National Workshop On Integrated Management Of Sediments In River Basins And Reservoirs For Sustainable Development

Newdelhi:19/6/23:The Central Water Commission under Ministry of Jal Shakti organized a one-day national workshop on ‘Integrated Management of Sediments in River Basins and Reservoirs for Sustainable Development” at India International Centre in New Delhi today. The event was inaugurated by Shri Pankaj Kumar, Secretary, Dept. of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR) in the presence of Shri Kushvinder Vohra, Chairman, CWC and Ms. Debashree Mukherjee Special Secretary, Dept. of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. More than 200 delegates from different Central Ministries, States/UTs, Academic Institutes and Implementing Agencies of Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) participated in the workshop. It was largely agreed that short and long term action plans need to be prepared along with measures to control silt deposition in Reservoir which may be implemented in phases.

Addressing the gathering, Secretary, DoWR emphasized on the need for assessment of rates of sedimentation to evaluate its impact on reservoirs and their useful life.  He stated that the deliberations in the workshop must guide the States in evolving an action for management of sedimentation in reservoirs and rivers. Chairman, CWC presented specific issues that sedimentation poses for water resources infrastructure in the country. Special Secretary, desired that basin health sediment status may be adapted as tool to decipher sediment footprints of the river basin.

The workshop aimed at deliberations with stakeholders in formulating sustainable action plans for sediment management in rivers, reservoir and water bodies.  During the event, presentations were made by subject experts on wide range of topics such as national framework on sediment management, sediment assessment studies, application of geomorphological tools for river morphological health assessment, sedimentation management for national waterways, modeling tools for basin scale assessment of sediment loads etc. States/UT’s of Rajasthan, Kerala, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Odisha shared their experience through interventions on the subject. Central Departments, agencies and academic institutions viz., CWC, National Institute of Hydrology, IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee, CWPRS, NHPC, DVC, MoEF&CC, NRSC made presentations on their expertise.

Academic institutions of IIT R and IIT K spoke about new and Modern Techniques used for assessment of sedimentation rates, volumes and Reservoir Capacity including Bathymetric Survey; Satellite Remote Sensing; Hybrid Method using both Bathymetry and Remote Sensing; and Differential Global Position System (DGPS).  Besides use of geomorphological parameters for quantification of sediment volume and impacts of sediment on morphology of rivers and were presented and discussed. Much emphasis was laid on basic and applied research needed to predict the river response to sediment dredging and understanding the river morphology. Detailed comprehensive investigations and modeling (2D Numerical as well as 3D Physical) integrating GIS techniques are essential for sediment assessment and management