Geospatial Technology Application for Groundwater Prospects Mapping of Sub-Upper Krishna Basin, Maharashtra

The objective of this study is to demarcate the groundwater potential areas in sub-upper Krishna basin (SUKB). Geospatial technology applications viz. remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) were utilized to generate the groundwater prospects map with the aid of satellite data, secondary data, web mapping services (wms) i.e. Bhuvan geoportal, and Google Earth along with requirement based field visit and ground truth, particularly while preparing a land use/land cover (LULC) map. Using these data sources input parameters which influence the occurrence of groundwater were prepared utilizing ArcGIS 10.3 and ERDAS IMAGINE image processing software. The input parameters generated were geomorphology, geology, LULC, slope, lineament density, drainage density, and rainfall. Each parameter was treated as a GIS raster theme with a number of features. Each feature of the theme was ranked and weights were assigned to the themes according to their role in influencing the occurrence of groundwater. The ranks and weights were assigned on the basis of opinions of experts in their respective fields and by referring the previous research work on groundwater prospect mapping. All the themes were integrated and Weighted Overlay Model was built in ArcGIS to generate the groundwater prospects map of SUKB. It is found that very good to moderate groundwater potential zones are clustered near the water bodies, cropland, and in floodplain regions of the basin while poor groundwater potential zones are located in the regions of structural origin geological features which seldom support good infiltration of water. The study revealed an exemplary result which is in good agreement with ground reality as validation using field observation data justified the authenticity of the generated groundwater potential (GWP) zones. Hence, geospatial technology application is worthy for mapping the groundwater potential zones which would be further utilized to pinpoint the locations for geophysical investigations for groundwater exploration in the basin.