About the Department

Introduction 

India is bestowed with valuable natural resources serving the needs of sustenance of around a billion population and varied ecological functions.Water is vital for human survival, health and dignity and a fundamental resource for human development. The world’s freshwater resources are under increasing pressure. Fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life, development and the environment. Water development and management should be based on a participatory approach, involving users, planners and policymakers at all levels. Water has an economic value in all its competing uses and should be recognized as an economic and social good. Treating water as an economic and social good means trying to promote higher value uses of water, especially when there is water scarcity. This could mean favoring industrial uses over agriculture or promoting higher value crops under irrigation. The decision of importing high water use crops from countries with higher rainfall rather than trying to grow them at home where water is scarce. Water has multiple uses and priority of use should be made, with focus on domestic use of water. However, it is crucial in this discussion to be clear that a full economic analysis must take into account the social costs and benefits of different water uses and not just, for example, the value of production (crop or any other goods) per unit of water used. These social costs (health, quality of life and support to income generation) should be accounted for in a proper economic analysis and recently, to emphasize the importance of this full accounting, it has become more common to talk of managing water as an ‘economic and social good’. On this understanding it is commonly recognized that the highest value use of water is always going to be domestic water supply, and there are high costs for the economy (e.g. expenses in health care) when supplies fail. Another important point is that treating water as an economic good, or recognizing the value of its use, does not necessarily mean that this value should be passed on to all water users as a direct tariff. The ‘economic good’ principle in water management is therefore not synonymous with calls for higher levels of cost recovery in water supply. Now time has come to design and develop the best water management practices dealing with the new techniques and technologies for the welfare of the community at grass root level.

Water Resources Management

Water Resources Management is the integrating concept for a number of water sub-sectors such as hydropower, water supply and sanitation, irrigation and drainage, and environment. An integrated water resources perspective ensures that social, economic, environmental and technical dimensions are taken into account in the management and development of water resources.

 

Integrated water resources management is the practice of making decisions and taking actions while considering multiple viewpoints of how water should be managed. These decisions and actions relate to situations such as river basin planning, organization of task forces, planning of new capital facilities, controlling reservoir releases, regulating floodplains, and developing new laws and regulations. The need for multiple viewpoints is caused by competition for water and by complex institutional constraints.

 

Centre for Water Resources Management (CWRM)

The Centre for Water Resources Management (CWRM) is established as an initiative of the University of Madras in 13^th June 2016 to provide leadership, technical expertise, educational opportunities, and professional interaction for stakeholders, professional practitioners, academic researchers, students, and policymakers concerned about water resources management.

The CWRM undertake research and development activities for the restoration and conservation of surface and subsurface aquatic systems. The centre is periodically conducting workshops/training/brainstorming sessions with the multi-disciplinary stakeholders of scientists and engineers, geosciences, disciplines including geography, geology, geophysics, management and environmental engineering. 

Objective

1. To prepare the students for a successful career as water professionals.

2. To develop the ability among students to synthesis data and technical concepts for application in Integrated Water Resources Management.

3. To provide students an opportunity to work as a part of an interdisciplinary team with a sound foundation in the mathematical, scientific and engineering fundamentals necessary to formulate, solve and analyze engineering problems and to prepare them for their career.

4. To promote student awareness for the life-long learning and to introduce them professional ethics and codes of professional practice in water resources management.

5. Design and develop research methodologies in consonance with techno-economic feasibility in frontiers of water resources extraction, restoration, conservation, and management practices in a sustainable manner with minimum environmental footprints in close cooperation with all stake holders in the government and private sectors.

6. Collaborate with other institutions/universities/industries both in India and abroad for undertaking research studies on problems of importance in the areas of earth, water and environmental science and management.

7. Provide training to professionals of the water sector to equip them with required knowledge and contemporary skills needed for development of surface and subsurface water resources.

Mission

The mission of the Centre for Water Resources Management (CWRM)is to create basic and use-inspired knowledge, technologies, methodologies and capabilities for sustainable utilization and management of the Earth’s water resources. The CWRMwill also create a community that will foster and support innovation and knowledge based Skill amongst the students leading to the creation of positive attitude and social value through successful professional practices, planning, development and utilization with consideration to technical, environmental, Socio-economic and institutional factors.

Vision

“To create and provide an environment to translate knowledge and innovation into creation of successful professional and researchers, in the area of Water Resources Managementsuch as the provision of water for drinking and sanitation, agricultural production, industry and energy, environment, and reduction of floods and droughts”.

SCOPE OF WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Water Resources Management in ways that will allow optimum usage of water resources is becoming increasingly important. The need of the hour is to manage and distribute natural resources, such as water, justly and adequately.

Those who are graduates from courses in Water Resources Management have opportunities in almost all communities, as most communities require developing appropriate water resource management plans.

Local and rural areas and municipalities require people to come up with plans for management and distribution of water resources, flood control strategies, harvesting rainwater according to the plan of the town, and more.

There are also certain job opportunities for them in the water conservation industries, some engineering firms, other distribution industries and more. 

 

Thrust area of the CWRM

 

• Training and Capacity Building
• Awareness raising and participation water use efficiency
• River Basin Planning, Modelling and Management
• Delineation and mapping of geomorphological, geological and ecological entities for sustainable watershed management using geo-spatial technology.
• Design and develop methodologies for restoration of disappeared/ defunct surface water bodies for fresh water storage and recharge.
• Assessment of biogeochemical cycles and livelihood practices
• Climate Change Adaptability for Water sector
• Water Accounting and Water Productivity

 

Professional Development

 

CWRM creates opportunities for students, faculty, and professionals to work together to investigate, propose, and refine concepts encompassing the broad range of issues relevant to water resource management. It is a platform for important or specialized information not available elsewhere. CWRM prepares, promotes, and disseminates educational information that can improve the quality of life and meet the water-related needs of those seeking to adapt to a changing, challenging world.

 

Academic Programmes

CWRM offers Elective Courses to the students of various departments of this University in the field of water resources, environmental compliance, and climate change and sustainable technology.

CWRM offers inter-disciplinary Ph.D Programmes

CWRM offers student’s Internship Programmes for the Post-graduate students

 

Research Projects

 

1.  "Water Resources Management: Geo-spatial Tank Information System (GTIS) for sustainable Water and Environmental planning” under RUSA 2.0 programme.

2.  "Hydro-Geological study of Alangulam and Gopalapuram Limestone mine of TANCEM, under Tamil Nadu Cement Corporation Limited, Govt. of Tamil Nadu.

3. "An Assessment of meteorological and agricultural drought and their impact on agriculture dominated watershed community of Naganadhi watershed of Palar Basin, South India Using remote sensing techniques" under Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR).

 

 

Networking

CWRM has hosted numerous forums, educational programs, and events to inform the public and foster interaction between professionals in the field of water resources. Students have benefited from these opportunities to meet leaders in water policy, environmental remediation, and groundwater and water resource science, enforcement, and engineering.