Our Work
SARD executes four types of field project in Vennuru and Kondapi, Prakasam district — water infrastructure that gives communities reliable access to clean water, and afforestation that restores green cover and protects the watershed.
RO Plants
Reverse Osmosis water purification systems installed at the community level — giving villages a reliable source of safe drinking water independent of groundwater quality.
Much of Prakasam district sits over aquifers with elevated fluoride and high total dissolved solids (TDS). Long-term consumption of fluoride-affected water causes dental and skeletal fluorosis — a condition that affects children disproportionately and is entirely preventable with access to purified water.
SARD installs community-scale RO systems at central locations within the village — a water point that is accessible, maintained by a local operator, and priced to be available to every household. The installation includes civil works, the RO unit itself, storage tanks, and an initial period of operator training and supervision.
Each RO plant installation is scoped and costed as a discrete project, reported on individually, and handed over to the community with a maintenance protocol in place.
Check Dams
Small check dams built across seasonal streams to capture monsoon runoff, recharge the groundwater table, and extend surface water availability into the dry season.
The Prakasam corridor is semi-arid: rainfall is concentrated in the monsoon months and the landscape dries quickly once the season ends. Without structures to slow and hold surface water, runoff moves off the land before it can recharge local aquifers — deepening the summer water stress that communities already face.
Check dams intercept this flow at specific points along drainage lines, raising the local water table, supporting irrigation during the rabi (winter) season, and improving groundwater availability for drinking water sources in surrounding villages.
SARD identifies check dam sites through field survey and community consultation, manages construction through local contractors, and confirms recharge outcomes in subsequent seasons.
Tank Works
Desiltation and structural development of village tanks — restoring water storage capacity, strengthening embankments, and protecting the catchments that feed them.
Village tanks are the oldest water infrastructure in the Andhra landscape. Many have been neglected for decades: silt has accumulated on the tank bed, reducing storage depth; bunds have weakened; sluices have deteriorated. A tank that once held six months of irrigation water now holds weeks.
Tank desiltation removes accumulated silt from the tank bed, directly restoring the water volume the structure can hold. Tank development work strengthens bunds, restores sluice and surplus weir function, and repairs the feeder channels that direct catchment runoff into the tank.
Desiltation silt is distributed to farmer fields as nutrient-rich material, directly improving soil quality on agricultural land adjacent to the tank.
Afforestation
Large-scale tree planting on degraded land, tank bunds, and community areas — rebuilding green cover, reducing soil erosion, and improving the local water cycle.
Decades of land degradation across the Prakasam corridor have stripped tree cover from common lands, tank bunds, and agricultural boundaries. Bare soil erodes more quickly during monsoon rains, reducing topsoil depth; it also heats faster and retains less moisture, worsening the local water deficit throughout the dry season.
SARD plants native and locally-adapted species selected for their ability to survive in semi-arid conditions without intensive irrigation after establishment. Planting sites include degraded common land, the bunds of restored village tanks, drainage lines, and community boundary areas.
Afforestation is planned and executed in coordination with tank work — planting on freshly restored tank bunds stabilises the earthwork and begins the process of long-term bund protection through root systems and canopy cover.
Geography
Current project villages: Vennuru and Kondapi
All four project types are currently active in Vennuru and Kondapi in Prakasam district. Both villages face fluoride-affected groundwater, degraded village tanks, and significant loss of green cover — the specific conditions that SARD's project portfolio is designed to address.
