National Program
for
Improvement of Watercourses (NPIW)
Watercourse Improvement:
Watercourse improvement means:
“Demolishing the old watercourse and rebuilding it
according to specific design, dimensions and grades
with compacted earth fill or lining and construction
of water control structures”.
Without proper control of construction, watercourse
improvement will not be successful nor sustainable.
Essential factors, to achieve the desired quality,
include:
1. Materials and construction procedures must meet
standard specifications;
2. Workmanship be carried out in a highly
professional manner; and
3. Quality control of the construction process must be
maintained at a high standard which is achieved
through visual examination, measurement and
testing.
Prior to commencement of construction the following
items must be completed:
1. A complete design with specifications, estimation
of material and drawings for work to be done.
2. A list of materials showing quantities of various
items needed for construction.
3. The signatures and dates of design and sanction
approvals be obtained.
4. Arrangements made with the WUA for their
required inputs and a scheduled date to begin
construction.
Scope of Watercourse Improvement:
Water is a scarce resource which is the life blood of
our agriculture.
A huge amount of water is lost causing water-
logging and salinity problems in our agricultural
lands.
Approximately 37 MAF water is lost in
watercourses only.
Keeping in view the huge water losses, the
government launched an on farm water management
project in 1977.
The targets set forth for these projects were
successfully achieved and about 7,609 watercourses
out of 44,000 watercourses have been renovated in
Sindh so far.
GoP has approved nation wide project “National
Program for Improvement of Watercourses in
Pakistan”. It is anticipated that more than 33,000
watercourses will be improved under said program
during a period of four years.
Objectives of Watercourse Improvements:
Purpose of canal outlet is to convey water from the
canal outlet to the farm. The watercourse improvement
objectives include:
To achieve maximum conveyance efficiency.
To prevent siltation.
To prevent erosion.
To attain the full supply level in watercourse high
enough to provide a proper working head to the
command area.
To avoid submergence of mogha/outlets or canal
outlet.
