8: Step 5: Developing Springshed Management and Governance Protocols

Figure 46: Construction of staggered trenches for spring recharge

a) Diagram of layout b) Staggered trenches across grassland

Figure 47: Semicircular or eyebrow pits to hold water and facilitate infiltration

Triangular pits
Figure 48: Triangular pits
Triangular pits are used to trap snow to reduce
evaporation and increase percolation. The dug out
soil is piled on the sunny side to form a berm or bund
in which seeds can be planted (Figure 48) (Bhuchar et
al., 2009).

Soil and stone bunds

A bund is a continuous raised mound constructed in a
long line to keep back water (Figure 49). Bunds help
to increase infiltration and keep back eroded soil.
They are easy to build but need more effort to maintain. Bunds can be combined with trenches (Figure 49a) and
fodder or other crops can be planted along the top. Stone bunds can be constructed if stones are available (Figure
49b) (WOCAT, 2011).

Check dams
Check dams are small structures constructed from loose stone and gabion masonry across a gully or channel to
slow water flow and prevent the gully deepening further (Figure 50). The structures also help increase infiltration
along the gullies. Loose check dams can be combined with vegetative measures (bio-engineering) which further
increases water retention and infiltration.

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 Protocol for Reviving Springs in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: A Practitioner’s Manual

Figure 49: Different types of bund

a) Soil bund along a contour combined with a trench b) Stone bunds

Figure 50: Check dams constructed along gullies to control erosion and increase infiltration

Vegetative measures
Afforestation and forest management
Deforestation and unsustainable forest management is one of the causes of springs drying up. Sustainable forest
management and afforestation of degraded land with appropriate species are important for reducing runoff,
increasing infiltration, and enhancing recharge. Species should be selected for afforestation that demand less water,
have water saving strategies, and support undergrowth. For example, native deciduous species which shed their
leaves during the dry season can further enhance recharge. Intermediate tree cover is generally better than dense
tree cover as transpiration is lower. There should be a complete ban on using fire in recharge areas.

Hedgerows
Sloping agricultural land technology – contour hedgerows – can be used to construct terraces naturally that hold
back water. Fast-growing nitrogen-fixing tree or shrub species are planted along contour lines to create a living
barrier that traps sediment and gradually transforms the sloping land to terraces (Figure 51). The terraces are used
to grow crops, fruit, or fodder. The hedgerows reduce runoff and soil erosion and improve infiltration. This approach
combines the strength of terracing with the strengths of natural vegetation.

42
 8: Step 5: Developing Springshed Management and Governance Protocols

Palisades (live check dams) Figure 51: Sloping agricultural land technology
A palisade is a fence or wall made from live wood with crops in the alleyways at ICIMOD’s
Knowledge Park
cuttings planted in lines across a slope following
the contour in order to trap soil and debris moving
down the slope and increase infiltration (Figure 52).
The cuttings grow to form a dense, stable wall of
vegetation.

Brush layering
In brush layering, live woody cuttings are laid in lines
across a slope with soil in between following the
contours (Figure 53). As the roots grow, they anchor
and reinforce the upper soil layers while the foliage
traps debris. Brush layering can be used for well-
drained slopes of less than 45°. The structures reduce
runoff velocity and increase infiltration. Figure 52: Palisades to control erosion and improve
infiltration
Agronomic measures (sustainable
agriculture)
Organic matter in soil increases the presence of soil
cavities and acts as a sponge for water. Soil rich in
organic matter preserves moisture longer. There are
a range of agronomic techniques that can be used
to improve the structure of top soil and increase
moisture capacity including mulching, adding
compost, and minimum tillage. These techniques also
slow the water flow allowing more time for infiltration
(Figure 54).

Management measures Figure 53: Brush layering across slopes along a contour

Wetlands and grazing land management

If wetlands are present in the recharge area, they
must be protected and/or restored. There should
be no grazing in the recharge area. Overgrazing
leads to soil depletion which reduces soil infiltration.
If a complete grazing ban is difficult, options like
restricting stocking density and rotational and
deferred grazing should be promoted. Simple fencing
around the springshed will help to protect it from
further deterioration (Figure 55).

