Abstract
The upland of West Godavari district experiences a relatively high rainfall with increasing trends towards north. The northeastern part of the study area is hilly terrain that mostly covered by forest. This area acts as a good recharge and run-off zone for the low-lying upland area. The central and southern parts of the area occupied by highly porous and permeable sandstone and alluvium forms good repositories of groundwater. Groundwater remains the principal source of irrigation and drinking. Major portion of this area is a flat to gently undulating terrain with clayey and fine loamy soils, facilitating intensive agricultural activities. Thus, the area under study forms an excellent natural geo-environment for human habitat. The present integrated watershed analysis, remote sensing coupled with GIS, is aimed at generating sustainable developmental measures of land and water resources on watershed basis in the area. For that, various thematic layers viz. settlements and transportation, slope and digital elevation model, lithology and structure, drainage and surface water resources, land use land cover, geomorphology and ground water prospects etc. were generated. Overlay of these resource maps further helped in the development of mitigation / treatment strategies in suggesting water harvesting structures. This approach enables the watershed users to take necessary actions to implement such measures for the sustainability of both land and water resources in the entire district. The integrated watershed analysis is aimed at generating sustainable developmental measures of land and water resources on watershed basis in the area. However, the underlying concept of present study is the sustenance of geo-environment.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Balram R., Ramanaiah S., Harinath V. (2013) Geo-environmental Studies of Ganganeru River Basin, Kadapa District, Andhra Pradesh, India, Internat. Jour. Sci. Res. (IJSR), v.2(5), pp. 458–464.
Blanford, W.T., Blenford, H.F., Theobals, W. (1856). On the Geological Structure and Relations of the Talcheer Coal Field, in the District of Cuttock. Mem. Geol. Surv. India, v.1, pp. 33–89.
CGWB (2012–13) Groundwater Brochure West Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh (AAP 2012–13).
Jamtsho, K. and Gyamtsho, T. (2003) Effective watershed and water management at local level: challenges and opportunities. In: Regional Workshop on Community Based Natural Resource Management, 4–7 November. Natural Resources Training Institute, Lobeysa, Bhutan, pp.15.
Ministry of Water Resources (2009) Report of the Groundwater Resource Estimation Committee Groundwater Resource Estimation Methodology (Published).
NRSA (1995) National Remote Sensing Agency-Integrated Mission for Sustainable Development, Technical Guidelines.
Rambabu, T., Raghuram, P., Sankara Pitchaiah, P. and Park Raju (2018) Integrated Management of Kovvada Kalva Watershed, West Godavari district, A.P., India using Remote Sensing and GIS, Internat. Jour. Engg. Tech (IJET-UAE), v.7(3.31), pp.80–85.
Rambabu, T., Raghuram, P., Sankara Pitchaiah, P. and Raju, P.A.R.K. (2017) Evaluation of Lower Errakalava Watershed, West Godavari District, A. P. - An Integrated Approach Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques. Internat. Jour. Application or Innovation in Engineering & Management (IJAIEM), v.6(4), pp. 25–34.
Richard, B. (2005) Watershed Management Research: A Review of IDRC Projects in Asia and Latin America.
Sanz, J.I. (2000) Technical report for the Sustainable Hillside Agriculture Project II. Centre file: 96-8756-01/50210. Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Cali, Colombia, pp 74.
Saxena, Praveen Raj and Prasad N.S.R. (2008) Integrated land and water resources conservation and management-development plan using Remote Sensing and GIS of Chevella sub-watershed, R.R. District, Andhra Pradesh, India”, in The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences. Vol. XXXVII. pp. 729–732.
Schreier, H., Brown, S., Bestbier, R. and Brooks, D. (2003) Water and international development. Institute for Resources and Environment, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
SGWB (2012–2013) Report on groundwater level scenario in Andhra Pradesh based on water levels recorded from Piezometers (Published).
SGWB (2015–2016) Report on groundwater level scenario in Andhra Pradesh based on water levels recorded from Piezometers (Published).
Trejo, M., Marrios, E., Turcios, W., Barreto, H. (1999) Metodo participativo para identificar y clasificar indicadores locales de calidad de suelo a nivel microcuenca. Guia 1. Instrumentos para la toma de decisiones en el manejo de los recursos naturales. Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical. Cali, Colombia, 255 pp.
Vander, C. and Margaret, McFarlane (2007) Groundwater investigation in semi arid developing countries using samples GIS tools to facilitate interdisciplinary decision making under poorly mapped conditions, The Boteri area of the Kalahari region in Botswana, Internat. Jour. Appld. Earth Observation and Geo information, v.9(4), pp. 343–359.
Vernooy, R. (1999) Mapping, analysis and monitoring of the natural resource base in micro-watersheds: experiences from Nicaragua. International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada, pp10.
Vernooy, R., Baltodano, M.E., Beltrán, J.A., Espinoza, N., Tijerino, D. (2001) Towards participatory management of natural resources: experiences from the Calico River watershed in Nicaragua. In: Lilja, N., Ashby, J.A., Sperling, L. 2001. Assessing the impact of participatory research and gender analysis. Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, Cali, Colombia, pp 247–262.
Vinayak, N., Mangrule and Umesh, J. Kahalekar (2013) Watershed Planning and Development Plan by Using RS and GIS of Khultabad Taluka of Aurangabad District. Internat. Jour. Information and Computation Technology, v.3(10), pp. 1093–1100.
World Bank (1998) India Water resources management sector review. Groundwater regulation and management report. Washington D.C., p. 98 (Published Report).
Acknowledgements
The authors express their sincere gratitude to the Principal and Management, Department of Civil Engineering & Dean, R&D, S.R.K.R. Engineering College (A), Bhimavaram and the Department of Geology, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur for their utmost support and encouragement to publish this research paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rambabu, T., Raghuram, P., Sankara Pitchaiah, P. et al. Integrated Management of Upper Errakalava and Gunderu Watersheds, Upland Area of West Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh — RS and GIS Approach. J Geol Soc India 94, 211–217 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-019-1291-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-019-1291-9