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Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and National Remote Sensing Agency release groundwater prospects maps for 14 states of India
ShareIt is therefore crucial that we look after this resource and ensure that it is managed properly.Over reliance on groundwater for both domestic and commercial purposes has led to over-exploitation and contamination of groundwater. In order to make groundwater sustainable, there is a need to understand the aquifer characteristics as well as its overall geological setting. This understanding will help in:
- planning regulated use of groundwater
- planning suitable mechanisms for groundwater recharge
Groundwater prospects map, based on satellite image interpretation with limited field checks, of a part of Adilabad, Andhra Pradesh and Nanded, Yavatmal districts of Maharashtra, corresponding to Survey of India's toposheet number 56E15
There are large number of habitations yet either Not-Covered (NC) or Partially Covered (PC) with potable water supply schemes mainly because the potential locations for the occurrence of potable groundwater could not be identified in the immediate vicinity of such habitations. In the recent times, even the covered habitations are also slipping back to NC and PC categories due to drying up of existing wells.
To overcome these problems in the drinking water supply schemes and achieve sustainability of drinking water sources through artificial water recharge, surface impoundment/percolation, rainwater harvesting etc, it is essential to prepare hydrogeomorphological (HGM) maps using satellite data.
These maps aim to support State Governments to identify correct locations of sustainability structures and also to help locate high yielding, sustainable borewell or tubewell locations, considering hydrogeological information of the region.
With this intent, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in collaboration with the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) under Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission Programme (RGNDWMP), has prepared groundwater prospects maps based on hydrogeomorphological maps (HGM) of the region, for the following states:
- Andhra Pradesh
- Assam
- Chhattisgarh
- Gujarat
- Himachal Pradesh
- Jammu and Kashmir
- Jharkhand
- Karnataka
- Kerala
- Madhya Pradesh
- Orissa
- Punjab
- Rajasthan
- Uttarakhand
Similar maps are under the process preparation for the remaining states and union territories - Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharashtra, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Tripura, West Bengal, Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and these are expected to be completed before the end of year 2013.
Hydrogeomorphology is the science relating to the geographical, geological and hydrological aspects of water bodies and changes to these in response to flow variations and to natural and human-caused events.
The groundwater prospects maps contain comprehensive data on groundwater using remote sensing technology and Geographic Information System (GIS). Further the maps serve as a reference database for identifying potential locations both for drilling wells and constructing recharge structures specific to the site.
The maps have information on:
- Map units
- Geological sequence / rock type
- Geomorphic unit / landform
- Depth to water level in summer / pre-monsoon
- Number of wells observed
- Recharge conditions - based on availability of water from rainfall and others sources
- Groundwater prospects
- aquifer material
- type of wells suitable
- depth range of wells
- yield range of wells
- homogenity and success rate of wells
- quality of water
- groundwater irrigated area
- Recharge structures suitable
- Hydrological information
- Structural information
- Base map information
- Location information as per the Survey of India's toposheet map index
The manual will be of use to all field level implementing agencies, planners, researchers and monitoring agencies in managing ground water based drinking water sources effectively. The manual provides information on:
- the map contents
- scientific rationale behind preparing the contents
- referencing of the contents on the ground
- usage of the maps in the field
In the backdrop of this programme, a national level workshop is being organised at NRSA on 17 and 18 January 2013. The aim of this workshop is to peer review the status of groundwater prospects map, update the HGM maps completed in earlier phases and to introduce a groundwater quality layer, into the current groundwater prospects maps. To view the programme schedule of the workshop, click here.
To download the maps, click here.
Download a manual on how to use these groundwater prospects maps:
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2012
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I am a hydrogeologist by profession. Can you please provide me with the link to download the groundwater prospects map of Madhya Pradesh.
It will be of great help from you.
Hi!
Thanks for writing in. Here is the link for groundwater prospects map of Madhya Pradesh: http://www.mdws.gov.in/node/2623
Thanks.
Sumathi Sivam
India Water Portal Team
Here is my response to the groundwater prospects maps released by MDWS and NRSA:
As the name prospects itself suggests, this is a prediction / forecast map which is based on satellite image interpretation, with only limited field checks.
