International Journal of Engineering Technology Science and Research

IJETSR
www.ijetsr.com
ISSN 2394 – 3386
Volume 4, Issue 7
July 2017

Status and Conservation of Water Bodies in Gwalior City

Shweta Purwar
Research Scholar, Indira Gandhi Academy of Environmental Education Research and Eco-planning, Jiwaji
University, Gwalior, India
Dr. R J Rao
Rector Jiwaji University Gwalior. Professor, School of Studies in Zoology Jiwaji University Gwalior.

ABSTRACT
PURPOSE :Water is one of the major ingredient of human life. To survive and to make our self-healthy it is necessary to
save the water resource. The prime objective of present research is to identify the fresh water resources in Gwalior city
and locate their position on map.
DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: To fulfil the prime object of this empirical research Global Positioning
System (GPS) is used to locate the exact position of the water bodies. AutoCAD designing software is used to draw the
map of all water bodies.
FINDINGS : The water bodies surveyed in this study needs immediate attention at the government as well as public
level. These water bodies must be conserved properly by clearing their premises, plantation in their banks and
motivating the general public for sustainable use of the water resources.
ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This paper is first of its kind which focused on identification of living water resource inside the
Gwalior city and generation of AutoCAD map through the GPS data.
KEYWORDS
AutoCAD, Water bodies, Global positioning system, Gwalior, India.

1. INTRODUCTION:
Water plays an important role in sustenance of life. It is vital for almost all activities viz. economic, social,
culture and environmental. Lakes, ponds, rivers are important surface water sources (Beck et al 1994). In the
past few decades there is progressive degradation of water bodies all over the world due to population growth,
industrialization and urbanization leading to increased anthropogenic impacts including discharge of sewage,
industrial solid and liquid waste and chemical rich agriculture runoff. Impacts of degradation of water bodies
are visible in the form of degraded water quality, alterations and less of biodiversity and change in eutrophic
status from meso to hyper eutrophic state after exceeding their carrying capacity (G. Sime et al 2015).
Urbanization results in rapid extinction of water bodies and improper arrangement of drainage system leads to
decline of the available water resource. These affect the hydrological cycle and consequently the quality and
quantity of water bodies. The development plans generated by the government being implemented now are
restricted to physical planning, whereas environmental consideration are on low priority. In the past three
decades the water resources in India are under immense pressure and as a result many of them have either lost
their identity while other are struggling for their existence (Rao et al 2014). The urban water bodies in the
Gwalior are in same condition. The consequences are becoming critical in certain areas of city (Rao et al
2014). Thus an urgent need was felt for identification of problem and evolve remedial measures for recovery
at the local level. In order to address the problems strategies needs to be prepared for conserving and
sustaining the health of our ecosystem. To ensure long-term sustainability of water resources the focus of
water management needs to shift from a traditional supply side management to demand side management,
which has traditionally been neglected. Though augmentation of supplies would be required to meet the
growing demand in urban centers, the future however lies in effectively controlling our demand for water
resources and efficiently managing and using the available resources. The approach calls for the development

661 Shweta Purwar, Dr. R J Rao

 International Journal of Engineering Technology Science and Research
IJETSR
www.ijetsr.com
ISSN 2394 – 3386
Volume 4, Issue 7
July 2017

of an integrated water demand management strategy, which would aim at reducing the losses in the system,
improving operational efficiencies, promoting rationale use of water resources, equitable distribution of the
resource and exploring alternative sources such as recycling of wastewater for non-potable uses (Singh and
Singh, 2009). Aim of the study is to ensure long-term sustainability of water resources through interventions
targeted at improving efficiencies in water distribution and use in urban water supply systems. On the basis of
the study the objectives are stated as follows
1. Rapid assessment of current situation of the urban catchment pertaining to availability of water sectorial
demand identification of major point and non-point sources of pollution.
2. Identification of Global Positioning System of water bodies.
3. Study of drainage pattern, flow gauging and develop a GPS map based run of model.
4. Develop city specific strategies at improving the water quality.

