Groundwater prospects evaluation based on hydrogeomorphological mapping using high resolution satellite images: A case study in Uttarakhand

Abstract

Water is the most important natural resource which forms the core of the ecological system. The advent of remote sensing has opened up new vistas in groundwater prospect evaluation, exploration and management. The groundwater resources of the study area, Rishikesh region of Garhwal Himalayas, are under threat due to population pressure caused by expanding tourism in this region. This entails sustainable and judicious use of this precious resource. The groundwater prospect evaluation in Rishikesh region has been attempted based on hydrogeomorphological mapping of the area consisting of thematic maps of hydrogeomorphology, geology, drainage, lineament, slope and relief using high resolution IRS-1C LISS III and PAN merged satellite images. The Rishikesh region exhibits diverse hydrogeomorphological conditions where the groundwater regime is controlled mainly by topography and geology. A probability-weighted approach has been applied during overlay analysis in ArcMap GIS environment. The overlay analysis allows a linear combination of weights of each thematic map with respect to ground water potential. Good groundwater prospects dominate in the area with more than 50% of the study area showing moderate to excellent potential. The study shows that the remote sensing and geoinformatics techniques can be applied effectively for groundwater prospect evaluation.