IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL GROUNDWATER RECHARGE ZONES IN SARABANGA SUB BASIN, TAMIL NADU, USING GIS–BASED ANALYTICAL HIERARCHICAL PROCESS (AHP) TECHNIQUE

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

Volume : VI, Issue : II, February - 2016

IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL GROUNDWATER RECHARGE ZONES IN SARABANGA SUB BASIN, TAMIL NADU, USING GIS–BASED ANALYTICAL HIERARCHICAL PROCESS (AHP) TECHNIQUE

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

Abstract :

<p>The increasing demands of water extraction pumping rates also increases. The declaiming trend of water level leads to future dements. The management of both surface and subsurface water resources is very urgent need. The present study utilizes the application of Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) on geospatial analysis for the exploration of potential zones for artificial groundwater recharge along Sarabanga sub basin in the Salem district, Tamil Nadu, India. The ideal morphology of features such as geology, geomorphology, soil types, land use and land cover, drainage, lineament, and aquifers influence the groundwater recharge in either direct or indirect way. These thematic layers are extracted from IRS P6 LISS IV image, topographical map, and other collateral data sources. In this study, the multilayers were weighed accordingly to the magnitude of groundwater recharge potential zones. The AHP technique is a pair&ndash;wise matrix analytical method was used to calculate the geometric mean and normalized weight of individual parameters. Further, the normalized weighted layers are mathematically overlaid for preparation of groundwater recharge potential zone map. The results revealed that 904.55 km2 of the total area are identified as high potential for groundwater recharge zones to construct different types of artificial recharge structures. The gentle slope areas in northeast and southwest and south part have been moderately potential for groundwater recharge zones. Hilly terrains in northeast south and western part are considered as unsuitable zone for groundwater recharge processes.</p>