Revival of Tank Systems and Mitigating Water Crisis in Tamil Nadu

It is frequently said that third world war will start mainly due to ¿water scarcity¿ across countries. But this is not the case in general and in particular if one looks at the annual rainfall pattern across the world. This book points out that the annual rainfall pattern in each year is almost the same across the world that includes the vast oceanic area of 71%. Since the spatial distribution of rainfall varies considerably over the globe, the water scarcity is felt in many countries, where poor rains occurred in a year.To solve such water scarcity problem, the book refers to build / upkeep the water storage based tanks to hold as much water as possible during monsoon and that can be used during the scarcity period. This tank storage also serves as a catalyst to recharge the groundwater in that region. To fill up tank storages, cent percent people¿s participation and government support are required. Wherever big dams are not feasible to store water, the tanks are rescuing factor. People¿s motivation is the key to achieve success in removing water scarcity. This is clearly illustrated in Tamil Nadu experience, where the tanks are the primary source of rainwater harvesting.