Delineation of Groundwater Potential Zones in Jaisamand Basin of Udaipur District

Abstract

The groundwater potential zones in the Jaisamand Basin with a catchment area of 1813 km² have been delineated using various thematic layers including geomorphology, drainage, soil, land use, slope, topographic elevation, and net recharge. As the topography is highly undulating with rolling uplands and in-filled valleys, the velocity of runoff is high whenever the rainfall occurs during the monsoon months. Suitable relative weights have been assigned to the thematic layers on a scale of 1–5 based on their influence on the occurrence of groundwater potential, and thereafter integrated using ILWIS GIS software. The analysis indicated a net recharge of 2–5 cm per year takes place in about 62% of the study area. The study area has been divided into four groundwater potential zones, viz. ‘good,’ ‘moderate,’ ‘poor,’ and ‘very poor,’ which covers 12.82, 49.65, 33.21, and 4.32% of the study area. Since 37.53% of the study area has poor-to-very poor groundwater potential, immediate measures are required for ensuring sustainable groundwater management in the basin through supply–demand management as well as artificial groundwater recharge of potential aquifers. About 15% percent of the study area is suitable for artificial recharge in the southern part of the basin.