Artificial catchments for rain water harvesting in deserts of Pakistan
Artificial catchments for rain water harvesting in deserts of Pakistan
Mahmood Iqbal Sheikh, B.H. Shah and A. Aleem
ABSTRACT
An experiment on rain water harvesting was conducted in Thal desert to asses the efficiency of different treatments of the catchment plots to induce maximum runoff. The results showed that mud plaster (soil + wheat straw ) was the effective and economical treatment
for rain water harvesting as it induced on an average maximum runoff, 11.03 m3 per catchment plot, about 78.14% of total rainfall received by the catchment plot. The next better treatments are mudplaster (soil + cowdung). Polythene sheet cover and sodium carbonate spray which produced 10.43 m3, 10.36m3 and 9.99 m3 runoff respectively. While cement plaster, asphalt cover lime concretion cover mechanical stabilization and natural grass cover proved ineffective in increasing the
runoff, as these collected only 7.75 m3, 7.83 m3 , 7.1m3 8.79 m3 and 7.89 m3 water respectively as compared to control which also gave 6.98 m3 runoff. Mud-plaster is also the cheapest treatment as it costs about Rs.4,000 per hectare as compared to the next best treatments, polythene sheet cover and sodium carbonate spray, their expenditure being Rs. 30,000 and Rs.10,000 per hectare respectively.
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March 1982
Vol. 32, Iss. 1
