irrigation tanks

In Sri Lanka and India an irrigation tank or tank is an artificial reservoir of any size. They are part of a historic tradition of harvesting and preserving rainwater in the region. Often an embankment such as a mud bank was constructed across a slope to collect and store water by taking advantage of local mounds and depressions. The water would be used primarily for agriculture and drinking water, but also for bathing and rituals. Tank use is especially critical in regions without perennial water resources. The word tank is the English language substitute for the vernacular terms used in South Asia.

A tank cascade is a system of irrigation tanks in single or multiple chains where water from a higher tank flows into lower tanks. Example of tank cascades include Sri Lanka's tank cascade system, the Indian city of Bangalore's cascading lakes in the Varthur lake series, and the Indian city of Madurai's Vandiyur tank cascade system.

Modern tank management

Today, there are approximately 120,000 small-scale tanks, irrigating about 41,200 km² in semi-arid areas of India. This constitutes about one third of the total irrigated land in South India.

The development of large-scale water management methods and hydroelectric generation have replaced much of the local efforts and community management of water. For example, the state of Karnataka has about 44,000 artificial wetlands locally constructed over many centuries. At least 328 are threatened today. However, recently a tank regeneration movement initiated by communities and non-governmental organisations has arisen.

Ralegaon Siddhi is an example of a village that revitalised its ancient tank system. In 1975 the village was drought-stricken. The village tank could not hold water as the earthen embankment dam wall leaked. Work began with the percolation tank construction by the villagers who donated their labor to repair the embankment. Once this was fixed, the village's seven wells below the tank filled with water in the summer for the first time in memory. Now the village has a supply of water throughout the year.

Other types of tanks

Other types of tanks in the subcontinent include temple tanks and stepwells. Temple tanks are water storage tanks that combine the practical and sacred. Many temple tanks are decaying and drying up today. Since ancient times, the design of water storage has been important in Indian architecture. Stepwells were often used for leisure, providing relief from daytime heat. This led to the building of some significant ornamental and architectural features, often associated with dwellings and in urban areas. It also ensured their survival as monuments. An example of the art of tank design is the large, geometrically spectacular stepped tank at Vijayanagara, the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, surrounding the modern town of Hampi.
File:ShrineInTankVijayanagara.jpg, A shrine in a ruined tank at Vijayanagara in Karnataka
File:Badami countryside.jpg, A tank at Badami in Karnataka
File:Bawdi.jpg, A bavdi at Shekhawati in Rajasthan
File:Johad.JPG, A johad at Thathawata in Rajasthan
File:Trikuteshwara well.JPG, A well at Trikuteshwara temple in Karnataka
File:Ellora cave29 pond waterfall behind.jpg, A temple pond and waterfall at Ellora Caves in Maharashtra
File:Schacht Adalaj Stepwell.jpg, Adalaj Stepwell in Gujarat

References

Further reading

* Palanisami, K, and Easer, E.W. (2000). ''Tank Irrigation in the 21st Century—What Next?'' Discovery, Delhi, Discovery. .
* {{Cite journal , last=Van Meter , first=Kimberly J. , last2=Steiff , first2=Michael , last3=McLaughlin , first3=Daniel L. , last4=Basu , first4=Nandita B. , date=2016 , title=The socioecohydrology of rainwater harvesting in India: understanding water storage and release dynamics across spatial scales , url=https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/20/2629/2016/ , journal=Hydrology and Earth System Sciences , language=en , volume=20 , issue=7 , pages=2629–2647 , doi=10.5194/hess-20-2629-2016 , issn=1607-7938

External links

Photo of temple tank at Ekambareshvara Temple



Irrigation in India
Water supply and sanitation in India
Irrigation in Sri Lanka
Irrigation tanks in Sri Lanka