Spring-shed development for rejuvenating ground water in State

SHILLONG: The State Soil and Water Conservation department is working on a spring-shed development programme aimed at increasing the discharge of the springs besides increasing the duration of discharge.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, Director of Soil and Water Conservation, D Langstieh said that the department is currently in the process of mapping the springs which can be brought under the purview of the project.
The project would be of great help in rejuvenating the ground water system since at the moment most of the water is wasted.
“The idea to come up with the programme was mooted as over the years, many of the springs have dried up or become seasonal and the discharge during the lean season has declined drastically. This has reduced the “sponge action” of the land and consequently limited rainwater percolating down creating a hydrological imbalance in some of the watersheds,” Langstieh informed.
The programme has been implemented successfully in Sikkim where the Government has covered 400 hectares of land under spring-shed development programme with a total investment of Rs 2.5 crore resulting in an annual ground water recharge of 900 mn litres.