynamic farming supports pure water. Sustainable agriculture includes techniques such as:

• Multiple plantings in a given field
• Use of natural manures and leaves
• No use of chemicals or fertilizers

These techniques bring very positive results, such as:

• Higher yields
• Better and safer food quality
• Reduction in soil and water pollution
• Reduction in health issues
• Soil conservation / avoiding desertification (non-arable land)

By avoiding land degradation and soil erosion, yield reduction is mitigated, thus alleviating poverty. Weather events of either drought or floods are also mitigated.

By recognizing how upstream water and soil conservation affects downstream systems, and by planning at the catchment, reservoir and drainage basin scale, water use and land use can be optimized, thereby leading to increased agricultural yields and the support of local prosperity and abundance. The key points are to collect data, communicate with the community, build awareness, share information and knowledge, plan wisely, and provide training and capacity building, so that the community is as enabled and self-sufficient as possible.

Water Infrastructure Management, Water Conservation, Rainwater Capture

Water infrastructure management, water conservation, and rainwater capture practices include:

• Structural efforts at the catchment level can aid water conservation.
• Ensuring taps are turned off and that all pipes are in good working order – (no leaking pipes) – can reduce water waste by up to 80%.
• Promoting the use of low flow water mechanisms conserves water.
• Capturing rainwater saves money by reducing irrigation costs. Capturing rainwater also reduces the need to use tap water and prevents the water from going into public waters where rainwater runoff might wash in and pollute them.
• Capturing rainwater offsets droughts, reducing the impact of flooding, and helps with irrigation and supplementing household water use, for example with kitchen gardens, and WC use.
• Capturing rainwater through mechanisms that utilize drains and filtering reduces the breeding grounds of mosquitoes, in addition to using solutions designed with local topography and morphology in mind.