In the absence of real time groundwater data from the field, these satellite image interpretation maps can serve as a reference document and but NOT as the final document.
It further needs groundtruthing, field checks and is subject to continuous improvisation as present day groundwater situation may vary from the satellite data recorded previously.
Each map covers an area of approximately 700 sq. km. corresponding to one Survey of India (SOI) toposheet on 1:50,000 scale. Hence it will provide broad outline of groundwater in that particular region and field reality within this region may differ at a local level.
The groundwater prospects maps will be more helpful to the field geologists / hydrogeologists. It will also facilitate those who understand and have experience in the field of groundwater.
The user manual prepared will also facilitate use of these maps to all field level implementing agencies, planners, researchers and monitoring agencies working on groundwater resources especially in relation to drinking water security.
Regards,
Harshavardhan Dhawan
Arghyam, Bangalore
I am interested in having HGM maps of all the states.
I working in water supply department of govt. of Maharashtra. These HGM will be an useful instrument while implementing WS program.
I hope these maps would be put to maximum use by all those engaged in the selection of well sites and groundwater recharge (rainwater harvesting) structures.
Ever since the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), earlier known as the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), started preparing these maps since 1999, I made vigorous efforts without success to have access to them.
It then occurred to me that, when the high-resolution satellite images of Google Earth could be used for a variety of purposes including as a street or house finder, why not they be used to plot existing successful and failure wells and recharge structures and select potential sites for new wells and recharge structures.
Map 1 and Map 2 are the Google Earth Images generated in two different scales to reproduce the map given in figure 4.5 (Page 47) of the NRSC User Manual by just typing the latitude and longitude values (N 21.0314 S 74.1750) in the Google Earth browser.
Map 3 and Map 4 are the Google Earth Images generated in two different scales by just obtaining the latitude and longitude values at a problem bore well located at the junction of the 8th B Main Road and the 4th Cross Road of Sadashiva Nagar, Bangalore by using handheld Garmin-make Global Positioning System (GPS) Model eTrex Vista® H. Use of these images together with field work for a couple of hours helped me to help the well owner to convert the problem bore-well under construction into a successful bore-well to his satisfaction.
Although the accuracy of the handheld GPS instruments available a few years ago is coarse, necessitating use of expensive differential GPS of a cumbersome nature, the ones available now are accurate enough to pinpoint sites on the earth's surface after reaching the precise location by feature matching on the ground.
The model used measures not only the geodetic coordinates as per the the globally-used World Geodetic System of 1984 revised last in 2004 (WGS 84) Datum but also 110 local geodetic systems in vogue in different parts of the world. The GPS however cannot measure the Indian Geodetic Datum (i.e., Everest Spheroid of 1880 last revised in 1956) used in the Survey of India maps as well as the NRSC groundwater prospects maps.
The 'GeoEye Featured Imagery' layer in Google Earth using the WGS 84 Datum not only gives the scale and the capture date of the satellite images, but also gives highly-accurate geodetic latitude, longitude and altitude of any point on the image on which the cursor is placed.
Map 5 shows the large discrepancies noted between the location of a benchmark of a hill peak in the Survey of India topographic maps and the Google Earth images. Thus, a hill peak by name Sadasiva Konda is shown in the Survey of India topographic map 57 O/10 of 1983 on a scale of 1:50,000 to be at an elevation of 1040 metres at N13°31’10.4”: E79°37’10.4”, while Google Earth image captured by GeoEye satellite on 26 Jul 2002 shows the same peak to be at an elevation of 1022 metres at N13°30’57.60”: E79°37’36.55”, which is a difference of 18 metres.
On using the coordinates of the peak as obtained in the Survey of India map, the peak appears at an elevation of 881 metres at a distance of 847 metres northwest of the peak located in the Google Earth image.
Links to download the maps referred to in this comment: Map 1, Map 2, Map 3, Map 4, Map 5.
Thanks,
R. Jagadiswara Rao
Retired Professor of Geology, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati