GROUNDWATER ASSESSMENT AND UTILIZATION IN MACHHU RIVER BASIN USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS

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Date
2014-06
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jau,junagadh
Abstract
The problem of groundwater depletion has risen due to high withdrawal than the rate of replenishment of groundwater. The study on ground water assessment and utilization using remote sensing and GIS was undertaken keeping in view that groundwater is maximum utilized for irrigation purpose. Its assessment and estimation of crop water requirement in Machhu basin will help in planning and management of appropriate irrigation scheduling and use of efficient irrigation systems. By employing remote sensing and GIS large data can be monitored in a very short time period, which is helpful in assessment of groundwater recharge to watershed. The study was undertaken for Machhu river basin with 245942 ha area. Remote sensing and GIS was used to prepare thematic maps. Natural groundwater recharge was estimated using empirical method such as Krishna Rao approach and water table fluctuation method. The crop water requirement was estimated using CROPWAT model for cotton and wheat crops grown in the area. The efficient utilization of safe withdrawal of groundwater for irrigation is suggested. The land use/land cover of Machhu river basin shows total area of 245942 ha out of which about 145, 384 ha (59.11%) is the area under agriculture and 2, 924 ha (2.01%) under fallow. The major area is equally occupied by cotton and wheat crops (47.50%) and 7123 ha (5%) area is under other crops. Machhu river basin is a 7th order stream having 55879 total number of streams with slope of less than 1 percent about 73.32% of land dominating a large part of the basin with agricultural activities. The annual natural ground water recharge estimated through rainfall by Krishna Rao (1970) was found varying from 0 to 13.91 % with mean of 6.51 % of the rainfall and estimated through water table fluctuation method was found as 291345.18 ha-m. The annual allowable draft of groundwater is 208987.15 ha-m (i.e. 80% of annual groundwater recharge) and 65% of annual groundwater recharge i.e. 169802.0591 ha-m is available for irrigation purpose and remaining 15% is for other uses. The net irrigation water requirement for cotton and wheat crops were estimated as 336.90 mm and 423.80 mm respectively. Using surface irrigation method (SIM) with available groundwater an additional area of 15.95% may be brought under irrigation. Using micro irrigation systems (MIS) with available groundwater an additional area of 26.49% may be brought under irrigation.
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soil & water
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