HASDEO BASIN A Situation Analysis in the Context of Environmental Flows Neha Bhadbhade, Latha Anantha and Shripad Dharmadhikary Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India HASDEO BASIN A Situation Analysis in the Context of Environmental Flows Neha Bhadbhade, Latha Anantha, Shripad Dharmadhikary. Hasdeo Basin: A Situation Analysis in the Context of Environmental flows Authors: Neha Bhadbhade, Latha Anantha and Shripad Dharmadhikary © Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India, Pune, Maharashtra, India Supported by: Arghyam, Benguluru, India Layout: Rohan Jhunja Cover Photograph: Shripad Dharmadhikary Cover Design + Print: Mudra, 383 Narayan Peth, Pune 411 002 Published by: Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India, Pune c/o Society for Promoting Participative Ecosystem Management (SOPPECOM) 16, Kale Park, Someshwarwadi Road, Pashan, Pune 411 008 Maharashtra, India Tel: +91-20-2025 1168 / 2588 6542 Fax: +91-020-2588 6542 Email: [email protected] URL: waterconflictforum.org ; conflicts.indiawaterportal.org Copies are available at the above address First published in June 2017 The contents of this publication may be used with due acknowledgement of the source. Any form of reproduction, storage in a retrieval system or transmission by any means requires a prior written per- mission from the publisher. Citation: Bhadbhade. N., Anantha. L. and Dharmadhikary. S. (2017). Hasdeo Basin: A Situation Analysis in the Context of Environmental Flows. Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India, Pune Contributory Price: Rs. 200/- Contents Chapter 1 Environmental Flows —Unfolding the Concept............................................ 1 Background ....................................................................................................................... 1 What are e-flows? ............................................................................................................. 2 Overview of assessment of e-flows ............................................................................... 2 Environmental flow assessment in Hasdeo sub-basin ................................................. 3 Chapter 2 Profile of the Hasdeo river basin .................................................................... 6 Background of the Mahanadi river basin ....................................................................... 6 Hasdeo river basin profile ................................................................................................ 7 Physiographic and topographic characteristics ............................................................ 7 Chapter 3 Demography and landuse/landcover ............................................................12 Districts and Demography ..............................................................................................12 Landuse/landcover ......................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 4 Hydrology ........................................................................................................ 15 Drainage system in the basin ........................................................................................ 15 Sub-watershed in the Hasdeo basin ............................................................................. 15 Chapter 5 Ecology of the Hasdeo basin ......................................................................... 18 Plant Biodiversity ............................................................................................................ 18 Faunal biodiversity ......................................................................................................... 21 i Chapter 6 Livelihoods in Hasdeo river basin .................................................................25 Agriculture ....................................................................................................................... 25 Minor forest produce and saw mills ............................................................................. 25 River fishing .................................................................................................................... 26 Flood plain and riverbed cultivation ............................................................................. 27 Chapter 7 Human interventions in the Hasdeo river basin ......................................... 28 Dams in the Hasdeo river basin .................................................................................... 28 Coal mines and thermal power plants .......................................................................... 30 Chapter 8 Hydrological analysis in the Lower Hasdeo basin ...................................... 36 Hydrological Analysis .................................................................................................... 36 Flow Duration Curves ..................................................................................................... 37 Chapter 9 The water quality of the Hasdeo river ......................................................... 41 Background ..................................................................................................................... 41 Water quality testing in Hasdeo sub-basin .................................................................. 42 Testing methodology and parameters tested ............................................................. 44 Results and discussion ................................................................................................... 45 Chapter 10 Impacts of poor water quality and human interventions on livelihoods and aquatic habitat ........................................................................................ 57 Impacts of Coal mines .................................................................................................... 57 Impacts of Industries ...................................................................................................... 59 Impact of dams ............................................................................................................... 60 ii Chapter 11 Insights conclusions and future work ..........................................................62 Insights ............................................................................................................................ 62 Data Gaps and Challenges ............................................................................................. 63 Way forward .................................................................................................................... 63 References ....................................................................................................65 iii List of Tables Table 1.1: Summary of E-flow assessment methods, approaches and frameworks .................................................3 Table 2.1: M aximum rainfall (mm) recorded at 14 rain gauge stations in Hasdeo basin .......................................8 Table 2.2: Mean rainfall (mm) recorded at 14 rain gauge stations in Hasdeo basin ................................................8 Table 2.3: Annual rainfall (mm) recorded at 14 rain gauge stations in Hasdeo basin ..............................................9 Table 2.4: District-wise geological distribution in the Hasdeo river basin ..................................................................9 Table 2.5: Distribution of different soils found in Hasdeo basin...................................................................................10 Table 3.1: Administrative divisions in Hasdeo river basin ................................................................................................ 13 Table 3.2: Demographics of the districts in Hasdeo basin .............................................................................................. 13 Table 4.1: Area of the sub-watersheds of the Hasdeo river basin .................................................................................17 Table 5.1: Plant diversity in Hasdeo river basin ................................................................................................................... 18 Table 5.2: Medicinal plants found in Hasdeo river basin ........................................................................................... 20 Table 5.3: Fish species found in Hasdeo river as stated by the fishermen in the field interviews ....................22 Table 7.1: Salient feature of Minimata Bango dam and Hasdeo barrage. .................................................................................................30 Table 7.2: Anicuts on Hasdeo river ......................................................................................................................................... 30 Table 7.3: Area-wise distribution of coal mines under SECL............................................................................................31 Table 7.4: Forest area diverted and daily water requirement of coal mines in Hasdeo basin ...........................32 Table 7.5: Thermal power plants in Hasdeo basin ..............................................................................................................34 Table 7.6: Other major industries in Hasdeo basin. ...........................................................................................................35 Table 8.1: 10-year annual average and Mean Annual Runoff ..........................................................................................36