Geomorphological Mapping for Identification of Groundwater  Potential Zones in Hard Rock Areas Using Geospatial Information– A case study of Nagavati Watershed in Dharmapuri District, Tamil Nadu, India

R. Kannan; S. Venkateswaran; M.Vijay Prabhu; S.Satheeshkumar

Volume : VI, Issue : II, February - 2016

Geomorphological Mapping for Identification of Groundwater Potential Zones in Hard Rock Areas Using Geospatial Information– A case study of Nagavati Watershed in Dharmapuri District, Tamil Nadu, India

R. Kannan, S. Venkateswaran, M. Vijay Prabhu, S. Satheeshkumar

Abstract :

 Groundwater recharge is an important process for the management of both surface and subsurface water resources. Nagavati watershed is located in part of Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu in South India. It lies between latitudes 11°45’N to 12°15’ N and 77°30’ E to 78°30 E longitudes. It covers within the Survey of India toposheet nos. 57H/16, 57L/4, 58E/13, and 58I/1 covering an area of about 500 sq.km. Nagavathi is a major river which is ephemeral stream flowing from northeast to southwest direction and has 32 km length and surrounded by west part Masakkallu reserve forest, eastern part Thamboran malai and central part Elagiri reserve forest in the south west by Mettur Stanley reservoir. The purpose of this study was to investigate new water sources in the study area. The thematic layers considered in this study are Geology, Geomorphology, Lineament, Drainage, Soil, and surface water body, which were prepared using the IRS–P6 LISS–III satellite imagery and conventional data. In addition, soil and drainage maps were digitized from published maps. The thematic layers were finally integrated using Arc GIS 9.3 software. On the basis of different geomorphic units, five categories of groundwater potential zones were delineated as ‘Very good,’ ‘good‘, ‘Medium,‘ Very poor and ‘Poor‘. It is concluded that the RS and GIS techniques are very efficient and useful for the identification of groundwater potential zones.