As water sources in some areas of the country continue to dry up, it has become essential to find alternative water sources. One way is by developing springshed. A springshed is an area of land that contributes groundwater to a spring. Officials said springshed development was tried in some villages as a pilot project and it proved to be a success. Today, the Tarayana Foundation is executing an eight-year springshed project in nine districts to revive dried water sources.
The Tarayana Foundation began the project from Tshaluna in Thimphu recently.
To construct a springshed, a group of officials along with villagers dug rectangular trenches on a slope.
Officials said rainwater will pass into the rock underneath through these trenches. The water will then flow towards the end of the rock where it will be stored. According to officials, this process involves at least a few years.
At Tshaluna, with an increase in population and developmental activities, the villagers say their water sources are drying up. This intervention is expected to help them.
“This project was done based on rock direction. The trenches would help make the water source bigger. This project would greatly benefit us in future,” said Ugyen Penjor, a villager.
“In the past, water was available due to fewer households and there was no difficulty. Now, water sources are drying up due to developmental activities and an increase in the number of households. This project would benefit us during the dry season,” said Gyem Tshering, Tshaluna Tshogpa.
“After thorough research on the spring shed project, now we are starting to implement it. We are beginning from Tshaluna village under Maedwang Gewog. Trenches are dug mainly for rainwater accumulation so that it can seep into the ground. I have witnessed a lot of success stories in India and Nepal,” said Passang Tobgay, Sr. Field officer of Tarayana Foundation.
Similar projects will be implemented in Paro, Chhukha, Sarpang, Samtse, Zhemgang, Dagana, Tsirang, Haa, and Thimphu.
According to the Watershed Management Division under the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, there are over 7,000 water sources in the country, which are currently in use.
Nearly 2,000 water sources are drying up and about 70 water sources have dried up already.
Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety and International Climate Initiative and the World Wildlife Fund are supporting the project.
Ugyen Dorji
Edited by Tshering Zam
