Digitally Documenting Indian Water Heritage: Challenges, Strategies and Standardisation

Abstract. Traditional water systems across India were developed by local communities as adaptive responses to the hydrological needs of the region, shaped by geographic terrain and natural drainage patterns. These systems, comprising kunds, vavs, bawaris, baolis, bawdis, kalyanis, jhalras, johads, eri, pushkarnis, kulams, among others, represent a diverse and context-specific legacy of sustainable water management. Despite their historical and ecological significance, many of these structures today remain neglected, structurally compromised, or polluted. Yet, in the face of intensifying water scarcity and the escalating impacts of climate change, these vernacular systems offer critical insights into resilient water practices.
This research underscores the importance of documenting traditional water heritage structures as a means of preserving the embedded indigenous knowledge systems and promoting their integration into contemporary water management strategies. It particularly emphasizes the role of digital documentation techniques, which enable the precise recording of the site condition at a specific moment in time. However, the process of digitally documenting such structures poses various technical, logistical, and contextual challenges.
The research paper aims to develop standardized methodologies for the digital documentation of traditional water systems in India. It does so through a typological review of water heritage structures of India, followed by an in-depth analysis of five case studies of digital documentation by the author from distinct geographical regions. By examining the approaches adopted, the challenges encountered, and the mitigation strategies employed in each case, the paper proposes a set of context-sensitive standards and guidelines. In a landscape where technical manuals and standard protocols for digital documentation are limited, this paper aims to serve as a foundational reference for future documentation and conservation initiatives.