Land use change in Ambikapuram Valley, Coonoor
Ambikapuram valley is an area of over 200 acres in Hubbathalai Panchayat, Coonoor Taluk in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu. This valley is a typical example of many such across the district. There are springs in the upper reaches, streams and wetlands in the valley that are major sources of water supply. Changes in land use have a major impact on the quantity and quality of water in the valley. The time slider below enables us to compare imagery from 2012 and 2018 to assess changes over time.
A Spring Atlas of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (Beta version)
Introduction There is a lack of data on the number and locations of springs in the country as a whole. The Nilgiris is no exception to this. While local inhabitants can possibly reel off names of springs close to them, no one person/institution has data on the locations of all the springs in the region. We believe that knowing where our springs are is just a first step to understanding them and conserving them. After all they are our lifelines! We present here a few maps based on primary data our volunteers have collected over the last three years. The
Spring Hydrograph of Happy Valley, Kotagiri
Keystone has been monitoring the spring discharge and water quality in Happy Valley with a view to build a long term dataset that would help in managing the water resources. The data and a spring hydrograph are shared below. The report uses the free Google Data Studio app.
Springs in Kotagiri town
We are currently undertaking a survey of all water sources in Kotagiri town with a view to identifying conservation issues and providing management plans to the Town Panchayat. We have already collaborated with the Town Panchayat to conserve the springshed in Happy Valley since 2006. We have now embarked on identifying other such places in Kotagiri where this effort could be replicated. Here we are sharing a preliminary map of the springs in the town.
Springs as water sources in the Nilgiris: An economics perspective
Have we ever wondered how much it costs to tap water from natural sources like springs and wells? Well, if you say that the water we receive at our houses is for free of cost, then you may need to read further to know the number of works that take place at different levels of government and by other institutions as a result of which we get accessible water from the nearest delivery points. In 2016, the Keystone Foundation initiated a three month pilot study of the economics of water supply to off-grid habitations in the Nilgiris district of Tamil
Map of springs inventory in the Coonoor region, The Nilgiris
Over the last two years, Keystone has been mapping locations of perennial springs along with some baseline data. This is a first attempt of its kind in the Nilgiris as far as we know. Certainly no map or list of springs in this landscape is readily available to the public. Here’s a map of the spring locations. Know any springs we have missed out in these areas? Please leave a comment with the location of the spring(s) you know of and we will visit it and include it in the inventory.
