Delineation of Groundwater Prospect Zones in Hard Rocks Using Remote Sensing and GIS - A Case Study from Rajasthan

Groundwater resources are extremely important in Rajasthan as almost the entlre region lies in arid/semi-arid tropics especially in the hard rock areas. The recharge being less due to scanty rainfall. The study has revealed the advantages of remotely sensed data in identifying the prospects of groundwater in geologically and structurally complex terrain. Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) is a dynamic tool for facilitating the generation and use of thematic information; has been applied to know the groundwater potentiality of the Upper Kali Sindh Chauli watershed in the Jhalawar district of Rajasthan, India. The role of different parameters namely geology, geomorphology, structures, lineaments, slope, land use and land cover, digital elevation model, etc. have been emphasized for delineation of the groundwater potential Zones. The groundwater potentia1 zone map was prepared based on the visual interpretation of satellite Geocoded data of IRS-ID, LISS III, FCC and the topographic maps on 1:50,00 scale. In thc study area major lineaments are identified from the satellite data interpretation, which are surface manifestation of some structural features in the bedrocks as fractures and joints. The study area is divided into mint-watershed and micro-watershed on the basis of area and stream channels. Groundwater prospects are controlled by the lineaments/joints, as the lithology is not much suitable for groundwater development. Ultimate groundwater prospecting map indicatea variable groundwater potentiality in the area i.e. good, moderate, limited, and poor and based on these categorization the depth of wells are recommended for drilling.