☘️ Reviving Water Resources in the Paharia villages of Rajmahal Hills🎋

The Paharia communities of the Rajmahal Hills, Jharkhand have traditionally lived on hilltops, relying on water from hilltop sources or nearby springs. This water was naturally stored in the thick topsoil that formed over the basalt trap rocks of the region. The presence of an unconfined subsurface water layer, regularly recharged by the dense forest cover that once blanketed the Rajmahal Hills and valleys, sustained their water needs.

In recent years, however, most Paharia hilltop villages have experienced acute water scarcity. The primary cause is the drying up of the subsurface water levels, a consequence of severe deforestation. Over the past six years of working in the Sarunala Basin, a tributary of the Bansloi River, numerous villages in the region are grappling with this issue. To better understand the groundwater dynamics, IRBMS, with the support of JVP, has been regularly collecting well data and mapping water table contours in the area.

Despite widespread deforestation and soil erosion, some villages in the Sarunala Basin still maintain relatively high-water tables. Jojo Tola is a notable example.

Jojo Tola, a hilltop hamlet under the revenue village of Nipania is located west of Simripara at an altitude of 170 meters above mean sea level (MSL), used to face severe water crisis for years. Villagers had to collect water from a source 200 meters below the settlement, approximately half a kilometer away. However, a spring located between Jojo Tola and Patrapara, on a hill slope at 190 meters above MSL, was identified and successfully harnessed in 2021.

Using a gravity-flow method, water from the spring was piped to Jojo Tola, transforming the hamlet. The community began cultivating vegetables and crops with the new water source. Additional rainwater harvesting structures were excavated near Jojo Tola, and stone walls were constructed around the farm lands on the hilltop and the slopes to mitigate soil erosion during the monsoon.

The Public Health Engineering Department recently initiated borewell drilling in the basaltic trap areas to supply piped water to villages. While some success has been reported in valley areas, drilling in hilltop regions has yielded limited results due to the presence of dense basalt layers.

In the summer of 2024, two borewells were drilled on the hilltops of Simripara and Baropahar to explore water-bearing aquifers for Paharia communities. Both attempts failed to reach confined aquifers, with drilling halted upon encountering basalt bedrock. However, villagers observed water availability in the borewells, prompting IRBMS to investigate.

In November 2024, IRBMS measured groundwater levels in the borewells using water level indicators, yielding the following results:

• Simripara: 24°36’13.54″N, 87°33’4.67″E;

Altitude: 196 meters above MSL;

Depth to Water (DTW): 18 meters.

• Baropahar: 24°34’24.98″N, 87°33’2.66″E;

Altitude: 225 meters above MSL;

Depth to Water (DTW): 5 meters.

In Simripara, previous well data indicated that the water table lies between 170 and 180 meters above MSL. The borewell data confirmed this, with the water level recorded at 178 meters above MSL. A newly constructed check dam in the nala between Pakhudih and Simripara, located at 175 meters above MSL, held 5 feet of water as of November 2024. These observations underscore the importance of forest conservation and additional rainwater harvesting measures, such as contour trenches, recharge pits, and agroforestry, to sustain Simripara’s water resources.

Baropahar, at an altitude of 225 meters above MSL, is home to large settlements such as Mandro Santhali and Baropahar. The borewell data revealed a surprising result: the water level is only 5 meters below the surface, suggesting groundwater availability at 210–220 meters above MSL. Nearby well data collected regularly from 2024 also supports this water level. A spring emanates on the northern slopes of Baropahar, feeding a nearby nala, though it dries up by January-February also confirms the presence of water bearing layers here. Despite its higher water potential compared to Simripara, Baropahar suffers from significant seasonal water level fluctuations caused by deforestation and soil erosion. From January to June, the water crisis becomes acute.

To address these challenges, a community-driven approach emphasizing soil conservation, rainwater harvesting, and reforestation is critical. Measures such as planting native species, constructing rainwater harvesting structures, and afforestation programs can help protect and sustain the water resources for the Paharia communities in Baropahar and Simripara.