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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}{{about|an Irrigation tank||Tank (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}{{about|irrigation tanks in Sri Lanka and India|other uses|Tank (disambiguation)|irrigation methods in other regions|Irrigation}}
{{For|etymology|Storage tank}}In Sri Lanka and India an '''irrigation tank''' or '''tank''' is an artificial [[reservoir]] of any size. They are part of a historic tradition of harvesting and preserving rainwater in the region. Often an embankment such as a mud bank was constructed across a slope to collect and store water by taking advantage of local mounds and depressions. The water would be used primarily for agriculture and drinking water, but also for bathing and rituals. Tank use is especially critical in regions without [[Perennial plant|perennial]] water resources.<ref name="Tank management">{{cite web
{{For|etymology|Storage tank}}
[[File:Shravanabelagola lake.JPG|thumb|right|[[Shravanabelagola]] lake in [[Karnataka]]]]

An '''irrigation tank''' or '''tank''' is an artificial [[reservoir]] of any size. They are mainly found in India.<ref name="glossary">{{cite web |title=Architecture on the Indian Subcontinent - glossary |url=http://www.indoarch.org/arch_glossary.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061106230438/http://www.indoarch.org/arch_glossary.php |archive-date=6 November 2006 |access-date=2006-12-18 |website=indoarch.org}}</ref> It can also have a natural or man-made spring included as part of a structure. Tanks are part of an ancient tradition of harvesting and preserving the local rainfall and water from streams and rivers for later use, primarily for agriculture and drinking water, but also for sacred bathing and ritual. Often a tank was constructed across a slope so to collect and store water by taking advantage of local mounds and depressions.<ref name="Tank management">{{cite web
|url=http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/Rural/Dhan.htm
|url=http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/Rural/Dhan.htm
|title=Tank management
|title=Tank management
|publisher=rainwaterharvesting.org
|publisher=rainwaterharvesting.org
|access-date=2006-10-17
|access-date=2006-10-17
}}</ref> The word tank is the English language substitute for the [[Languages of South Asia|vernacular terms used in South Asia]].<ref name="glossary">{{cite web |title=Architecture on the Indian Subcontinent - glossary |url=http://www.indoarch.org/arch_glossary.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061106230438/http://www.indoarch.org/arch_glossary.php |archive-date=6 November 2006 |access-date=2006-12-18 |website=indoarch.org}}</ref>
}}</ref> Tank irrigation is practised by constructing mud banks across small streams to make a small reservoir which collect excess water during the rainy season. Tank use is especially critical in parts of [[South India]] without [[Perennial plant|perennial]] rainfall where water supply replenishment is dependent on a cycle of dry seasons alternating with monsoon seasons.


A '''tank cascade''' is a system of irrigation tanks in single or multiple chains where water from a higher tank flows into lower tanks. Example of tank cascades include [[Sri Lanka’s tank cascade system|Sri Lanka's tank cascade system]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Geekiyanage |first=Nalaka |last2=Pushpakumara |first2=D.K.N.G. |date=2013 |title=Ecology of ancient Tank Cascade Systems in island Sri Lanka |url=http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2212682113000322 |journal=Journal of Marine and Island Cultures |language=en |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=93–101 |doi=10.1016/j.imic.2013.11.001}}</ref> the Indian city of Bangalore's cascading lakes in the Varthur lake series,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sudarshan |first=P. |last2=Mahesh |first2=M. K. |last3=Ramachandra |first3=T. V. |date=2020 |title=Dynamics of Metal Pollution in Sediment and Macrophytes of Varthur Lake, Bangalore |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00128-020-02816-x |journal=Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology |language=en |volume=104 |issue=4 |pages=411–417 |doi=10.1007/s00128-020-02816-x |issn=0007-4861}}</ref> and the Indian city of Madurai's Vandiyur tank cascade system.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Srivastava |first=Aman |last2=Chinnasamy |first2=Pennan |date=2021 |title=Water management using traditional tank cascade systems: a case study of semi-arid region of Southern India |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s42452-021-04232-0 |journal=SN Applied Sciences |language=en |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=281 |doi=10.1007/s42452-021-04232-0 |issn=2523-3963}}</ref>
==Tank design==
Water is considered a purifying and regenerative element in India, and is an essential element of prayer and ritual. Water is also revered because of its scarcity in western India where dry and monsoon seasons alternate and failure of the monsoon season means famine and death while plentiful water replacing irrigations sources is a time of rejoicing. This resulted in building water storage tanks that combined the practical and sacred.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thapar |first=Binda |title=Introduction to Indian Architecture |publisher=Periplus Editions |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7946-0011-2 |location=Singapore |page=24 |chapter=Architecture and Water}}</ref> Since ancient times, the design of water storage has been important in Indian architecture. As early as 3000 BC, sophisticated systems of drains, wells and tanks were built to conserve and utilise water. Tank building as an art form began with the Hindus and developed under Muslim rule.<ref>{{cite web |title=Architecture - Stepwells |url=https://southasia.ucla.edu/culture/architecture/stepwells/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216004806/http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/Culture/Archit/Stepw.html |archive-date=16 February 2007 |access-date=2007-01-09 |website=southasia.ucla.edu}}</ref>


