Rain Water Harvesting and Conservation: A Case Study of Gadag District

Water is our most precious natural resource and something that most of us take for granted. We are now increasingly becoming aware of the importance of water to our survival and its limited supply. The human beings require water for various purposes. The most part of the earth surface i.e. about 71 % is covered by water. Out of total volume of water available on the surface of the earth 97 % is saline water, 2 % water is in the form of ice and glaciers and only 1 % is fresh and potable water. Out of total rainfall in India, runoff is about 85 %,percolation is about 7%, evaporation is about 5% and human use is about is about 3%. The problem of water shortage in arid and semi-arid regions is one due to low rainfall and uneven distribution throughout the season, which makes rain fed agriculture a risky enterprise. Rain water harvesting for dry-land agriculture is a traditional water management technology to ease future water scarcity in many arid and semi-arid regions of world. The water harvesting methods applied strongly depend on local conditions and include such widely differing practices as bunding, pitting, micro catchments water harvesting, flood water and ground water harvesting. The paper discusses the use of water harvesting as an effective tool for water management and outlines what need to be done.