A S S I S T E D B Y T H E W O R L D B A N K

January – March, 2010

HYDROLOGY PROJECT-II NEWSLETTER

The importance of HP to India

HYDROLOGY PROJECT-II

Foreword HP-II crucial for India?

This is the first edition of
Hydrology Project Phase-II
(HP-II) newsletter
designed to provide the latest
information on the status of
HP- II as well as an overview of
HP-II activities in the various
agencies while highlighting
specific achievements and
giving a look ahead to upcoming events. We hope that this
newsletter will give the HP-II implementing agencies the
opportunity to learn about developments in other states in
particular and from the rapidly advancing world of hydrology in
general.
In this issue the importance of HP-II is highlighted. There is no
doubt that HP-II is crucial to India. Everybody realises that no
time should be wasted in implementing technologies and
procedures to help avoid floods and drought tragedies and the
HP-II can be a great help in this.
With this in mind I am delighted to see that some of the
agencies are off to a flying start. NIH and BBMB are moving
ahead under HP-II to get India's first Decision Support System,
DSS (Planning) and DSS (Real Time) on the ground.
Maharashtra, one of the most successful states under HP-I, is
determined to build further on their success.
It is important and imperative that these things get highlighted
and disseminated to a wider audience. The most beautiful data
centres could be set-up in the states but if no one knows about it,
they are of no use. So, internal and external awareness
programmes are the need of the day. Perhaps this newsletter
can also function as a template to develop agency-specific
promotional material.
You bet it is!
The objective of HP-II is to develop a
sustainable Hydrological Information
System and make the most efficient
and optimum use of available water
resources so that everyone gets a fair
share of this scarce resource.
When talking about water, people
immediately think of drinking water.
And yes, unfortunately a large number
of people in India still do not have
access to clean drinking water, but this
has more to do with distribution than
with water availability as the 5%
needed for drinking water can always
be found.
The much bigger issue lies with the
development of the country at large.
It is really quite simple: no nation can
develop without adequate water
resources. Virtually every economic
sector needs water. Without water,
you can literally say goodbye to
industrial g rowth and forget
altogether expanding the agricultural
sector.
The sad thing is that water resources
are limited. To make matters worse,
the supply of usable water in India is
under ever-increasing pressure as
demand grows day by day. And where
there is a great demand but limited
supply, you get tussles which in the
worst-case scenario may develop into
war.
the quality of the available water. With
this data, it is possible to ensure that
the water available is optimally used
and distributed.
Water management is fast becoming
one of the most important strategic
inputs between countries.
Essential to water management is data
on water quantity and quality so that
each party can prove what the state of
their water resources is. HP ensures
that India has this information so it
can negotiate the best solutions for
India.
Without information on water, a
scenario as filmed in the block-buster
James Bond film Quantum of Solace
is not far from fiction.
So yes, HP is crucial for India and
plays a crucial role in the life of each
and every Indian, even though most
will never ever be aware of it.
1% Fresh Water
2% Arctic & Antarctic

Limited resources do not have to be

At the same time, your feedback on this newsletter and detrimental if they get managed well 97% In The Sea
suggestions to improve its contents and effectiveness is and distribution is equitable. This is
welcome. Just send an email with your name, title and postal where HP-II comes in - for good
address to dirhp-mowr@nic.in. management, reliable and frequently
updated information is essential.
I appreciate the PCS staff, the TAMC, and all HP-II related staff
who contributed in making this newsletter a reality. Under HP-II, an array of different
types of measuring equipment are
updated and installed on the water
Regards, bodies of thirteen Indian States. This
Umesh Narayan Panjiar measuring equipment allows for the
Secretary MoWR collection of data on the quantity and Global Water Availability

For a free subscription to the HP Newsletter

send us an email to: dirhp-mowr@nic.in
 HYDROLOGY PROJECT-II

What is HP-II and how does it relate to HP-I?

The main objective of Hydrology Project II is
to extend and promote the sustained and
effective use of hydrological information by
all potential users.

This is to be achieved by improving the

existing systems and by developing an
integrated and comprehensive hydrological
data collection and information system in
India.

Hydrology Project Phase II (HP-II) is the

follow-up to the Hydrology Project Phase I
(HP-I) and will be implemented by the
Surface Water (SW) and Ground Water (GW)
departments in 13 states and 8 central
agencies.

Of the 13 states, nine were already part of

HP-I namely Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu.

In addition, four new states joined in HP-II:

Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Puducherry and
Punjab.