Eco-safe roads
Steep slopes and weak rock are subject to erosion and landslides, which degrade the groundwater recharge
capacity. Although erosion and landslides are caused by extreme natural events (e.g. heavy rainfall), they are often
aggravated by human activities such as road construction. Eco-safe methods which combine vegetative and low cost
structural measures should be used when constructing rural roads (Devkota et al., 2014). Various bio-engineering
techniques can be used to hinder landslides such as grass planting, palisades, fascines, and wattle fences, based on
a landslide survey and assessment (DSCWM, 2016).

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 Protocol for Reviving Springs in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: A Practitioner’s Manual

Figure 54: Agronomic measures promoting infiltration

a) Minimum tillage b) Mulching – spreading of plant material or organic matter (here

straw) around the base of plants

Figure 55: Management measures for springshed protection

a) Rotational grazing, a sustainable land management practice b) Fencing of springshed

Combined measures
The measures described above can be combined in a comprehensive springshed management approach. For
example, combining eyebrow pits or trenches with tree plantation in alternative rows can be highly effective to
increase infiltration (Figure 56) (ICIMOD, 2008a). These measures can be complemented with other measures like
solar energy technologies, improved stoves, fodder cultivation on private lands, and roof rainwater harvesting to
reduce the dependence on recharge areas for ecosystem goods and services.

Figure 56: A combination of trenches, eyebrow pits and tree plantation to harvest surface runoff and increase
infiltration

Species along eyebrows

and trenches
1. Stylo Hedgerows species:
2. Gini grass 1. Sunhemp
3. Moth napier (cutting) Tree species:
1. Painyu 2. Tephrocia
4. Mollasses 3. Tithonia
5. Signal (cutting) 2. Champ
3. Bakaino 4. Flemingia
6. Pumpa
7. Jointvetch 4. Chilaune
5. Lapsi Continue up to 24 rows
8. Stylo

44
 8: Step 5: Developing Springshed Management and Governance Protocols

Social Measures for Springshed Management

Some of the important social protocols for springshed management are as follows:

• Keeping the recharge area and spring surrounding clear of open defecation, garbage, solid waste, and others
• Construction of a spring box to prevent surface water flowing directly into the spring
• Use of clean utensils to draw water from the spring
• No construction of toilets in demarcated recharge area or near springs
• No application of chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides) in the recharge area or near the spring; replace with eco-
friendly methods like composting and integrated pest management
• No cutting of trees in the demarcated ‘Protection and Recharge’ area
• Keeping the area around the spring clean and green

Ways to Improve Springshed Management Governance

It is important to have local systems based on good governance principles that facilitate and control decision
making with regards to spring water use and spring resource management. The local systems may comprise the
following:

• Formation of spring water user groups for springs and recharge area management. All castes and groups of
different social/economic status should be included in the group, and women’s participation encouraged.
• Spring water user groups should have written rules and regulations for spring water management, and penalties
for violations of rules.
• A community fund should be established with a nominal monetary contribution once every three months from
each household. This is important to ensure that the recurrent costs for maintenance and management of springs
and recharge structures can be covered in a sustainable manner.
• Spring discharge, water quality, and rainfall should be monitored regularly to assess the impact of springshed
management protocols.
• A yearly water balance should be calculated based on spring discharge and rainfall data to facilitate equitable
distribution of spring water.

Planning and Implementation

The planning and implementation of springshed management and governance protocols requires good community
mobilization for motivating and convincing land users to invest in, and maintain, spring recharge measures. Social
mobilization is also necessary for ensuring gender and social equity and for conflict resolution during the process
of designing and implementing protocols. Moreover, the effectiveness and efficiency of the recharge measures are
ensured if the technical measures are selected and applied based on proper survey, design, and cost estimations,
and when there is coordination between the relevant programmes of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, animal
husbandry, infrastructure development, soil and water conservation, and others. Therefore, the implementation of
Step 5 demands an interdisciplinary and gender balanced team of social and technical persons with knowledge of
the local contexts.

