Kerala River Basin Plan: Integrated Water Management for Sustainable Future

Kerala’s River Basin Plan: Protecting a Lifeline

The tiny state of Kerala boasts of a staggering 44 rivers. With around 120-140 rainy days per year, Kerala has a wet and maritime tropical climate with rivers playing a large part in its economy and ecology.

Importance of Rivers in Kerala’s Economy and Ecology

A river basin, as Google says, is the area of land where all the surface water from rain drains into a single river and its tributaries, eventually flowing out to a common outlet like a lake or ocean. These rivers are victims of pollution, degradation, and climate change impacts like floods and droughts.

What is a River Basin?

Understanding River Basin and Its Role in Water Resources

To ensure the survival and thriving of this important lifeline, specific policies and the commitment and determination to follow through are needed at the government level. As a result, Kerala aims to implement Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) through its 14th Five-Year-Plan (2022-2027). "Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) is an approach focusing on the development and management of land, water, and bio-resources in a coordinated manner with the primary aim to ensure society development, which is well balanced from the environmental, economic, and social points of view."

The Role of the Kerala River Commission (KRC)

The Kerala River Commission (KRC) is responsible for planning, monitoring, and overall governance of river basins. Their goal, you may ask. Other than the obvious, reduce pollution and prevent degradation? They aim to use the water optimally for agriculture, hydropower, and industries. They aim to protect land against soil deterioration and rebuild eroded and depleted soils.
Protecting the river basin requires a collective effort from all stakeholders, the common public, industrialists, researchers, and such. Accurate data for the entire water management is needed to accurately utilize, manage, and predict the usage and requirements of the available water. Kerala's rainfall averages 2,923 mm (115 in) annually. While recharging the water bodies, rivers, and the water table, the tropical rains also cause floods, and flash floods can also lead to droughts. Rainfall measurement and flood warning technologies can accurately provide data to mitigate the effects. Robotic and satellite-based monitoring of the transmission lines can detect any clogged or burst pipes that could lead to wastage of millions of liters of water. Measurement of water usage at the end-user level can ensure judicious use of water.

Kerala River Commission (KRC) is responsible for planning, monitoring, and overall governance of river basins. Their goals are

Goals of the River Basin Plan

• Improve water quality
• Prevent degradation of wetlands
• Use water efficiently for agriculture, hydropower, and industries
• Manage floods and droughts

Plan

• Monitor river health, sediment, and water quality
• Flood warning technology
• Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)
• Use SWAT, IQQM for water balance and flow forecasting
• Collaborate with LSGs, NGOs, and Research institutions

The plans are in place, and we should ensure they are being carried out. Saving rivers and wetlands is not just an institutional job. Local communities should actively participate in preventing pollution and exploitation. The outcome we all want is the same- cleaner rivers and better water availability.