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Dams, Riparian Settlement and the Threat of Climate Change in a Dynamic Fluvial Environment

A Case Study of the Damodar River, India

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Large Dams in Asia

Part of the book series: Advances in Asian Human-Environmental Research ((AAHER))

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Abstract

The Damodar River, a subsystem of the Ganga, has always been flood prone. People as well as governments throughout the centuries have dealt with the caprices of this vital water resource, using structures such as embankments, weirs, barrages and dams. Post-independence the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) constructed four multipurpose dams to facilitate regional development and reduce flood hazards. Post-dam hydrographs show decreased monsoon discharges, reduced peak flow and a shifting of peak flow from July to August to September. Despite the DVC dams, the lower valley is still vulnerable to flooding, because the transport capacity of the river has also been reduced. As a result, the frequency of bank full events today is again similar to that observed in the pre-dam period. Because of the control structures once mobile channel char lands have been stabilised and permanently settled by Bangladeshi refugees. These new riparian communities are threatened by the fluvial environment. Changing patterns in riparian land use, fostered by alterations in flow regime, coupled with the long-term prospect of increased rain variability due to climate change, appear to be increasing the risk of rare but devastating floods in the Lower Damodar.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Biswas, P. Personal communication through phone conversation, dated 7 May 2011, a farmer of Bara Mana, located at the Damodar River.

  2. 2.

    Wolman, M. G. Personal communication through letter dated 10 April 2006 and an e-mail/letter dated 11 January 2007, Late Professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA, pp 21218–2686.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful to K. K. Chakraborty (Ex Manager Reservoir Operation (MRO), DVC Maithon) and A. K. Pal (Damodar Canals No. 11 Subdivision-Rhondia) for providing valuable data. Several surveyors of RR&RD (Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation Department) at Bankura have provided data for generating land use maps. It would be a long list if we had to acknowledge within this short campus all those villagers who became friends during the field survey at various stages. We appreciate your generous help.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of Central Arkansas, 302 B Irby Hall, Conway, AR, 72035, USA

    Kumkum Bhattacharyya Ph.D.

  2. School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, G 166 DANA, 440 Church St., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Michael J. Wiley Ph.D.

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  1. Kumkum Bhattacharyya Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Kumkum Bhattacharyya Ph.D. .

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  1. Department of Geography, Heidelberg University, South Asia Institute, Heidelberg, Germany

    Marcus Nüsser

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Bhattacharyya, K., Wiley, M.J. (2014). Dams, Riparian Settlement and the Threat of Climate Change in a Dynamic Fluvial Environment. In: Nüsser, M. (eds) Large Dams in Asia. Advances in Asian Human-Environmental Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2798-4_5

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