WATER LOGGING AND SALINITY PROBLEMS AND ROLE OF NGOS

M. H. Panhwar
The water logging and salinity problem is highly complex, when it comes to actual execution in the field. In general the main factors involved in water logging and salinity control need highly to chronological efforts for the success of programme.

Causes of Water Logging.

Water logging is caused by rising water table and this in turn is mainly caused by irrigation. Irrigation waters invariably contain some amount of salts, which seep unto ground and create serious problems in the future. If the quantum of irrigation water applied is so small, i.e., only meets evaporation as well as evapotranspiration requirements of crops, salts in irrigation water will remain in the soil because evaporation and evapotraspiration processes essentially are vaporization of water and vapours do not carry any salts form water into the atmospheres.

Salinity.
The river Indus water contain 150 to 250 parts per million (ppm) parts of salts at different times of the year. If annual irrigation dose of water with 150 ppm amounts to a column of 60 inches or 5 feet or about 1.5 meters, salts built up will be 3,260 cubic feet per acre in the top 3-4 feet of soil. These salts will make the land totally unproductive within 3-4 years, unless they are removed.

How farmer ever comes salinity.

n In actual practice the farmer knows the problem and puts approximately 37% more water to leach down the salts out of the root zone. Addition of these salts to water table increases salinity of ground water. If ground water is used again and again and allowing 37% to seep back in to the ground, within a period of time ground water in turn will become unsuitable for further irrigation. n To overcome this problems, whenever ground water is used it is advisable to mix it with surface water to keep the salinity down. n But yet a stage is bound to come when ground water will turn unusable. Luckily for us ground water column is many hundreds
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feet deep and it may take as much as 50-100 years to make it unusable. As could be seen from above, adding of salts to ground water by irrigation water raises salt content of ground water and also raises the water table. Applying 5 feet of water column a year as irrigation, will add 37% or 1.85 feet of water column to the soil. The porosity of sand lying below the top alluvium is about 33.3%. This means that water column or water table will rise by (1.85% 100 + 33.3) or 5.5 feet in each year. This is how our sills get water logged. Once the ground water tale is within 8 feet, water rises by capillary action and evaporates leaving salts contained in it at the surface. These are to be leached down by irrigation during the next year. The process is thus continued year after year. Capillary rise of water however is also beneficial in another way. In some areas large quantities of water evaporate and water table goes down. It is to every body knowledge that in rice areas water table reaches the surface latest on 1st October when irrigation is cut off. By the end of May, in the following year, it goes down to 8 feet. This makes next rice crop a possibility. There are other areas where ground water is saline and when water table due to irrigation rises and comes close to the surface, large quantity of salts are left at the surface by evaporation. The salts accumulation makes cropping of the area un-economical due to low yields on account of high salinity and lack of aeration of the root zone.

Rise of water table a necessary evil.

The above discussions have leaded us to the following conclusion: n Rise of water table is to necessary evil, if we want to irrigate land for raising crops. n If rain fall was enough to meet irrigation requirement and not in excess, of no problem will occur as rain water is formed from vapours and contains no salts. Thus there is no build up of salts in the soil. n However where weekly rain fall is more than the weekly crop water requirements, excess water will add to the water table and raise it. n Such problems do occur in some countries and only occasionally in Sindh, like 1986 and 1992 rains. The last was in 24 inches rain in 18 days enough to raise water table by 9 feet as the top soil has less porosity and only 15-18%.

Solution to problem.

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n Now coming to the solution we see that irrigation is necessary to raise crops and application of excess water to keep salt down is equally necessary. We thus see that rising of water table is unavoidable and we therefore have to find solutions. n The solution is called field drainage. Field drainage. The field drainage falls into three categories: a) Drainage of areas having fresh ground water underneath. b) Drainage of areas having saline ground water underneath. c) Drainage of surface water, especially rain water or Pancho water of rice fields by surface drains.

Fresh ground water drainage.

Fresh ground water is recycled by tube wells and it increases areas under cultivation.

Saline ground water drainage.

Saline water is pumped out by tube wells or tile drains and is removed away from the area by surface drains. Surface water drainage. n Surface drains involve field drains from farmers lands to minor drains and from there to Brach drains and main drains. Drainage water ultimately reaches the sea. n These four types of surface drains are counter parts of field water courses, minors, canals and main canals. The difference is that canal supply water for irrigation and drains remove surplus water.

How salinity and drainage is being tackled.

Since the problem of drainage is highly technical it is being executed in the following manner: i) For drainage of fresh water, tubes well are installed by the Government as well as private farmers. These invariably bring extra land under cultivation and meet water shortages. ii) For drainage of saline water the Government is putting tube wells. But tube wells can only be installed if there is suitable water bearing strata down below. If these do not exist tile drains are installed.

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Role of NGOs.
n For drainage of lands by tiles Government has installed tile drains in Khairpur District but now the thinking is that private farmer should perform this task. The Government may agree to this policy. This is the field in which NGO have a role to play. n For surface drainage field drains have to be constructed by all the farmers in their fields, but minor branch and main drains will be constructed by the Government. n NGO will be required work in the capacity of technical and non technical organisations.

Technical NGOs.
The technical NGOs will design the tile drains give the exact level below the ground at which tile drains are laid and also give the accurate slopes, diameter of the tile pipes and all other aspects connected with functioning of tile drains. This is a specialised job in which specialised engineering consulting firms could be employed. Engineering consultants would be needed to supervise the operation and the farmer will pay the amount, part in advance and part in instalments.

Non Technical NGOs.

n There however is a type of work where non-technical NGOs would be needed, their job will be to create awareness among the people and mobilize them to install tile drains. They have to be local to become real activist. n It is too early to say the modus appendix of working, but it seems that agriculture department will provide tile drainage machines, perforated plastic pipes as drains, gravel pack material and pumps and also construct pump pit.

Farming drains and NGOs.

n Surface drainage will be similar to farmers water courses, but with critical portion will be lined, inlets will be constructed at each farmers drainage point necessary culverts and other structures like animal crossings and etc., will be provided. n NGOs job will be mobilization of people and training of farmers on the maintained of drains. n NGOs have to organize themselves, for this task. There is a great scope and the work can go on next 50 years. However it must be emphasised that NGOs have to have roots in the rural areas.

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