⚫
==Modern tank management==
An example of the art of tank design is the large, geometrically spectacular Stepped Tank at the Royal Center at the ruins of [[Vijayanagara]], the capital of the [[Vijayanagara Empire]], surrounding the modern town of [[Hampi]]. It is lined with green [[diorite]] and has no [[Plumbing fixture#Inlets and drains|drain]]. The tank was filled by [[aqueduct (water supply)|aqueduct]].<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/hampi/lt01.html
|title=Great Tank
|publisher=art-and-archaeology
|access-date=2007-01-13
}}</ref>

==Village tanks==
[[File:குளம்.JPG|thumb|right|A tank in [[Tamil Nadu]]]]
[[File:குளம்.JPG|thumb|right|A tank in [[Tamil Nadu]]]]
⚫
Today, there are approximately 120,000 small-scale tanks, irrigating about 41,200&nbsp;km² in semi-arid areas of India.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Anbumozhi |first1=V. |last2=Matsumoto |first2=K. |last3=Yamaji |first3=E. |year=2001 |title=Towards Improved Performance of Irrigation Tanks in Semi-Arid Regions of India: Modernization Opportunities and Challenges |journal=Irrigation and Drainage Systems |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=293–309 |doi=10.1023/A:1014420822465 |id={{INIST|13552012}} |s2cid=110086216}}</ref> This constitutes about one third of the total irrigated land in South India.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Arumugam |first1=N. |last2=Mohan |first2=S. |last3=Ramaprasad |first3=R. |year=1997 |title=Sustainable Development and Management of Tank Irrigation Systems in South India |journal=Water International |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=90–7 |doi=10.1080/02508069708686676 |id={{INIST|2829920}}}}</ref>
[[Ralegaon Siddhi]] is an example of a village that revitalised its ancient tank system.
⚫
In 1975 the village was [[drought]]-stricken. The village tank could not hold water as the earthen [[reservoir|embankment dam]] wall leaked. Work began with the [[percolation]] tank construction by the villagers who donated their labor to repair the embankment. Once this was fixed, the village's seven wells below the tank filled with water in the summer for the first time in memory. Now the village has a supply of water throughout the year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ralegan Siddhi : A village Transformed |url=http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/Rural/Ralegan.htm |access-date=2006-10-30 |website=rainwaterharvesting.org}}</ref>


⚫
The development of large-scale water management methods and hydroelectric generation have replaced much of the local efforts and community management of water. For example, the state of [[Karnataka]] has about 44,000 artificial wetlands locally constructed over many centuries. At least 328 are threatened today.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bird monitoring at Rampura and Kalkere tanks |url=http://en.arocha.org/india/index5.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070222103324/http://en.arocha.org/india/index5.html |archive-date=22 February 2007 |access-date=2006-10-17 |publisher=[[A Rocha]]}}</ref> However, recently a tank regeneration movement initiated by communities and [[non-governmental organisation]]s has arisen.<ref name="Tank management" />
==Temple tanks==
Tanks known as "[[Pushkarni]]" or "[[Kalyani (well)|Kalyani]]" also known as "Kund" in Hindi are reservoirs with steps leading down to the water, generally found in South India, and sometimes constructed within the walls of a temple complex.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.indoarch.org/arch_glossary.php
|title=Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent - glossary
|publisher=Indian Architecture
|access-date=2006-10-17
}}</ref>