Resources Needed
Table 12 gives a summary of the skills (human resources) and instruments (hardware, software) required to carry out
the tasks outlined in Step 5.

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 Protocol for Reviving Springs in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: A Practitioner’s Manual

Table 12: Summary of requirements for Step 5

Types of skill needed Objective Time estimate

Soil and water conservation expert Selection of appropriate measures for different 3–4 hours per site during selection of
land use types, technical inputs to field technician measures
1–2 hours per day per site to provide
technical inputs to field technician during
implementation
Soil and water conservation field To supervise and provide technical inputs 7–10 days per site
technician to communities and implementers during
establishment of recharge measures, and arrange
tools and material
Community mobilizer To discuss with farmers and local authorities 3–4 days per site
to acquire land where measures are to be
implemented, to arrange tools and material
Unskilled labour (about 10–15) To work on the ground Usually around 7–10 days per site (but
depends on area of recharge zone to be
covered and measures to be implemented)
Tools and material Tools for technician: measuring tape,
(Number/amount of tools and clino-compass (one per site)
material required depends on size Tools for structural and vegetative measures:
of intervention area and measures A-frame to make contour lines, rope, white powder
adopted) or ash; spade, shovel, hoe, pick
Material for vegetative and agronomic measures:
planting material (seeds/plant cuttings, seedlings),
locally available biological mulching material such
as straw, plant residues, stones, empty sacks

46
 9: Step 6: Measuring the Impact of Spring Revival Activities

9 Step 6: Measuring the Impact of Spring

Revival Activities

Types of Impact of Spring Revival Activities

The impacts of springshed management are manifested in various forms. They range from a simple increase
in spring discharge to improved equity and efficiency in the use of spring water. Continued monitoring of the
springshed activities described in the various steps above is necessary to correctly gauge and understand the
impacts of a springshed management programme. Springshed management impacts can be broadly categorized
into changes in:
• the resource (aquifers) feeding the spring system
• the supply of spring water to users
Figure 57: Hydrographs reflecting spring discharge
• the demand for spring water for different types of spring and the
change following completion of springshed
Figure 57 shows a typical example: the impact on management work at the end of the
spring discharge after a year for different types baseline year
of spring in an area with a spring management 200 Low discharge, seasonal
Highly fluctuating, seasonal
180
programme. High discharge, fluctuating perennial
Moderate constant discharge, perennial
160
140
Impacts on resource (aquifers) 120
Discharge in lpm

The impacts on the resource result from changes in 100

Baseline year Impact year
80
the quantity of water available to the spring from the
60
aquifer due to improvements in one or more of the
40
following: 20
• The quantity of water stored in the aquifer which is 0
Apr/15

Jul/15

Oct/15

Jan/16

May/16

Aug/16

Nov/16

Mar/17

Jun/17
reflected in an increase in spring discharge
• The quality of water stored in the aquifer which is
reflected in improved spring-water quality Month

• Better management of the recharge area – it is protected, litter free, and rules and norms for land use in the
recharge area are well laid out

Improved supply of spring water

Supply, including access to spring water and/or distribution, can be improved through appropriate engineering
systems, improved access points, and better protocols for managing spring tanks and distributing water equitably
and efficiently to communities. Adequate attention should be paid to both engineering design and social equity
when constructing any civil engineering structures, in order to ensure that socially marginalized populations also
benefit from these investments.

Improved demand management for spring water

Social norms can be established regarding conservation measures, protection of recharge zones, and rules in
accessing spring water, as well as practices that reduce wastage and contamination at the source.

