Application of Geoinformatics in Ground Water Augmentation of AAM Water Shed

Abstract

Groundwater is considered as the preferred source of water for meeting domestic, industrial and agricultural
requirements, due to its longer residence time in the ground, low level of contamination, wide distribution, and
availability within the reach of the end user. Even the existing wells are getting dried-up due to depletion of
ground water table as the natural recharge is not sufficient. Groundwater recharge is a basic pre-requisite for
efficient groundwater resource development and management, which is particularly vital for India with widely
prevalent semi-arid and arid climate. In case the natural recharge is not sufficient, it has to be met through
artificial recharge. To provide artificial recharge structures and to construct them, appropriate locations are
selected. Scientifically, each hydro- geomorphic unit will be evaluated for its recharge potential and suitably a
map showing such groundwater recharge potential zones for appropriate recharge would be prepared. Using
remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) a number of different thematic maps of the same area
are prepared and overlaid them to form a new integrated layer. This study was aimed to identify the groundwater
recharge potential zones, to be used for better and improved groundwater resources. The thematic layers
considered in this study are geomorphology, soil, land use land cover, slope (%) which is prepared using
satellite imagery and other conventional data. The thematic layers were first digitized from satellite imagery,
supported by ancillary data such as toposheets and field investigation data, finally all thematic layers were
digitized on Arc-GIS software to identify the groundwater recharge potential zones for the study area to
generate a map and recharging methods were suggested.