⚫
[[Ralegaon Siddhi]] is an example of a village that revitalised its ancient tank system. In 1975 the village was [[drought]]-stricken. The village tank could not hold water as the earthen [[reservoir|embankment dam]] wall leaked. Work began with the [[percolation]] tank construction by the villagers who donated their labor to repair the embankment. Once this was fixed, the village's seven wells below the tank filled with water in the summer for the first time in memory. Now the village has a supply of water throughout the year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ralegan Siddhi : A village Transformed |url=http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/Rural/Ralegan.htm |access-date=2006-10-30 |website=rainwaterharvesting.org}}</ref>
Bathing in the [[sacred waters]] of a temple tank was believed to cure worshippers of afflictions such as leprosy and blindness.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.indiantemples.com/suntemple.html
|title=Sun Temples in India
|publisher=TempleNet
|access-date=2006-10-17
}}</ref> Many temple tanks are decaying and drying up today.<ref>{{cite web |last=Walia |first=Varinder |date=June 1, 2006 |title=Ponds, tanks relics of a bygone era |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060601/aplus.htm |access-date=2006-10-17 |publisher=The Tribune AmritsarPlus Online Edition}}</ref>

==Stepwells==

[[Stepwell]]s, also called ''bavdi'' ({{lang-hi|बावड़ी}}) or ''bavli'' ({{lang-hi|बावली}}), are [[water well|well]]s in which the water can be reached by descending a set of steps. They are most common in the west of India.

Stepwells were often used for leisure, providing relief from daytime heat. This led to the building of some significant ornamental and architectural features, often associated with dwellings and in urban areas. It also ensured their survival as monuments.

⚫
==Modern tank management==
⚫
The development of large-scale water management methods and hydroelectric generation have replaced much of the local efforts and community management of water. For example, the state of [[Karnataka]] has about 44,000 artificial wetlands locally constructed over many centuries. At least 328 are threatened today.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bird monitoring at Rampura and Kalkere tanks |url=http://en.arocha.org/india/index5.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070222103324/http://en.arocha.org/india/index5.html |archive-date=22 February 2007 |access-date=2006-10-17 |publisher=[[A Rocha]]}}</ref>


== Other types of tanks ==
⚫
However, recently a tank regeneration movement initiated by communities and [[non-governmental organisation]]s (NGO) has arisen.<ref name="Tank management"/> Today, there are approximately 120,000 small-scale tanks, irrigating about 41,200&nbsp;km² in semi-arid areas of India.<ref>{{cite journal |id={{INIST|13552012}} |doi=10.1023/A:1014420822465 |year=2001 |last1=Anbumozhi |first1=V. |last2=Matsumoto |first2=K. |last3=Yamaji |first3=E. |title=Towards Improved Performance of Irrigation Tanks in Semi-Arid Regions of India: Modernization Opportunities and Challenges |journal=Irrigation and Drainage Systems |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=293–309|s2cid=110086216 }}</ref> This constitutes about one third of the total irrigated land in South India.<ref>{{cite journal |id={{INIST|2829920}} |doi=10.1080/02508069708686676 |title=Sustainable Development and Management of Tank Irrigation Systems in South India |year=1997 |last1=Arumugam |first1=N. |last2=Mohan |first2=S. |last3=Ramaprasad |first3=R. |journal=Water International |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=90–7}}</ref>
Other types of tanks in the subcontinent include [[Temple tank|temple tanks]] and [[Stepwell|stepwells]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent - glossary |url=http://www.indoarch.org/arch_glossary.php |access-date=2006-10-17 |publisher=Indian Architecture}}</ref> Temple tanks are water storage tanks that combine the practical and sacred.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thapar |first=Binda |title=Introduction to Indian Architecture |publisher=Periplus Editions |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7946-0011-2 |location=Singapore |page=24 |chapter=Architecture and Water}}</ref> Many temple tanks are decaying and drying up today.<ref>{{cite web |last=Walia |first=Varinder |date=June 1, 2006 |title=Ponds, tanks relics of a bygone era |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060601/aplus.htm |access-date=2006-10-17 |publisher=The Tribune AmritsarPlus Online Edition}}</ref> Since ancient times, the design of water storage has been important in Indian architecture.<ref>{{cite web |title=Architecture - Stepwells |url=https://southasia.ucla.edu/culture/architecture/stepwells/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216004806/http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/Culture/Archit/Stepw.html |archive-date=16 February 2007 |access-date=2007-01-09 |website=southasia.ucla.edu}}</ref> Stepwells were often used for leisure, providing relief from daytime heat. This led to the building of some significant ornamental and architectural features, often associated with dwellings and in urban areas. It also ensured their survival as monuments. An example of the art of tank design is the large, geometrically spectacular stepped tank at [[Vijayanagara]], the capital of the [[Vijayanagara Empire]], surrounding the modern town of [[Hampi]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Great Tank |url=http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/hampi/lt01.html |access-date=2007-01-13 |publisher=art-and-archaeology}}</ref>