Besides the states, the following eight central

agencies are involved in HP-II:

• Ministry of Water Resources

• Central Water Commission
• Central Ground Water Board
• National Institute of Hydrology
• Central Water and Power Research
Station
• India Meteorological Department
• Central Pollution Control Board
• Bhakra Beas Management Board

The project has three main components:

1. Institutional strengthening by
consolidating the activities set up under
HP-I including the setting up of
awa r e n e s s - r a i s i n g p r o g r a m m e s,
encouraging the dissemination and
sharing of knowledge and by imple-
3. Horizontal expansion by supporting the
menting support.
upgrading and the further establishment of
2. Ver tical extension through the the data collection network in new states, the
advancement of hydrological design expansion of data processing and
aids, the development of decision management systems and by setting up and
support systems, both Planning & Real-
time, and the implementation of executing purpose-driven studies and
purpose-driven studies. training.

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HYDROLOGY PROJECT-II

An introduction to HP-II
Project Coordinating Secretariat

“The states that show an interest, those

that apply their minds to the issues, we will
support but they need to perform to get
our support.”
Umesh Narayan Panjiar
Secretary MoWR

Umesh Narayan Panjiar, Secretary MoWR

Narender Kumar
Project Co-ordinator HP-II
& Commissioner (B&B)

Ramesh Grover S.P. S. Chauhan

Sr. Jt. Commissioner Sr. Jt. Commissioner
& Dy. Project Co-ordinator

S.K. Gaur
H.S. Sengar R.K. Kanodia Avanish Kant A.K Dwivedi Dedicated
Deputy Commissioner Deputy Commissioner-II Sr. Hydrogeologist Scientist-C Finance Desk

Please feel free to contact the PCS at:

Mohan Singh Place, 5th floor Baba Kharag Singh Marg, New Delhi 110 001
Tel: 011-2336 0353, 2334 0793 / 0787 / 0794
http://hydrology-project.gov.in

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 HYDROLOGY PROJECT-II

Technical Assistance &

Management Consultants (TAMC)
The main support for the Project
Co-ordination Secretariate (PCS) in the co-
ordination of the work for the Hydrology
Project is the Technical Assistance and
Management Consultants (TAMC).
The TAMC is drawn from the resources of
the major international consultancy company,
Mott MacDonald, with its partners, which
include Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
and the British Geological Survey, along with
DHI and local consultants-TCS and ORG
(who were part of the HP-I)
The role of the TAMC is to provide technical
and management support in project
implementation, with expertise in a range of
subjects (hydrology, groundwater, data
management, GIS, institutional development
and management for example) available to
provide assistance to the PCS and all
implementing agencies.
The TAMC team is led by Stephen B. Parsons,
a full-time team leader with previous
experience in India and South Asia plus
extensive experience in trans-boundary river
basin management projects. He is supported
by the TAMC team:
• R. K. Visvanath, Procurement Specialist
• Dr O. Minocha, Training Coordinator
and Specialist Advisor
• B. L. Moza, Financial Management
Expert
• Narayan Bhat, Change
Management.Expert
• A. Subramanyam, Hydrogeologist
• Rajat Kumar, IT Specialist, and his team
from TCS
• Hydrological and groundwater experts
and supporting staff
The TAMC team of experts are stationed in
the PCS office in Mohan Singh Place in New
Delhi, and are happy to respond to all
requests for advice and assistance!
Contact the Team Leader, TAMC
email: stephen_b_parsons@yahoo.co.uk
Tel:011-43724385

National Institute of Hydrology &

Decision Support System Planning Consultants
Together with the National Institute of
Hydrology in Roorkee (NIH), DHI, a
consultancy from Denmark, will be
collaborating under the Hydrology Project to
implement Decisions Support Systems
(DSS), Planning.
DSS-P will provide the authorities with a tool
to utilise the available water resources in a
sustainable manner. DSS-P ensures coherent
planning and efficient management of the
resources.
Among the nine case study basins that come
under the Hydrology Project, the Upper
Bhima in Maharashtra has been selected for
the first implementation of a DSS-P. The
Upper Bhima Basin up to the Ujjani dam has a
catchment area of 14,712 square km.
Setting up a DSS in this basin will help
improve the efficiency of water use, where
increasing urban requirements are competing
with irrigation demands. Possible solutions
will be tested for the alleviation of drought
and overexploitation of groundwater, which
is seen in parts of the basin.
Floods also occur, both within and
downstream of the Upper Bhima, and a DSS
will help describe the trade-off between
operating the eighteen reservoirs for flood
control and ensuring the highest possible
storage at the end of the monsoon. A good
DSS would also help to mitigate Pollution
level seen in the Ujjani reservoir from
upstream sources.
An important objective of the project is to
ensure sufficient capacity in the states to apply
the DSS and set up the associated models for
other basins independently. NIH and DHI
are therefore initiating training courses at
NIH, Roorkee. The first course will focus on
rainfall-runoff and river basin modeling.