2. STUDY AREA :
Gwalior is the fourth largest city and situated in the north of the state of Madhya Pradesh, at 26.12° N latitude
and 78.18° E longitudes in the Indo-Gangetic plains with the per capita water availability of 190 lpcd (Singh
and Singh, 2009). As of 2011’s India’s census Gwalior had population of 2,032,036 of which male and female
were 1,090,327 and 941,709 respectively. There was a change of 24.50% population growth rate compared to
population as per 2001 census of India. As per the census of India 2011, density of Gwalior district is 446
people per sq. km. Gwalior district administers 4,560 square kilo meters of areas. Out of the total Gwalior
population for 2011 census, 62.69 percent lives in urban regions of district and 37.31 % population of Gwalior
districts lives in rural areas (Census, 2011).The city islocated on plains sloping from south-west to north and
north-east. The plains extend from Chambal river in the extreme north, where it joins a number of rivers
flowing from the south west to finally join the gangetic river system (Mohapatra el al, 2014). Gwalior receives
970 mm (39 in) of rain every year, most of which is concentrated in the monsoon months from late June to
early October. August is the wettest month with about 310 mm (12 in) of rain (Rao et al, 2014).
2.1. MATERIAL AND METHOD :
The natural drainage of the Gwalior urban area is dominated by Swarnrekha and Morarriver, Swarnrekha is
flowing south to north through the urban area for about 13.65 km storm water and a considerable amount of
untreated sewage drains naturally through this stream. Apart from Swarnrekha and Morarriver there are
mainly two water tanks Janaktal and Sagartal which are used mainly for recreation and governed by
gwaliourmuncipal corporation. The Kaketo and Tighra reservoirs situated in the outskirts of the city (Rao et
al, 2014). The water supply of Gwalior urban area mainly depends on Tighra-Kaketo reservoir and
groundwater. The observations suggest that more than 35 MLD (7.7 MGD) of water is supplied from the
groundwater reserves (Singh et al, 2011). These are the main source of domestic water supply for the city and
are also used for irrigation and pisiculture. This was constructed on the river Sank in the year 1914. The
average storage capacity of the reservoir is 2,237 mcft and the total catchment area of the reservoir is 260
sq.mt (Singh et al, 2011). It is linked with two reservoirs named Kaketo and Pesari on the upstream by a 55
km. long fedder canal. The total water availabe from Tighra and Kaketo system is 190 MLD. Water is taken
into (old&new) water treatment plants located in Motijheel. The old water treatment plant’s capacity.is
68.19MLD. The survey has been carried out during April, May and June, 2012. The data were colected every
two days in a week from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. GPS (global position system) was used in survey and longitude
and latitude values of the water bodies were identified. The map of water bodies was made with the help of
AutoCAD.

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY :
The prime objective of study is to identify the exact location of existing water bodies in the Gwalior city. To
fulfil this objective global positioning system (GPS) is used. On the basis of identified latitude and longitude

662 Shweta Purwar, Dr. R J Rao

 International Journal of Engineering Technology Science and Research
IJETSR
www.ijetsr.com
ISSN 2394 – 3386
Volume 4, Issue 7
July 2017

(2 D position) of existing water bodies in the Gwalior city AutoCAD Classic software is used to draw the map
of existing water bodies inside the Gwalior city.

4. OBSERVATION :
The daily total water demand of Gwalior for various sectors is estimated to be 155.52 MLD while the total
daily water supply is 130 MLD (54 MLD from motijheel old WTP 54 MLD and the daily total water demand
of gwalior city for various sectors is 25.52 MLD (GMC, 2015). There is a gap between demand and supply of
water in Gwalior city. To full fil this gap analysis of the existing water body along with the drainage water
availability is necessary The drainage of the city can be divided into four major catchments for the purpose of
the development of catchment management strategy. Five additional catchments of monitoring points have
been identified. Two of these catchments lie with in the Morar river catchment while three in the Swarnarekha
River catchment. There are 88 drains (9 large, 20 medium, 59 small drains) drains flowing through the city to
join the river. Table -2 explain the 9 large drains of Swarnarekhariver with and their GPS locations.
Table-2: Drains in Swarnarekha River
S.no Name of Drain Origin point Area covered End Point GPS location
1. Bajranggadh drain Sindhi colony Tilak Nagar Swarnarekha N 26011.311
River E 78008.116
2. Jinsi Drain Lakadkhana Sindhi colony Swarnarekha N 26012.330
jinsi road no.3 River E 78009.819
3. Light house Drain Jai roy hospital Bazaremahal Swarnarekha N 26012.335
gate bridge River E 78009.828
salaughter house
behind
Hanuman takies
4. Naugoja nirdhan Naugoja road Swarnarekha N 26012.327
shindeychawni River E 78009.833
area,
Bijasenmohalla
slum area,
Medical college
5. Kalasairnala BajariaGospura Harijanbasti, Swarnarekha N 26011.987
Mahavirchowk, River E 78008.528
Fish market
,Subhasnagar
6. Dholibua pool na Swarnarekha N 26011.987
River E 78008.528
7 Gandhi Nagar Nala Gandhi Nagar Swarnarekha N 26012989
River E 78010.532
8. DhanmeelNala SwarnarekhaR N 26011.311
iver E 78008.117
9. Hanuman bandh Swarnarekha N 26011.266
River E 78008.022

