International Journal of Geomatics and Geosciences

With the current pace of development and utilization of resources at various levels of human development, the demand for water is ever increasing. But the fact remains the same i.e. natural resources are limited and especially water resource are depleting at an alarming rate. This includes both quality and quantity aspects which to a large extent depends upon the geologic/geographic location of the resource. The conventional approach for groundwater recharge assessment has some limitations in spite of its simplicity and wide applicability in varied hydro-geological setup. Whereas in case of remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) application, spatial distribution of the variables are taken into account, thus preparing an information layer for an area under consideration. In the present study, weighted indexing method has been used to identify and demarcate the potential zones for groundwater recharge which can also be used as sites for artificial recharge. Thus, multiple thematic layers of influencing parameters like geology, soil, slope, drainage density and land use are prepared and assigned on a scale of 1 to 5 based on their influence on the groundwater recharge process. The final map suitable for ground water recharge thus obtained categorizes study area into three zones, viz., poor, moderate and good according to their suitability for ground water recharge.Present study deals with the efficiency of RS and GIS techniques to identify groundwater recharge sites. It further envisages generating a regional model for development and management of water resources with a view to apply at local level.