Gujarat has one of the longest coastlines of 1600 kms which is about one third of the total coastline of the country. Out of this more than 1100 km is in Saurashtra and Kutch. Coastal areas have always occupied an important place as centers of urbanisation and industrial growth. Of late the development of minor and major ports along the coast has assumed importance, and will have a pressure of growth in the coming times. The low lying coastal areas are also important areas of agricultural production. Uncontrolled usage of ground water resources often leads to seawater ingress.

In Gujarat the problem of salinity ingress was first detected in late sixties and early seventies after huge pumping took place through oil engines by farmers in coastal areas. The situation was examined by a committee of the state in 1974-75 which suggested remedial measures. There are manifestations of problems caused by the disruption of the natural hydrological balance between fresh water and seawater in coastal areas. In coastal aquifers, fresh water outflows usually ride a heavier saline water wedge. Any decrease in the pressure of freshwater, such as that caused by over extraction leads to an upward and inward movement of the seawater wedge, which renders a larger part of the aquifer saline. During high tides also seawater enters through streams, rivers, creeks and percolates into the ground spoiling the quality of ground water. It is estimated that 7lakh ha of coastal land in Saurashtra is in the process of loosing its fertility because of salinity problem. This loss of agricultural fertility has adversely affected the economic condition of the people in the region.

Unlike the coastal areas of Saurashtra and Kutch, the coastal areas of Khambhat and South Gujarat have inherent salinity, because these coasts are formed by the receding of the sea due to deposition of silt and clay materials brought by the flooded rivers. Lime-stone mining in Saurashtra have also led to seawater ingress which is an irreversible loss.

Due to the cavernous nature of the geological formations near the coast, the ingression of salinity has gone deep laterally. Ground water resources in many areas have turned saline and providing potable water to the people has become a challenge for the water supply department.

Water Supply in Coastal Areas:

Over the years the problem of salinity ingress has affected 38 coastal talukas of 12 districts in the state. A total of 2542 villages are affected either by dynamic salinity or inherent salinity. The situation of drinking water in these villages has worsened inspite of efforts to provide water through pipelines from faraway surface water reservoirs. Many voluntary and Non-Government Organisations are working for better management of the water resources. Water and sanitation Management Organisation (WASMO) has also taken up the issue to provide safe, sustainable and assured drinking water supply to the people of coastal areas.

In this direction an initiative was taken by Arid Communities and Technology (ACT) along with Sahjeevan during May-July 2005 in Abdasa taluka of Kutch in collaboration with WASMO. The taluka was experiencing severe salinity problems. The villages were categorized as very bad, bad, medium, good and very good. A detailed local geo-hydrological study was done for all the villages. The alternatives suggested were a combination of wells, tanks and other traditional water sources. There was a series of renovations of old structures, constructions of new structures and distribution system. For example in Naliya groundwater quality was an issue so a percolation tank was constructed along with a recharge well and pits to increase the recharge rate. This demonstrated that by developing decentralised drinking water sources, sustainability can be achieved at the village level.

With this successful initiative Government of Gujarat is now preparing a plan for drinking water in the coastal areas to assure its habitat adequate, regular and safe drinking water. In the first stage, seven talukas have been considered for the study with the help of the local NGOs. They are the following:

 

S.N.	Taluka	District	NGOs
1.	Mangrol	Junagadh	AKRSP (I)
2.	Kodinar	Amreli	Ambuja Cement Foundation
3.	Vagra	Bharuch	Vikas Center for Development
4.	Hansot	Bharuch	Vikas Center for Development
5.	Okha	Jamnagar	Tata Chemicial Society for Rural Development
6.	Kalyanpur	Jamnagar	Center for Development Alternatives
7.	Khambhat	Anand	International Water Management Institute
8.	Mahuva	Bhavnagar	Coastal Salinity Prevention Cell
9.	Jafrabad	Amreli	Coastal Salinity Prevention Cell

Based on a detailed geo-hydrological survey of the villages an action oriented proposal has been submitted to develop an alternative source. The methodology to be adopted will be to allocate the villages under the Swajaldhara programme then prepare a Village Action Plan. This will be followed up with community mobilisation and each village will develop a local source which is potable. All of the above will be done in a fixed time frame. To monitor the progress on a monthly basis, a committee under the chairmanship of Chief Executive Officer, WASMO has been formed.

Some of the alternative methodologies presented by the NGO’s are:

1. Roof Water Harvesting

2. Recharging ground water for the improvement of water supply and its quality

3. Revitalizing water bodies

4. Sealing of saline aquifer in the wells

5. Storm Water Collection

6. RO method

7. Solar desalinisation

All the NGOs involved will not only emphasise on the technical aspect while working on the salinity issue but will take care of socio-economic component too so that an overall development of the village takes place. Alternative methodologies have been suggested to make the ideas feasible economically, e.g. setting up of RO plants in severely hit areas, it can be solar run where electricity is an issue and later villagers can sell this water for commercial purposes which can cross-subsidise the cost of poor villagers.

The situation is dynamic in these coastal areas so there should be multiple local sources available for drinking water. Along with the existing programmes we need to consider other alternative ideas for providing regular water which is safe and in adequate quantity. The severity of the problems is understood by the villagers hence they are prepared to contribute. Therefore it is an appropriate time to go ahead with the project where the community is ready to contribute and government is serious about its intention of providing safe drinking water in the saline coastal regions of Gujarat.