Measuring Impacts
Measuring hydrological impacts
Step 2 (Chapter 4) describes the setting up of a long-term monitoring system for selected springs. The data from this
system should be used to measure the hydrological impacts of the spring revival activities. The impact is measured

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 Protocol for Reviving Springs in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: A Practitioner’s Manual

by comparison with the baseline situation as well as comparison with a comparable ‘non-intervention’ situation. For
example, 20 springs are being monitored in a programme, but only four have undergone intervention for spring
revival. The discharge of these four is plotted before and after intervention, together with rainfall, to identify any
increase in discharge giving a ‘before-after’ comparison. Figure 58 shows a typical hydrograph plot for ‘Spring A’
illustrating an increase in discharge during the dry season after an intervention.

Figure 58: Hydrograph of Spring A showing an increase in discharge after intervention

SPRING - A
800 18
Intervention period
700 16

600 14
12
500
Monthly rainfall (mm)

Discharge (lpm)
10
400
8
300
6
200
4
100 2
0 0
Jun 2015

Jul 2015

Aug 2015

Sep 2015

Oct 2015

Nov 2015

Dec 2015

Jan 2016

Feb 2016

Mar 2016

Apr 2016

May 2016

Jun 2016

Jul 2016

Aug 2016

Sep 2016

Oct 2016

Nov 2016

Dec 2016

Jan 2017

Feb 2017

Mar 2017

Apr 2017

May 2017

Jun 2017

Jul 2017

Aug 2017

Sep 2017

Oct 2017

Nov 2017

Dec 2017

Jan 2018

Feb 2018
Date

A few of the other non-intervention springs with similar hydrogeology and typology and in a similar area (especially
in terms of rainfall) are selected (‘control springs’), and their hydrographs compared with those from the springs
with intervention. This provides an approximate ‘with-without’ comparison. For example, Figure 59 shows the
hydrographs from two springs situated in a similar hydrogeological setting and located on the same topographic
slope: treated Spring B and control Spring C. The discharge from Spring B has risen noticeably, while that from
Spring C has not. These examples show the importance of hydrological data for monitoring impacts.

Measuring socio-economic impacts

Step 3 (Chapter 5) describes the collection of various types of socio-economic data through instruments like FGDs,
KIIs, and questionnaire surveys. The data collection exercise should be repeated post-intervention in Step 6 to gather
evidence about the impact of the intervention on water access for local people. Again, this analysis can be carried
out in terms of a ‘before-after’ and ‘with-without’ comparison.

Resources Needed
Resources needed are same as in Step 2 where spring discharge and water quality are monitored and Step 3, where
we conduct socio-economic surveys, FGDs and KIIs to understand people’s perception on various issues, including
that of adequacy and reliability of spring water availability and its quality.

48
 Monthly rainfall (mm) Monthly rainfall (mm)

b
a

0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
Jun 2015
Jun 2015
Jul 2015
Jul 2015
Aug 2015
Aug 2015
Sep 2015

Rainfall
Sep 2015
Oct 2015
Oct 2015
Nov 2015
Nov 2015
Dec 2015
Dec 2015
Jan 2016
Jan 2016
Intervention period

Feb 2016

Discharge
Feb 2016
Mar 2016
Mar 2016
Apr 2016
Apr 2016
May 2016
May 2016
Jun 2016
Jun 2016
Jul 2016
Jul 2016
Aug 2016
Aug 2016
Sep 2016
Sep 2016
Oct 2016

Date
Date

Oct 2016
Nov 2016
Nov 2016
SPRING - B

SPRING - C
Dec 2016
Dec 2016
Jan 2017
Jan 2017
Feb 2017
Feb 2017
Mar 2017
Mar 2017
Apr 2017
Apr 2017
May 2017
May 2017
Jun 2017
Jun 2017
Jul 2017
Jul 2017
Aug 2017
Figure 59: Hydrographs of (a) treated spring (Spring B) and (b) control spring (Spring C)

Aug 2017
Sep 2017
Sep 2017
Oct 2017
Oct 2017
Nov 2017
Nov 2017
Dec 2017
Dec 2017
Jan 2018
Jan 2018
Feb 2018
Feb 2018
0
2
4
6
8
0
2
4
6
8