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 International Journal of Engineering Technology Science and Research
IJETSR
www.ijetsr.com
ISSN 2394 – 3386
Volume 4, Issue 7
July 2017

Table-3: Drains in the Morar River

S.No Gwalior Origin Area End Point GPS Location

Drains Point Covered
Nadikarapta Nadikarapta Riverview Morar River N 26013.349’
1. bridge colony E 78013.220’

2. Harnampura Harnampura Shiv Nagar Morarariver N 26012.627’

Drainage E 78012.727’
3. Gandhi Gandhi Bathammoh Morar River N 26012.627’
nager Nagar alla E 78011.573’
Drainage
4. Near SVM Ganesh SuryaBihar Morar River N 26014.879’
School colony Colony E 78013.038’

Figure -1 represent the route map and figure -2 represent point map of different water bodies in
Gwalior city.

Fig-1: Route map of water bodies

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 International Journal of Engineering Technology Science and Research
IJETSR
www.ijetsr.com
ISSN 2394 – 3386
Volume 4, Issue 7
July 2017

Fig-2: Point map of water bodies

Figure 3, 4, 5 and 6 shows the exact location of all the water bodies which are considered for the study
with their exact GPS location. Figures are as follows:

Fig-3: GPS location of Motijheel and Janaktal water body

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 International Journal of Engineering Technology Science and Research
IJETSR
www.ijetsr.com
ISSN 2394 – 3386
Volume 4, Issue 7
July 2017

Fig-4: GPS location of Jararuadam water body

Fig-5: GPS location of SurajKund, Laxmantal and Baijataal water body

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 International Journal of Engineering Technology Science and Research
IJETSR
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ISSN 2394 – 3386
Volume 4, Issue 7
July 2017

Fig-6: GPS location of Sagartal water body

The detailed observation of the studied water bodies are as follows:

➢TIGHRA DAM :Tighra Dam creates a freshwater reservoir on the bank River, about 23 km from Gwalior
It plays a crucial role in supplying water to the city. It has full facility to provide peoples for amusement
purpose such as Boating, Fishing and all types of food items are available.
➢SWARNAREKHA RIVER : The discharge of waste water in these drainage of waste water (sewage) in
these drain as overflow from septic tanks or leakages from broken sewerage lines and dumping of solid waste
in their catchment cause organic pollution due to anthropogenic activities and direct influencing the water
quality of river. Small scale industries along the river add to toxic chemical pollution in it. Solid waste
dumping in the open area in the catchment affects the water quality.
➢MORARRIVER (KALPIRIVER): The Morar River (Kalpi River) originated from Ramaua Dam flowing
through Morar sub city of Gwalior region. The pouring of wastes contaminates the river and decreases
biodiversity. The Morar river while flowing through the city area receives the discharge of waste water
(sewage) through no of drains as over flows from septic tank and leakages from broken sewage lines and
dumping of solid waste in their catchments cause organic pollution which directly have adverse impact on the
water quality of river. Discharge of hospitals and nursing homes into the river into Toxic pollution. Inflow of
Agriculture runoff into the river carrying Fertilizer and Pesticides residues causes nutrient enrichment and
pollution. Solid waste dumping in the open area in the catchment affects the water quality. Nutrient
enrichment is causing Growth of Aquatic weeds.
➢MOTIJHEEL: Motijheel is situated near the railway station and has also a Motijheel treatment plant near
the lake .now a days Motijheel is much polluted due to domestic sources such as washing clothing etc. and
industrial effluents such as harmful chemicals many algal blooms are found in jheel so excessive algal blooms

