Water conservation is necessary as water distribution is uneven and large tracts are deficient in rain as well as groundwater. Unequal distribution of water in major parts of our country makes most of the population face water scarcity. Seasonal rainfall poses a need for irrigation to crops. Over-exploitation of natural resources, erosion of soil, a disrupted water cycle and the loss of biodiversity have caused severe environmental degradation. Wetland lakes are disappearing and deforestation is taking place at a rapid pace. Many areas have a shortage of fresh water. This is adversely affecting the health of community, ecosystem and agricultural production.SST has taken several steps to address this damage. These include the involvement of communities towards construction of water harvesting structures, desilting of tanks, reforestation of degraded forests, tree plantation in private and public lands, and educating people not to dump waste on water bodies.

SST initiatives are in rural villages. The major source of income for the rural communities are through agriculture. The uncertainty of rainfall and water scarcity are the constant problems of farmers. Minor irrigation ponds are man-made earth banked structures that have been used for centuries to store rainwater and utilise for irrigation. To maintain their storage capacity, ponds have to be periodically de-silted. This is traditionally done in the dry season, when the ponds are dry. Due to various reasons the tanks are not desilted for decades together. Thus, the water storage capacity got reduced. The monsoon is temporal, special & unpredictable. The forecast of a promising monsoon with continuous rainfall prompted SST to take up the desilting work in association with the government and community.SST initially approached the government towards initiating the desilting work by submitting a formal letter for taking up the works in SST working villages along with the community. Based on the clearance from the government, SST identified the tanks to be desilted along with the community. Formal meeting held in the village to involve the community towards supporting the SST initiatives.

Community agreed to take responsibility to do the monitoring aspect and transport the stilt after strengthening the bunds of the tank. A total of 270 tanks / lakes, including minor irrigation tanks in Tamil Nadu and lakes in Maharashtra have been de-silted. These include:

After completing the desilting, the tank will be handed over to the community to maintain and to regulate the water available in the tank. In any emergency situation in the tank, as requested by the community, SST will visit the tank for handling the emergency situation or organize the Government to attend the situation. SST also facilitated farmer education across topics such as conservation of water using methods such as rainwater harvesting and building check dams, and methods to enhance crop yields without over-fertilizing the land.

• Quantity of silt removed from 270 Tanks: 19.40 lakh tonnes
• Number of farmers who benefitted by utilising silt: 5400
• Increased water storage capacity created: 55 Mcft
• Number of wells / bore wells with improved water table due to availability of water in the Tanks: 9700
• Average increase in water table ranges between 5 to 7 ft.

• The period of water available in the tanks extends to more than 90 days