10
12
14
16
18
10
12
14
16
18

Discharge (lpm) Discharge (lpm)

9: Step 6: Measuring the Impact of Spring Revival Activities

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 Protocol for Reviving Springs in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: A Practitioner’s Manual

10 The Way Forward

Hydrogeological science should form the basis for any work related to watershed or springshed management,
in fact for any work on groundwater. The location and extent of recharge areas are governed purely by the local
hydrogeology and not by administrative or socio­economic boundaries. The complex geology, spring discharge
locations, and site specific recharge areas force a shift in perspective in studies dealing with spring water away from
the classical ‘ridge to valley to contiguous valley’ approach. It requires a paradigm shift in the way we think about
watersheds and springsheds. It is essential to raise awareness in the local community about the role of hydrogeology
in governing recharge areas, the importance of protecting recharge areas, and the importance of collecting data
on spring water to inform planning. Both the spring source and the underlying aquifer should be considered as
‘common pool resources’ and managed accordingly.

In terms of implementation, there are two proven ways of moving forward. The first is the government led
implementation model. So, far, several states in India have taken up programmes for spring revival. Sikkim has
been a pioneer and most of the other states have followed the Sikkim model, whereby a nodal government agency
(RM&DD in Sikkim) is in charge of implementation of the spring recharge programme, in collaboration with a host
of other civil society and scientific organizations. For example, ACWADAM in partnership with People’s Science
Institute (PSI) and Central Himalayan Rural Action Group (CHIRAG), has provided basic training in hydrogeology
to all such state government implementing agencies. Work on similar lines to Sikkim has commenced in the Indian
states of West Bengal and Meghalaya. These states have, in turn, leveraged funds from other national programmes,
such as MGNREGS, for involving communities in digging recharge structures and paying them based on national
wage norms. Bhutan also plans to embark on a national spring revival programme along similar lines, whereby it
will impart training to field staff in its watershed management and forestry divisions to identify recharge areas using
field geology, and then implement recharge interventions in identified recharge areas through existing government
programmes. This state-led model of implementation, when done in conjunction with other knowledge and
implementing partners, has proved to be both successful and scalable. However, the majority of these programmes
do not maintain long-term databases on spring discharge before and after intervention, and it is difficult to carry out
a rigorous evaluation of project impact in terms of actual volume of enhanced recharge and improved quality.

The second model is the NGO led model implemented in Uttarakhand state of India, in which NGOs train their
field staff and local communities in basic hydrogeology using donor funding, and then carry out recharge area
demarcation and field implementation work together with the communities. This model is quite successful in building
up a long-term evidence base (as most NGOs do a good job of monitoring and data management), but without
explicit government support, scaling up remains a challenge.

Therefore, an ideal combination is a model that combines the strength of government-led models in terms of
scalability and of NGO-led models in terms of monitoring and evaluation of impacts. Knowledge and scientific
organizations like ICIMOD and ACWADAM can play an important role in creating a scientific evidence base for the
efficacy of spring revival programmes in the HKH region. It is expected that as water scarcity issues in the mid hills of
the HKH become more acute, more and more countries in the region will adopt a similar methodology for reviving
springs. This manual is designed to serve these various stakeholders – be it technical staff of government agencies
or relevant NGOs.

In terms of the way forward in scientific methods and knowledge generation, it is possible to supplement the
identification of recharge areas based on field geology (as outlined in this manual) with stable isotope methods,
which can help confirm the recharge pathway and the size and storage capacity of spring aquifers. While basic
isotope analysis tools are now available in many scientific agencies and universities, the main challenge remains the
relatively high cost and time taken for the analysis. We suggest that in the interests of scalability, the field geology
method that this manual espouses remains the main method for identification of recharge areas, but wherever
resources and technology permit, stable isotope analysis be carried out for additional verification. Further details
about this method can be found in IAEA (2004) and Dhakal et al. (2014).

50