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 International Journal of Engineering Technology Science and Research
IJETSR
www.ijetsr.com
ISSN 2394 – 3386
Volume 4, Issue 7
July 2017

carry eutrophication process takes place. So the human intervention, water contaminated by pathogens cause
disease like chloral Typhoid etc. hence the water becomes unfit for drinking use.
➢JANAKTAL: Janaktal is located in a western part of the city. The Tal is a spot of recreational activities of
the town and also has religious due to the presence of Hanuman temple and other temples which are situated
on a bank of this lake. The major problems of the waterbodies are
solid waste dumping, washing, bathing activities inflow of household’s untreated waste water, cattle
wallowing and grazing.
➢JADERUA DAM : While flowing through the city areas receives the discharge of waste water (sewage)
through no of drains as over flows from septic tanks and leakages from broken sewage lines and dumping of
solid waste in their catchments cause organic pollution which directly have adverse impact on the water
quality of river. Discharge of hospitals and nursing homes into the river into Toxic pollution.
➢SURAJKUND :It is situated in Gwalior fort. The condition of this waterbody is very bad. The major
problems of the waterbodies are solid waste dumping, washing, bathing activities inflow of household’s
untreated waste water as harmful chemicals many algal blooms are found.
➢LAXMANTALAB :There are 100 meter on the fort hill but here are many facility provide by municipal
corporation Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh vidhyutmandal. The water is not more polluted and it is covered by
boundary. The major problems of the waterbodies are like solid waste dumping, washing, bathing activities
inflow of household’s untreated waste water, are not found there.
➢BAIJATAAL TALAB :It is situated near Chetakpuri and it has a stage in water. This is very famous stage
for functions in Gwalior. No environment problem are found there, previously it was filled with water but now
the Tal is dry due to unavailability of fresh water.
➢SAGARTALAB: Sagartal also has religious importance due to presence of temples which are situated in
the bank of the lake this waterbody is under control of municipal authority. Lake is partially covered with
aquatic weeds. Lack of proper solid waste management system in the fringe area of the lake reduces water
storage capacity of the lake and also add contaminants.

5. DISCUSSION: Water is renewable natural resource due to ever increasing industrialization, urbanization
this precious resource is continuously under stress. The local Gwalior water resources are not far from these
problems. There are nine water resources inside the Gwalior city some of which are natural such as Tighra,
Sagartalab, Surajkund, Jaderua dam, Swarnarekha River, Janak Tal and MotiJheel. LaxmanTalaiya and
Baijataal are man-made. All these water sources are responsible for water supply to fulfil the demand of
Gwalior city. In this research AutoCAD map is generated to show their flow and exact location of all nice
water bodies through GPS data. These maps also consumes the current photograph of water bodies. AutoCAD
map also represent all the drains of waterbodies which comes under the Gwalior nagarnigam. These water
bodies having the pressure of increasing population, loss of forest cover, untreated effluent discharge from
industries and municipalities, insecticides etc. are causing water pollution. This study is first of its kind which
focused on available water bodies inside the Gwalior city. To support the increasing demand and population
growth it is necessary to preserve all these water bodies foe better future.

6. CONCLUSION :This study attempted to identify the existing fresh water resources inside the Gwalior
city. Freshwater resources comprise the single most important class of natural endowments enabling its
economy and its human settlement patterns. The freshwater resources comprise the river systems,
groundwater, and wetlands. Each of these has a unique role and characteristic linkages to other environmental
entities (MoEF, 2009: 28). GPS approach has been used for the integration of various geospatial data, which
plays major role in this study. GPS data is used to generate the map which occupies all the nine water
resources. The overall shows that all nine fresh water resource having very critical status and approaching
towards their decline. To fulfil the gap between supply and demand. It is necessary that immediate action has

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 International Journal of Engineering Technology Science and Research
IJETSR
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ISSN 2394 – 3386
Volume 4, Issue 7
July 2017

to be taken to preserve these water bodies because to ensure the long term sustainability of water resource the
focus of water management needs to shift from traditional supply side to demand side management due to
their limited availability.

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