Environmental flow management strategies through flow augmentation: Concepts on alternatives

Abstract

There is a need to ensure environmental quality and ecological requirements by allocating adequate environmental-flows in regulated rivers. Thus, the concept of minimum flow came into existence in 1970's. In 2007 the Brisbane Declaration on Environmental Flows (EF) was endorsed by more than 750 practitioners from more than 50 countries. The declaration announced an official pledge to work together to protect and restore the world's rivers and lakes. By 2010, many countries throughout the world had formulated environmental flow policies and laws to ensure priority allocations of water to river ecosystem after the basic human needs have been satisfied, however, their implementation remains a challenge. The status of EF research in India at present may be categorized as being in its infancy. India faces a number of water related challenges, including increasing water scarcity and competition for water between different sectors and states. The first National Workshop on Environmental Flows, held in New Delhi in March 2005, highlighted a great interest in the concept of environmental flows in India. Due to several constraints there are very few examples in the world where environmental water requirement are actually satisfied by actual EF releases. This is one of the major stumbling blocks on the way to environmentally sustainable water resources development in India. Therefore, due consideration has to be given to experiment alternative strategies for augmenting the e-flows besides considering relevant policy support and their enforcement. In the present paper we have put together and discussed some concepts on alternatives which can enhance the availability of required flows in the downstream of the regulated rivers so that the required environmental flows are fully met when such releases from the upstream structures are not adequate.