For further information, please contact: Director R.D. Singh of NIH on

telephone: 01332 272 905 or the DHI project team leader Hans Christian
Ammentorp at: hca@dhigroup.com

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HYDROLOGY PROJECT-II
Bhakra & Beas Management Board and Real
Time Decision Support System consultants
The Bhakra Beas Management Board
(BBMB) is one of the new agencies under
HP-II which has entered into the real time
DSS consultancy with Danish Hydraulic
Institute (DHI) of Denmark. It is the first of
its kind in India.
In 1960 an agreement was reached between
India and Pakistan and the Indus Water Treaty
was signed which apportioned the entire
waters of three eastern rivers namely Sutlej,
Beas and Ravi for its exclusive use of India
and those of western rivers namely the Indus,
Jhelum and Chenab to Pakistan
To manage the water bodies effectively, in
1976 the Bhakra Beas Management Board
was set up and entrusted with the
responsibility to operate, regulate and manage
both reservoirs and the rivers in terms of
water and power.
Over the year, the BBMB has been managing
an integrated water system which ensured that
the water from the eastern rivers are used to
the maximum extent.
As the rivers flow through the states, through
various inter-state agreements, the BBMB has
Bhima Basin (Maharashtra) – Pilot Study for DSS
The geographical area of Maharashtra is
307.71 thousand square km which is mainly
covered by the basins of Krishna, Godavari,
Tapi and the west flowing rivers of the
Konkan strip. In addition, in the north a small
part falls in the Narmada Basin. The Bhima
and Krishna are the major rivers of south
Maharashtra (Krishna basin).
Maharashtra gets rain both from south-west
and north-east monsoon winds and it tends to
be highly variable ranging from 400 to 6000
mm within a four month period between
June to September with the number of rainy
days varying between 40 to 100. In the
Krishna river sub-basin, the Sangli and
Kolhapur districts are frequently and
extensively flooded because of flood flowing
Krishna, Warna, Koyna and Panchaganga
rivers. The cities of Sangli, Kolhapur,
Kurundwad, Patan and Karad tend to be
worst affected. Similarly, heavy floods occur
in the Bhima sub-basin inundating important
6
a pan-state approach whereby the aim is to
balance supply on the basis of water
availability and state requirements.
CHAIRMAN’S VISION
“Within BBMB we work with different
states but we all work together as if we are
one. I want to use the HP to increase
transparency and to ensure sustainability.
If we can show that it can be done, States
will follow, I am 100% sure that they will
follow.”
In addition, the BBMB, with 2,864.73
megawatt generating capacity, also regulates
the supply of power generated at the power
houses of Bhakra Nangal Project and Beas
Projects to the states of Punjab, Haryana,
Rajasthan, Chandigarh and to some common
production consumers.
The regulation process of reservoirs involves
assimilation of decision support data,
decision making, and implementation of
decisions taken on long term (seasonal),
short term as well as day to day basis. Now
we are getting into real HP territory.
cities such as Pune, Daund, Shripur and
Pandharpur. Floods have caused heavy
damage to the life, property and crops.
The reservoirs in Maharashtra are operated
with rigid schedules as a single entity based on
the historical hydro-meteorological data and
experience gained. These methods are often
not adequate for establishing optimal
operation decisions and especially in the
integrated operation of multi-purpose multi-
reservoirs it is difficult to get things right.
Under the Hydrology Project, the BBMB will
develop a Decision Support System, con-
sisting of information systems linked to
appropriate models to promote the use of the
data generated by the Hydrological
Information System (HIS) to better support
decision making. Specifically for the BBMB
the focus will be on developing a real-time
Decision Supporting System (DSS), the first
in the country.
The development of DSS on real-time will
use the latest technology which requires
massive collaboration with a number of
agencies in various related fields.
The signing of an MoU with the Himachal
Government for sharing of data under HP-II
and the MoUs under consideration with the
academic institutions, National Centre for
Medium Range Weather Forecasting and the
hydropower developers in the Sutlej and Beas
basins for the sharing of meteorological
stations are some of the concrete steps that
BBMB has taken.
Manual data observation and transmission
results are sent out only periodically resulting
in considerable time lags between data
observed in field and its communication to
decision-making level which sometime leaves
little time to issue flood forecasting, let alone
flood the warning.
Under the Hydrolog y Project, the
Government of Maharashtra will be
establishing a real-time data acquisition
system with a flood forecasting network in the
Krishna river basin and the Bhima sub-basins.
AQUISITION TARGETS FOR THE Cost in INR
KRISHNA AND BHIMA BASIN (million)
- Real-time data acquisition system 125
- Real-time DSS consultancy for flood 125
forecasting (including: software,
testing, calibration and training)
- Supporting civil works 25
- Supporting goods (including: IT, 25
hardware, database, etc.)
TOTAL 300
 HYDROLOGY PROJECT-II

