Study on the Sustainability of Water Interventions for Livelihoods

IWMI-TATA, under the Water Policy Research Program, offered a study titled “Sustainability of Water Interventions for Livelihoods” to CEDAR, Dehradun. This study was conducted by a team from P-Green Solution Dehradun from September 2025 to February 2026. The objective of the study is to analyse the efficacy, effectiveness, efficiency, and impact of the selected water interventions in the Western Himalayan region, in the context of climate change, and to assess their potential for future scale. The focus of the study was on the following aspects:

• Different types of support irrigation interventions, such as Gravity-based, Lift-based (Solar-powered pumps, Petrol-powered pumps), and rainwater harvesting-based interventions.
• Storage tanks (e.g. UV-resistant plastic-lined tanks, ferro-cement tanks, RCC tanks, LDPE tanks, etc.) are being used for support irrigation.
• Water distribution systems for crop irrigation.

A total of 12 villages, including one unirrigated village for comparison, were selected from 6 mountain districts (3 villages each in Pauri and Dehradun, 2 villages each in Tehri and Uttarakashi, 1 each from Nainital and Almora). Preference has been given to selecting villages where interventions were carried out 3-5 years earlier and where the schemes had been handed over to the community for operation and management. Study sites were selected based on combinations of water interventions across topographic and geographical scenarios. Different criteria considered for selection of study sites: (a) status of water source & water discharge at source, water storage structures, water distribution systems; (b) agricultural land characteristics, changes in land use pattern, crops grown and crop yield before and after interventions, etc.; and (c) investment incurred, status of community institutions, operation and management of the scheme, efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of interventions.

The study outline, methodology, and broad findings and recommendations were presented at the IWMI-TATA Annual Partners Meet in December 2025. A consultation workshop was organised in March 2026 to share the key findings and recommendations. Thereafter, the final report was submitted in March 2026.

Key study findings are summarised as follows:

• Identification of the water source catchment area and treatment of its recharge zone, and source protection should be an integral part of the irrigation project/ scheme. The project for the support irrigation system should be designed for a 20-year output plan.
• Water storage tank capacity to be designed based on water availability at source, and the type of schemes (i.e., gravity, solar lift, etc.) to be constructed.
• In many villages, water sources available beneath the settlement / agricultural land remain untapped. There is potential to tap such water sources through a solar-powered lift irrigation system. The operating costs of petrol-driven pumps are higher than those of solar pumps. Therefore, solar pumps of different capacities should be designed and installed based on the mountain topography.
• Lifting water from perennial streams / rivers, through a surface pump, is the most suitable option. However, proper operation and safety of the pump are a concern, as there is always a risk of flash flooding along the stream/river. Possible ways for water storage and risk-free operation of pumps to be ensured.
• Villages situated in uplands are mostly devoid of any water source in nearby areas. These villagers are entirely dependent on rainfed agriculture. Further action research is required on potential rainwater-harvesting options, their storage capacity, and water distribution systems for critical crop irrigation.
• In the mountain region, farmers have fragmented land holdings. Agriculture practices are carried out in terraced fields. In such topography, a decentralised water storage tank and an individual-level irrigation system need to be developed. The main tank is to be linked with the individual storage tanks for the water supply. An adequate water distribution system should be in place, and individual farmers should be permitted to irrigate their fields as needed, based on local conditions and crop requirements.
• Farmers have limited awareness about the optimum use of water for crop production. Most farmers feel comfortable with flood irrigation. Water-use efficiency can be increased by promoting the use of appropriate water distribution systems and irrigation in accordance with crop requirements. Further work is required to optimise water utilisation in crop production through an efficient water distribution system (E.g., drip irrigation, sprinklers).
• Considering the high investment cost in creating an irrigation system, cultivating traditional crops, i.e. cereals and pulses, is not a profitable option. In addition to creating irrigation facilities, farmers also need hand-holding support to cultivate off-seasonal vegetables and spices. Therefore, promoting the cash-crop value chain should also be included in the scheme.
• In high altitude temperate areas, vegetable cultivation provides a better income option to farmers than cultivating traditional crops, i.e. cereals and pulses. Given the challenges in crop production, such as reduced workforce and limited resources, farmers should be encouraged to intercrop temperate orchards with off-season vegetables to reduce input costs and increase profit margins.
• Comparing crop production with rainfed conditions, there is around a 1.5 to 2 times increase in crop production with the availability of water for irrigation. Irrigation has substantially increased crop yield, thereby increasing farmers’ income. However, other crop production issues, such as wildlife damage, cluster-based bulk production, and limited marketing facilities, hinder farmers from adopting cash crop cultivation. Therefore, in addition to irrigation, these issues should also be addressed to maximise output.
• In consolidated land holding, the individual / group of individuals are the owner of the irrigation system and self-invests in case of any repair required in the system. In such cases, there are fewer operational and management issues. In fragmented landholdings, farmers participate in the WUG to operate and manage the irrigation system. Farmers have also collected funds among themselves for maintenance. However, differences of opinion among members often lead to conflicts. Therefore, regular members’ meetings are essential to implement changes to rules and regulations as required.
• Creating support irrigation infrastructure is a cost-effective intervention. It involves a series of interventions, including catchment area treatment, source protection, installation of an irrigation system, a water storage structure, and a water distribution and crop production system. It is difficult to secure funding from a single source/ project for such interventions. Therefore, the work should be planned in a phased manner or in a plan-convergence approach with line departments for different works.

The study was initiated during the monsoon season. Farmers generally do not irrigate their fields from July to December because of ample soil moisture and the harvesting of Kharif crops. Missing out on the peak cropping season (March to November) and the crop irrigation season (March-June). Consequently, primary data collection should be undertaken from March to November 2026. Current findings are mainly through recall data and detailed discussions with farmers. However, this study has identified key gaps that require further action research to collect primary field data. Therefore, a concurrent Phase for the study is essential. From these Phase II exercises, field tested recommendations would emerge, which would have the potential to influence more effective and appropriate implementation and help influence policy.

It is recommended that the Phase II needs to focus on the action research and physically piloting in the following areas: (i) harvesting rainwater, storage structures and water distribution system to retain soil moisture in rainfed conditions (proposed under Himalayan Water Partnership); (ii) piloting on different types and capacity solar lift pumps, create appropriate structure for storage, water distribution & O&M (focus of this proposal); and (iii) promoting appropriate water distribution system to reduce water loses, optimise water use efficiency in mountain conditions and ensuring adoption of improved agronomic practices to reduce cost of production, while maintaining biodiversity along with maximizing income at farmer level (part of this proposal and also proposed under Himalayan Water Partnership).

Executive Summary