The Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) will come out with a Digital Water Atlas containing the details of all major river basins in the State.

The atlas, which will come handy for the quick reference of various Government departments and scientists, will feature the topography of the region, water quality and soil type, according to Mr K.V. Jayakumar, Executive Director, CWRDM.

Release of atlas

The gathering of data for the purpose and their digitisation had already been completed with the support of a group of scientists and the atlas would be released within a month after a final review by the research council of CWRDM.

The digitised data will be made available on the Internet, but can be accessed only by registered users with a password. The user name and password will be allotted after a screening process of the applications by CWRDM. Initially, corporate firms will not be permitted access to the data.

The digital water atlas will have a zooming facility that will take the user through a virtual tour of the microscopic details of each river basin.

The user can locate the entire data by simple mouse clicks.

Mr Jayakumar said it took three years to complete the detailed study for the digital mapping purpose. The team first prepared a water atlas and later effected necessary changes to fit into the digital version. The atlas, made with a government aid of Rs 5 lakh, will help various government agencies to prepare plans for effective flood management and conservation of water resources.

Related Topics