Fast-growing India is pumping its aquifers dry. Rajendra Singh says solutions will come from the ground up.
Jonathan Miller
Food for 9 Billion
Water Man
Jonathan Miller
Food for 9 Billion
Water Man
The average person drinks two quarts of water every day, but it takes more than a thousand times that to produce a day’s worth of food. That’s a problem everywhere, but especially in India, where scientists say nearly a third of the country’s underground aquifers are already in critical condition.
Rajendra Singh has become known as “The Water Man” for his efforts to engage communities in grassroots conservation efforts. Among his accomplishments: Seven dry rivers in his home district are flowing year-round again.
Rajendra Singh at the headquarters of the organization he directs, Tarun Bharat Sangh (Indian Youth Association). Since the 1980s, the group has focused on community-based water management.
Photo: Jonathan Miller
Singh at the first water harvesting structure he built in the Alwar District of Rajasthan state.
Photo: Jonathan Miller
A cloth map shows the locations of water harvesting structures in Alwar. Singh says there are now more than 10,000 structures in the area, all built by hand by community members.
Photo: Jonathan Miller
The most common type of water harvesting structure in Alwar is a “check dam,” known locally as a johad. Different types of structures are used in other places.
Photo: Jonathan Miller
Villagers move rocks for a new johad. Water harvesting goes back hundreds of years, but was largely abandoned with the arrival of tube wells and electric pumps.
Photo: Jonathan Miller
Harshaye, 65, says he is confident that this area will be green and productive by next year.
Photo: Jonathan Miller
Singh now spends most of his time on national and regional water policy issues. He says the Indian government is beginning to see the value of grassroots water management.
Photo: Jonathan Miller
An employee of Singh’s nonprofit leads a field trip for university students from the central Indian city of Bhopal. Rainwater harvesting is enjoying a resurgence, but groundwater withdrawals still far outpace deposits.
Photo: Jonathan Miller
In Lapuria village in central Rajasthan, local leader Laxman Singh (right) listens as villager Chhotu describes his work planting trees. Singh says water conservation has revitalized the village.
Photo: Jonathan Miller
A girl draws drinking water from a well in Lapuria. The water table had dropped to more than 200 feet below the surface. Now it is 20 to 30 feet down, thanks to a range of conservation measures.
Photo: Jonathan Miller