Water Management Field Laboratory

Water Management Field Laboratory, at Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, focuses on the investigation of different aspects and issues related to water and its availability such as flood & drought management, dam safety, inland navigation, riverbank protection, and food & water security. These research areas have been marked as of national importance by Ministry of Jal Shakti and Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, Govt. of India. Understanding the importance of the United Nations SDGs, the laboratory focuses on the SDG goals: SDG 2 (End Hunger, Achieve Food Security and Promote Sustainable Agriculture, SDG 6 (Ensure Availability and Sustainable Management of Water and Sanitation for All, SDG 13 (Take Urgent Action to Combat Climate Change and its Impacts).

Due to climate change effects and population rise, the water demand for various uses is increasingly falling short of available water resources. In years to come, climate change is projected to result in further adverse effects on overall water availability for agriculture, drinking water and industrial water supply. Also, the frequency and intensity of floods in river basins and urban landscapes are expected to increase due to increase in intensity and erratic nature of precipitation. Therefore, there is a pressing need to address the critical issues related to water and water availability and come up with innovative solutions to fill the knowledge gaps with respect to the present and near future in the area of agricultural water management and river hydraulics, which may otherwise pose major constraints to sound and sustainable water resources management. To address these critical issues in water management, food & water security nexus and impacts of climate change on water availability, Water Management Field Laboratory was established in April 2021, in the Department of Civil Engineering. The laboratory is primarily working in two broad areas:

• Agricultural water management
• River hydraulics

EXTERNALLY FUNDED GRANTS

Ongoing externally-funded research projects

Development of AI based DSS for improved crop water use efficiency under regulated deficit drip irrigation regime in the backdrop of climate change (2020-2023)

• PI: Dr. Gopal Das Singhal, co-PI: Dr. Hitesh Upreti
• Funding Agency: DST, Govt. of India
• Funding Amount: ₹105 lakhs

Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure (FIST) – 2022, Department of Civil Engineering (2022-2027)

• Project Implementation Group: Gopal Das Singhal, Dr. Hitesh Upreti, Dr. Ellora Padhi
• Funding Agency: DST, Govt. of India
• Funding Amount: ~ ₹100 lakhs
• Equipment Sanctioned: Recirculating titling flume, Hyperspectral camera

A novel hybrid approach for the design of stilling basin to counter the downstream local scour (2022-2024)

• PI: Dr. Ellora Padhi
• Funding Agency: SERB, Govt. of India
• Funding Amount: ~ ₹21 lakhs

Externally funded high-end workshops

Agricultural water management in the backdrop of climate change using remote sensing, GIS, and IoT techniques (21-27 July, 2022)

• Coordinators: Gopal Das Singhal, Dr. Hitesh Upreti, Dr. Rohit Singh
• Funding Agency: SERB, Govt. of India (KARYASHALA under Accelerate Vigyan Scheme)
• Funding Amount: ₹5 lakhs

Externally funded faculty development program (FDP)

Use of GIS & remote sensing in agriculture and natural environment (2-6 August, 2021)

• Coordinators: Gopal Das Singhal, Dr. Hitesh Upreti
• Funding Agency: AICTE ATAL Academy
• Funding Amount: ₹0.93 lakhs

TEAM

Faculty

• Gopal Das Singhal, Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, SNIoE
• Hitesh Upreti, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, SNIoE
• Ellora Padhi, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, SNIoE

Lab Staff

• Rajneesh Kumar, Department of Civil Engineering, SNIoE

LOCATION

Water Management Field Laboratory, near R-block, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence (SNIoE), Delhi-NCR

Location of Water Management Field Laboratory (marked in red box) in the SNIoE campus