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
Line 67: Line 36:


==See also==
==See also==
*[[Noyyal River]] - Tanks System
*[[Noyyal River]]
*[[Irrigation]]
*[[Johad]]
*[[Johad]]
*[[bavdi]] or [[stepwell]]
*[[Temple tank]]
*[[Tank cascade system]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

⚫
Palanisami, K, and Easer, E.W. (2000). ''Tank Irrigation in the 21st Century—What Next?'' Discovery, Delhi, Discovery. {{ISBN|81-7141-558-X}}.
== Further reading ==

⚫
* Palanisami, K, and Easer, E.W. (2000). ''Tank Irrigation in the 21st Century—What Next?'' Discovery, Delhi, Discovery. {{ISBN|81-7141-558-X}}.
* {{Cite journal |last=Van Meter |first=Kimberly J. |last2=Steiff |first2=Michael |last3=McLaughlin |first3=Daniel L. |last4=Basu |first4=Nandita B. |date=2016 |title=The socioecohydrology of rainwater harvesting in India: understanding water storage and release dynamics across spatial scales |url=https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/20/2629/2016/ |journal=Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |language=en |volume=20 |issue=7 |pages=2629–2647 |doi=10.5194/hess-20-2629-2016 |issn=1607-7938}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061127184054/http://en.arocha.org/images/shared/655l.jpeg Photo of Rampura temple tank]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070312024538/http://en.arocha.org/images/shared/656l.jpeg Photo of Kalkere temple tamk]
*[http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/hampi/st01.html Photo of temple Stepped Tank at Vijayanagara]
*[http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/kanchipuram/eka04.html Photo of temple tank at Ekambareshvara Temple]
*[http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/kanchipuram/eka04.html Photo of temple tank at Ekambareshvara Temple]
*[http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/hampi/lt01.html Photo of Great Tank at Royal Center Temple, Vijayanagara]
*[http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/bhubaneshwar/mk11.html Tank, east of Mukteshvara]
*[http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/bhubaneshwar/mk11.html Tank, east of Mukteshvara]
*[http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/Rural/Dhan1.htm Tank Rehabilitation Program]
*[http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/Rural/Dhan1.htm Tank Rehabilitation Program]

Revision as of 09:31, 26 December 2022

This article is about irrigation tanks in Sri Lanka and India. For other uses, see Tank (disambiguation). For irrigation methods in other regions, see Irrigation.
For etymology, see Storage tank.

In Sri Lanka and India an irrigation tank or tank is an artificial reservoir of any size. They are part of a historic tradition of harvesting and preserving rainwater in the region. Often an embankment such as a mud bank was constructed across a slope to collect and store water by taking advantage of local mounds and depressions. The water would be used primarily for agriculture and drinking water, but also for bathing and rituals. Tank use is especially critical in regions without perennial water resources.[1] The word tank is the English language substitute for the vernacular terms used in South Asia.[2]

A tank cascade is a system of irrigation tanks in single or multiple chains where water from a higher tank flows into lower tanks. Example of tank cascades include Sri Lanka's tank cascade system,[3] the Indian city of Bangalore's cascading lakes in the Varthur lake series,[4] and the Indian city of Madurai's Vandiyur tank cascade system.[5]

