The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Project to develop hydrological data bank

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Tuesday, Dec 23, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Project to develop hydrological data bank

Staff Reporter

Programme, taken up in three States, is funded by Water Resources Ministry

Activities include a study of urban hydrology of Chennai city
NIH provided Rs 50 crores under second phase of national Hydrology Project

Kakinada: As part of the development of a National Hydrological Data Bank (NHDB), the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH)’s Delta Regional Centre, Kakinada, has undertaken a detailed hydro-geological study in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Orissa, for which it has been nominated nodal centre.

This project is being funded by the Ministry of Water Resources to evolve `decision support systems’ and conduct certain `purpose driven studies’ in the respective States.

Technical assistance

These activities of the National Institute of Hydrology regional centre include a study of the urban hydrology of Chennai city which is prone to repeated flooding during the monsoon.

The NIH is also developing a flood forecasting model for Batarani river in Orissa, which is likely to be applied to other peninsular rivers in due course.

Besides, the NIH is providing technical assistance to the Indian National Committee on Hydrology which is the apex body vested with the responsibility of coordinating various activities related to hydrology in the country, said National Institute of Hydrology Kakinada Delta Regional Centre Head Y.R. Satyaji Rao.

Mr. Rao said the NIH was provided a total budget of nearly Rs 50 crores for research activities under the second phase of the national Hydrology Project. The Central Water Commission, Central Groundwater Board, Central Water and Power Research Station and India Meteorological Department were some of the institutions NIH was associated with in addition to the Groundwater Department of States.

The ultimate goal of National Institute of Hydrology was to develop an advanced information system for hydrology like the Geographic Information System (GIS) which has become an indispensable part of geographical studies in the country. It is for this purpose that the NIH was building the NHDB which would serve as a ready reckoner for governments and policy makers in finding ways of conserving water resources, optimally utilizing them and meeting contingencies like floods.

To disseminate the technical knowhow, the NIH has recently organized a workshop in Kakinada on `Emerging trends in groundwater management with reference to coastal aquifers’ wherein the participants discussed characterization of hydro geology, assessment of groundwater quantity and quality, seawater intrusion modeling, soft computing tools for groundwater management and remote sensing and GIS applications.

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