Rainfall and other forms of Precipitation

Our publication is coming up with the annual "Case Study Special Issue” in Sept. 2010. Its a collector’s issue, where we are covering leading industries across the globe.

We see this newsletter as a platform for independent credible voice in the water and sanitation sector. Our emphasis is on bringing together critical news and information with analysis. In this issue we share news and analysis on topical issues and developments.

The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation(DDWS) has simultaneously invited inputs to Discussion Papers on Drinking Water and Sanitation, circulated on Solution Exchange. Inputs given by India WASH Forum, on this, is enclosed in this Update. We have pointed out the missing elements of sanitation improvement strategy that include, criticality of providing water as an inseparable component to household sanitation, the tendency to see behavior change as a lifestyle issue and not linked to the hardware components, peoples livelihoods and living conditions. Suggestions for what needs to be done to strengthen the implementation mechanism of the flagship sanitation programme(TSC) and partnerships.

The report deals with Geographical Information Systems (GIS) based rainfall-runoff modeling using Topography Model (TOPMODEL) for the Hemavathy catchment of Cauvery basin in Western Ghats of Karnataka. The TOPMODEL is a variable contribution area model in which the predominant factors determining the formation of runoff are represented by the topography of the basin and a negative exponential law linking the transmissivity of the soil with the vertical distance from the ground level.

The report presents infiltration studies of the year 1996-97 for the Bargi Left Bank Canal Command area of Narsinghpur district of Madhya Pradesh. Infiltration studies are mainly addressed to a variety of applications for managing water resources. The design of methods for estimation of flood mitigation and erosion control is often based on estimates of peak discharge derived from prediction of infiltration rate. Water conservation procedures require computation of cumulative infiltration to produce estimates of runoff yield.      

In the present study, an attempt has been made to estimate the soil erosion rate in Malaprabha representative basin by using WEPP model and Universal Soil Loss Equation. Soil erosion and sedimentation are the two important natural processes, which need immediate attention from the scientific community. Two major types of erosion are geological erosion and erosion from human or animal activities.

In this study, an attempt has been made to study the characteristics of short interval rainfall data of the Punpun river basin lying in Bihar-Jharkhand, which has been identified as the representative basin for the NIH- Centre for Flood Management Studies, Patna. The estimation of flood peaks for small catchments is required for water resources planning, flood forecasting, design of various drainage systems, flood control and design of hydraulic structures.

The report presents a methodology for planning of crop and water management practices using weekly rainfall data.

The report presents an estimation of soil erosion and sediment yield for the Karso catchment of Barakar basin in Jharkhand using ANSWERS model. Quantitative assessments of runoff and soil erosion are needed for proper management of land and water resources.

The report discusses the application of deterministic and stochastic approaches in daily rainfall-runoff modeling. The structure of a simple hydrologic water balance type conceptual model of daily time scale is discussed and tested on three catchments of India. Further, the deviations of historic and computed runoff series obtained by using the model, which indicate the error in the fitting of model, is analyzed and used to improve the predicted flows.

The report presents a seasonal rainfall-runoff model developed for the Saurashtra region as well as parts of Narmada river basin. The successful planning and implementation of water resources projects require reliable data on volumetric runoff. It is not feasible to have discharge stations in all the river basins of interest given resource constraints. Therefore, regional rainfall-runoff models are preferred. The utility of such models can be improved if rainfall-runoff models for different regions are developed using data specific to the regions.