Modern tank management

A tank in Tamil Nadu

Today, there are approximately 120,000 small-scale tanks, irrigating about 41,200 km² in semi-arid areas of India.[6] This constitutes about one third of the total irrigated land in South India.[7]

The development of large-scale water management methods and hydroelectric generation have replaced much of the local efforts and community management of water. For example, the state of Karnataka has about 44,000 artificial wetlands locally constructed over many centuries. At least 328 are threatened today.[8] However, recently a tank regeneration movement initiated by communities and non-governmental organisations has arisen.[1]

Ralegaon Siddhi is an example of a village that revitalised its ancient tank system. In 1975 the village was drought-stricken. The village tank could not hold water as the earthen embankment dam wall leaked. Work began with the percolation tank construction by the villagers who donated their labor to repair the embankment. Once this was fixed, the village's seven wells below the tank filled with water in the summer for the first time in memory. Now the village has a supply of water throughout the year.[9]

Other types of tanks

Other types of tanks in the subcontinent include temple tanks and stepwells.[10] Temple tanks are water storage tanks that combine the practical and sacred.[11] Many temple tanks are decaying and drying up today.[12] Since ancient times, the design of water storage has been important in Indian architecture.[13] Stepwells were often used for leisure, providing relief from daytime heat. This led to the building of some significant ornamental and architectural features, often associated with dwellings and in urban areas. It also ensured their survival as monuments. An example of the art of tank design is the large, geometrically spectacular stepped tank at Vijayanagara, the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, surrounding the modern town of Hampi.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Tank management". rainwaterharvesting.org. Retrieved 17 October 2006.
  2. ^ "Architecture on the Indian Subcontinent - glossary". indoarch.org. Archived from the original on 6 November 2006. Retrieved 18 December 2006.
  3. ^ Geekiyanage, Nalaka; Pushpakumara, D.K.N.G. (2013). "Ecology of ancient Tank Cascade Systems in island Sri Lanka". Journal of Marine and Island Cultures. 2 (2): 93–101. doi:10.1016/j.imic.2013.11.001.
  4. ^ Sudarshan, P.; Mahesh, M. K.; Ramachandra, T. V. (2020). "Dynamics of Metal Pollution in Sediment and Macrophytes of Varthur Lake, Bangalore". Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. 104 (4): 411–417. doi:10.1007/s00128-020-02816-x. ISSN 0007-4861.
  5. ^ Srivastava, Aman; Chinnasamy, Pennan (2021). "Water management using traditional tank cascade systems: a case study of semi-arid region of Southern India". SN Applied Sciences. 3 (3): 281. doi:10.1007/s42452-021-04232-0. ISSN 2523-3963.
  6. ^ Anbumozhi, V.; Matsumoto, K.; Yamaji, E. (2001). "Towards Improved Performance of Irrigation Tanks in Semi-Arid Regions of India: Modernization Opportunities and Challenges". Irrigation and Drainage Systems. 15 (4): 293–309. doi:10.1023/A:1014420822465. S2CID 110086216. INIST 13552012.
  7. ^ Arumugam, N.; Mohan, S.; Ramaprasad, R. (1997). "Sustainable Development and Management of Tank Irrigation Systems in South India". Water International. 22 (2): 90–7. doi:10.1080/02508069708686676. INIST 2829920.
  8. ^ "Bird monitoring at Rampura and Kalkere tanks". A Rocha. Archived from the original on 22 February 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2006.
  9. ^ "Ralegan Siddhi : A village Transformed". rainwaterharvesting.org. Retrieved 30 October 2006.
  10. ^ "Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent - glossary". Indian Architecture. Retrieved 17 October 2006.
  11. ^ Thapar, Binda (2004). "Architecture and Water". Introduction to Indian Architecture. Singapore: Periplus Editions. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-7946-0011-2.
  12. ^ Walia, Varinder (1 June 2006). "Ponds, tanks relics of a bygone era". The Tribune AmritsarPlus Online Edition. Retrieved 17 October 2006.
  13. ^ "Architecture - Stepwells". southasia.ucla.edu. Archived from the original on 16 February 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2007.
  14. ^ "Great Tank". art-and-archaeology. Retrieved 13 January 2007.

Further reading

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