V. V. Gaikwad
Secretary (WR) WRD, GoM
For real-time to be successful your observation network should always work. You can A.K. Jain, IAS
do this by creating super-experts. They should know everything about the equipment;
Principal Secretary
how to read it, how to maintain it, how to service it and how to repair it. They are fully
responsible. So there can be no excuses. Only then you can have a reliable real-time Water Supply and Sanitation
system.
Mark Heggli, President
Innovative Hydrology & DHI consultant

Maharashtra Water Resources Management:

where commitment and drive make the difference
The first thing you notice when you visit the Under HP-II the departments are planning to pollution.
water resources departments in Maharashtra expand this data-sharing even further. The
is their ambition. Even before you speak to department is planning to set up internet At the moment these are just warning cards,
anybody you sense an enormous degree of kiosks in all villages which will allow anybody but as under HP-II more and more real-time
organisation and everything being under to come in and check on-line what the current data will become available, Maharashtra is
control. hydrological situation based on the latest planning to link performance at village
available data. level to financial incentives and this way
Under HP-I, the whole network of But to dance the tango you need a partner so make communities integrated partners in
observation stations has been improved and departments expect something in return from water management.
expanded. the general public. Department is planning to
make local Communities responsible for the Hydrology Data Users Groups
A website was developed on which upkeep of monitoring stations and to Maharashtra was quick to realise the importance
hydrological data was supplied and updated as manage and improve their water resources. of involving all stake-holders and already set up
frequently as the data collected in (see: Hydrology Data User Groups (HDUG). Under
www.mahahp.org). By enhancing its In the field of water quality this is already put HP-I now in 2009 they have nearly 1500 active
communications with media, it managed to in action. Taking a cue from football, the HDUG members across a range of stake-
get a column in about every Maharashtrian departments issue green cards to those holders.
newspaper and hydrology data is now communities where the water quality is good
published almost daily. and red cards where the statistics indicate Interestingly, in Maharashtra everybody can
become an HDUG member but Maharashtra
demands active and especially overall
involvement. So anybody who wants to be part
EXCELLENT INITIATIVE! of an HDUG has to take an oath in which they
To plan for the optimal use of water resources, for every new project in Maharashtra pledge that they will always treat water with
respect, conserve it whenever possible and
that will use more than 0.15 Mcum of water, it is mandatory to obtain a water prevent water pollution.
availability certificate before they can start operations.

The responsibility of issuing such certificates is assigned to the Chief Engineer of

the Hydrology Project in Nashik. The certificates are based upon the water quantity
using hydro- meteorological data generated under the Hydrology Project. The
Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority will only clear new projects if
they have such certificates as well as design notes issued by Hydrology Project.

Since December 2003, 713 certificates have been issued and 382 proposals have
been rejected on the basis of non- availability of water or incomplete hydrological
studies. H. T. Mendhegiri, Chief Engineer
Hydrology Project (Surface Water)

7
HYDROLOGY PROJECT-II

Courtesy: Hindustan Times

Is your child a hydrologist in the bud?

As a parent, the future of your children is
surely your main concern. How will you make
sure they will be able to face the big world with
all its challenges? Most parents place
enormous emphasis on education and rightly
so, but when it comes to career choice it is not
easy to advise a child.

Most teenagers dream of jobs that are

glamorous, offer high salaries (quickly) and
will give them a chance to travel the world.
Until recently the answer was “Go and do an
MBA”.

But since the current global meltdown, MBA

education gets a lot of stick. To say that
greedy, arrogant MBAers are solely
responsible for the current economic troubles
is perhaps a bit much but it seems that MBA
education has not escaped totally without
blame.
As we all know, the world over there are
problems with water. Hydrologists are
necessary everywhere, in developing as well as
developed nations. The fact of the matter is
that there is not a single country without water
troubles and hence a hydrologist with a good
command in English can work wherever he or
she fancies.
Even for those who decide to work in India,
there are plenty of travel opportunities
because water dilemmas are a global
phenomenon, and there are also many
international conferences and seminars worth
attending.
Governmental agencies, corporates and
international organisations like the World
Bank all need hydrologists. As a result,
hydrologists can chose what they want to be,
be it industrial consultants, government
officers, university professors or scientific
researchers. The beauty of it is that due to the
enormous shortages of hydrologists, salaries
are pretty good, while job competition is low
and job security high.
In the next few years, employment
opportunities are expected to grow at least
25% globally and even more in India. Many of
these openings will involve consulting for the
private sector which offers great earning
potential.
Also in the longer term the future is bright for
hydrologists, especially for those with master
degrees. And the best is that additional
courses do not have to cost the earth because
since there is such a demand for hydrologists,
there many grants available.

Hydrology Project II, Mohan Singh Place (5th floor), Baba Kharag Singh Marg, Connaught Place, New Delhi - 110 001
Tel: 011-23747060 / 4752, Fax: 011-23340787, Email: dirhp-mowr@nic.in, Web: http://hydrology-project.gov.in