Ensuring Reservoir Sustainability under Changing Climate A Case Study on the Salaulim Reservoir, Goa

In this succinct article, Dr Ashwini Pai Panandiker says that very few studies have addressed the climate change impact on multi-purpose reservoir performance and deriving adaptive policies for possible future scenarios. Considering that the political and technical measures to adapt to climate change take place at a local level, site-specific studies are urgently needed. To address this, a case study on the Salaulim reservoir in Goa was undertaken. Read on to know more...

-  Dr Ashwini Pai Panandiker

Climate change studies predict intense impacts on water resources in India. These impacts include higher annual average rainfall as well as increased drought. This can have negative impacts on the water supply. Here, reservoirs may play a vital role to alleviate these impacts. However, the repercussions of climate change are not always considered in reservoir planning and management. Relatively very few studies have addressed the climate change impact on multi-purpose reservoir performance and deriving adaptive policies for possible future scenarios. Considering that the political and technical measures to adapt to climate change take place at a local level, site-specific studies are urgently needed. To address this, a case study on the Salaulim reservoir in Goa, India was undertaken.

The small state of Goa in India is a popular international tourist destination. Along with its resident population of around 15 lakh, it caters to almost twice the number of tourists or floating population (28–30 lakh) annually. Over the years, Western India (Goa) has been witnessing a change in the rainfall pattern and the number of rainy days. The effect of this changing climate on the reservoir inflows was not examined. Salaulim reservoir is the biggest in the state and supplies potable water to around 70 per cent of the population. Further, water is also supplied for irrigation and industrial purposes. It has a catchment area of 200 sq. km and a gross storage capacity of 234.36 m3. The construction of the dam started in the year 1976 and was commissioned around 1980. The one-of-its-kind duckbill spillway of the Salaulim Dam makes it resemble the famous Niagara Falls and adds to its beauty.