Abstract

Integration of remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS) has become a breakthrough in the field of groundwater studies. The demand for water is increasing exponentially each year showing an increase in dependence on groundwater sources as surface water sources are no longer satisfying the demand. The present study attempts to identify the potential recharge zones and locations for artificial recharge structures in Amaravathy Basin, Tamil Nadu. Weighted overlay analysis tool in Arc GIS application is used to identify the areas. The input data for this analysis are different layers like geology, geomorphology, soil, rainfall, land use-land cover, soil lineament density and drainage density. The result depicted the groundwater potential zones into four categories, viz., good, moderate, low and poor that and can be used for better planning and management of groundwater resources. Various groundwater recharge structures like boulder dams, check dams, percolation tanks, recharge pits etc., were suggested in appropriate locations of Amaravathy basin according to the derived results.

Keywords: Identification of recharge zones; Remote sensing; GIS; Amaravathy basin