Water Security Plan for the Sustainable Development of Water Resources of Kadamat Jalgram, Union Territory of Lakshadweep, South India

Abstract

The Water Security Plan for the Sustainable Development of Water Resources of Kadamat Jalgram, Union Territory of Lakshadweep, South India has been studied. Kadamat island is the fourth largest of the inhabited islands of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, with an area of 3.13 km2, where the fragile ground water resource is occurring as lens over marine water. The hydrogeological conditions of Kadamat island is entirely different from that existing in the main land. On the basis of the hydrogeological investigations and other related studies, certain participatory water management programs are to be urgently initiated in the island for the sustainability of water resources of the study area. The aquifers of the Kadamat are organic/coral limestones and sands with depth to the water table ranges between 1.4 and 5.0 mbgl and the ground water occurs under phreatic condition. The phreatic water is exploited by open dug wells and filter point well and depth vary from 1.4-5.0 and 1.8 to 6.0 m bgl respectively. The stage of ground water development in Kadamat is 46.7% and comes under safe category of ground water development. The electrical conductivity (EC) ranges from 500 to 15,000 µS/cm at 25oC. Renovation of open dug wells, filter point wells and tanks/ponds, scientific management/conjunctive use of both surface and sub-surface water, rainwater harvesting structures to be made mandatory, awareness campaign and training programmes to be organized at grass root level on water management as aspects and water budgeting at grass root level, thrust will be given to participatory water ground water management, and an integrated water security plan for the Kadamat are to be prepared and executed.