Integrating IoT Sensors and Smart Automation into Traditional Irrigation Systems (Stepwells, Johads, Ahar-Pyne): Water Conservation and SDG 6
Keywords:
Ahar-pyne, Indian knowledge system, Johad, LoRa, SDG 6, Stepwell, Traditional irrigation, Water conservationAbstract
India’s traditional water systems (stepwells, johads, and the ahar-pyne network of south Bihar) store a brief monsoon and stretch it across a long dry period. They feed groundwater, keep evaporation low, and move water by gravity with no grid power, yet they run on community habit and visual judgement rather than measurement, which makes their conservation value hard to verify or scale. Inexpensive IoT sensing, low-power radio links, edge computing, and automated actuators are now practical for water management. This study reviews how the two can be joined in support of Sustainable Development Goal 6. It outlines the three systems and their hydrology, works through the water balance of a johad using assumed inputs, surveys suitable sensors, links, analytics and actuators, and proposes a community-centred integration in which traditional knowledge supplies the operating rules while IoT supplies measurement, checking and timely alerts. Cost, upkeep, heritage limits, connectivity, governance and data ownership are discussed. The review concludes that IoT should support traditional systems, not replace them, and that quantitative field evidence for IoT-assisted traditional structures is still scarce.
References
S. K. Jain, P. K. Agarwal, and V. P. Singh, Hydrology and Water Resources of India. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer, 2007.
NITI Aayog, Composite Water Management Index: A Tool for Water Management. New Delhi, India: Government of India, 2018.
United Nations General Assembly, Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Resolution A/RES/70/1, Sep. 25, 2015.
UN-Water, Summary Progress Update 2021: SDG 6—Water and Sanitation for All. Geneva, Switzerland: United Nations, 2021.
M. Livingston, Steps to Water: The Ancient Stepwells of India. New York, NY, USA: Princeton Architectural Press, 2002.
A. Agarwal and S. Narain, Eds., Dying Wisdom: Rise, Fall and Potential of India's Traditional Water Harvesting Systems. New Delhi, India: Centre for Science and Environment, 1997.
A. Mishra, The Radiant Raindrops of Rajasthan, translated by M. G. Jani. New Delhi, India: Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, 2001.
B. Yadav et al., “Assessment of traditional rainwater harvesting system in barren lands of a semi-arid region: A case study of Rajasthan (India),” Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, vol. 42, Aug. 2022.
M. Rajendran and A. TP, “Digitally documenting Indian water heritage: Challenges, strategies and standardisation,” ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, vol. X-M-2-2025, pp. 283–291, 2025.
K. Gaurav, P. Sharma, and A. Sharma, “Revisiting community-based traditional irrigation systems in India,” Heliyon, vol. 11, no. 1, Jan. 2025.
B. Nsoh et al., “Internet of Things-based automated solutions utilizing machine learning for smart and real-time irrigation management: A review,” Sensors, vol. 24, no. 23, Nov. 2024.
N. S. Chilamkurthy, O. J. Pandey, A. Ghosh, L. R. Cenkeramaddi, and H.-N. Dai, “Low-power wide-area networks: A broad overview of its different aspects,” IEEE Access, vol. 10, pp. 81926–81959, 2022.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre, “Rani-ki-Vav (the Queen’s Stepwell) at Patan, Gujarat,” World Heritage List, 2014.
A. Sharma and Shiva, “Linkages between traditional water systems and Sustainable Development Goals: A case of Govardhan, India,” Social Sciences & Humanities Open, vol. 9, 2024.
V. T. Chow, D. R. Maidment, and L. W. Mays, Applied Hydrology. New York, NY, USA: McGraw-Hill, 1988.
R. G. Allen, L. S. Pereira, D. Raes, and M. Smith, Crop Evapotranspiration: Guidelines for Computing Crop Water Requirements. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1998, FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 56.
V. T. Chow, Open-Channel Hydraulics. New York, NY, USA: McGraw-Hill, 1959.
T. A. Shaikh, T. Rasool, and F. R. Lone, "Towards leveraging the role of machine learning and artificial intelligence in precision agriculture and smart farming," Computer and Electronics in Agriculture, vol. 198, Jul. 2022.
K. N. Nikam, “Stepwells as heritage sites: Exploring their roles for sustainable communities,” Ancient Asia, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 103–127, 2024.
Central Ground Water Board, Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Ground Water in India. New Delhi, India: Government of India, 2013.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, The State of Food and Agriculture 2022: Leveraging Automation in Agriculture for Transforming Agrifood Systems. Rome, Italy: FAO, 2022.
