INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOMATICS AND GEOSCIENCES

Volume 4, No 3, 2014
Copyright by the authors - Licensee IPA- Under Creative Commons license 3.0
Research article
ISSN 0976 4380

Identification of groundwater recharge potential zones for a watershed

using remote sensing and GIS

Shivaji Govind Patil1, Nitin Mahadeo Mohite2

1- Post Graduate, Civil Engineering Department, Government College of Engineering, Pune
(COEP), Shivajinagar, Pune-411005
2- Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering Department, Government College of Engineering,
Pune (COEP), Shivajinagar, Pune-411005 shivajigpatil@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Groundwater is considered as the preferred source of water for meeting domestic, industrial
and agricultural requirements, due to its longer residence time in the ground, low level of
contamination, wide distribution, and availability within the reach of the end user. Even the
existing wells are getting dried-up due to depletion of ground water table as the natural
recharge is not sufficient. Groundwater recharge is a basic pre-requisite for efficient
groundwater resource development and management, which is particularly vital for India
with widely prevalent semi-arid and arid climate. In case the natural recharge is not sufficient,
it has to be met through artificial recharge. To provide scientifically, appropriate locations for
constructing artificial recharge structures, each hydro-geomorphic unit will be evaluated for
its recharge potential and suitably a map showing such groundwater recharge potential zones
for appropriate recharge will be prepared. Using remote sensing and geographic information
system (GIS) it is possible to take number of different thematic maps of the same area and
overlay them on top of one another to form a new integrated layer. This study was aimed to
identify the groundwater recharge potential zones, to be used for better and improved
groundwater resources. The thematic layers considered in this study are geomorphology, soil,
land use land cover, slope (%), drainage density and lineament density, which are prepared
using satellite imagery and other conventional data. The thematic layers were first digitized
from satellite imagery, supported by ancillary data such as toposheets and field investigation
data, finally all thematic layers were integrated using ArcGIS software to identify the
groundwater recharge potential zones for the study area and generate a map showing these
groundwater recharge potential zones namely poorly suitable, moderately suitable and
most suitable on knowledge based weightage factors.
Keywords: Remote Sensing, GIS, groundwater, recharge, overlay analysis.
1. Introduction
Groundwater recharge refers to the entry of water from the unsaturated zone below the water
table surface, together with the associated flow from the water table within the saturated zone.
Groundwater recharge occurs when water flows past the groundwater level and infiltrates into
the saturated zone. Field investigations help to explain the process of groundwater recharge
and evaluate the spatial-temporal difference in the study area. However, these field
investigations often focus on a single affecting factor or an indirect site-specific detail for
groundwater recharge, reducing the reliability of the investigations. In recent times remote
sensing and geographic information system technique is proved to be a cost effective
and

Submitted on January 2014 published on February 2014

485

Identification of groundwater recharge potential zones for a watershed using remote sensing and GIS
Shivaji Govind Patil, Nitin Mahadeo Mohite

time saving tool to produce valuable data on geomorphology, geology, land use land cover,
slope, lineament density, drainage density, etc. which helps to decipher groundwater recharge
potential zones. In recent times, many researchers such as Chaudhary et al. (1996), Rajat C.
Mishra et al. (2010), Dr. Jyoti Sarup et al. (2011) have used the approach of remote sensing
and GIS for identification of groundwater potential zones and exploration of groundwater
with locating the artificial recharge sites. Akram Javed et al. (2009), Narendra et al. (2013)
have used remote sensing and GIS techniques for delineation of groundwater potential zones.
Jothiprakash V. et al. (2003), Balachandar D. et al. (2010), Binay Kumar et al. (2011), Nepal
C. Mondal et al. (2011) have used the remote sensing and GIS technique for generation of
groundwater recharge zones map for the improvement and development of groundwater for
the region. Subagunasekar M. et al. (2012) have applied GIS for assessment of the
groundwater recharge potential zones. J. Brema et al. (2012) have used GIS for identification
of sites suitable for artificial recharging and groundwater flow modelling.
Integrated approach of remote sensing and GIS can provide the appropriate platform for
convergent analysis of divergent datasets for decision making in not only mapping and
planning of groundwater resources but also management of groundwater resources for its
efficient and cost effective use for a region or state. This study is aimed to develop and apply
integrated method for combining the information obtained by analysing multi-source
remotely sensed data in a GIS environment for better understanding the groundwater resource
for a watershed in Pune district, Maharashtra, India.
2. Study Area
The study area is a watershed, admeasuring 220 km2, in the Pune district of Maharashtra,
India, which lies in Survey of India toposheet bearing nos. 47 F/14, 47 F/15, 47 J/ 2 and 47
J/3 falling between the latitude 18o150 to 18o450 N and longitude 73o310 to 73o400
E. The location map of study area, with other details, is as per figure1 below.

Figure 1: Map showing location of study area with details

International Journal of Geomatics and Geosciences
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486

2.1 Data used

1) Survey of India (SOI) toposheet no. 47 F/14, 47 F/15, 47 J/ 2 and 47 J/3 on
scale
1:50000
2) IRS P6 LISS-III satellite data at the scale 1:50000
3) ASTER GDEM 30 m (USGS/NASA ASTER DEM data available from http://
www.gdem.aster.ersdac.or.jp)
4) Dug wells data by field investigations.
3. Methodology
First SOI toposheets are geocoded with the help of known ground control points (GCPs) on it.
These geocoded toposheets are then mosaiced to create the boundary map of study area with
relevant details, in the form of shape file using ArcGIS software. Clipping operation is
carried out for obtaining required details for study area from the mosaiced toposheets. Using
map to image registration technique provided by the Geomatica software, the IRS P6 LISSIII satellite image is geometrically rectified and registered with SOI toposheets on 1:50000
scale. The false colour composite (FCC) generated from red, green and blue spectral bands (1,
2 and 3). To enhance the satellite imagery linear, equalization and root enhancement
techniques have been used for better interpretation of the geomorphological, soil, structural
and other information for preparation of thematic maps from it. For digitization, editing, and
topology creation of various features ArcGIS software has been used. The most important
work of assignment of rank and weightage to different features / themes and classes within
theme was carried out and then integration of multi-thematic information is done to identify
groundwater potential zones and to generate map for the same. The groundwater recharge
potential zones map, thus generated through remote sensing and GIS technique, with three
zones viz. Poorly suitable, moderately suitable and most suitable has been verified with
field data to ascertain the validity of the study conducted.
3.1 Spatial Database Building
ArcGIS software is used to generate datasets of features, attribute tables, topology /
geometric network and other data items in database, which provides various tools.
Different
thematic maps are created using procedure as below.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Digitization of scanned toposheets / maps and editing for elimination of errors

Providing map projection system to spatial dataset
Extraction of various feature classes for all the layers
Assignment of attributes for each layer

3.2 Data integration through GIS

Various favourable groundwater thematic maps have been integrated into a single
groundwater prospect zone with the application of GIS techniques.
Data integration required steps as below
1. Assignment of ranks to various features in different themes of spatial data
2. Integration by overlay of various thematic maps in ArcGIS environment
3. Assignment of weightage to different themes in overlay analysis in
GIS
environment
4. Generation of groundwater recharge potential zones map

3.3 Spatial Analysis

The process of study of locations of geographic phenomena together with their dimensions
and attributes, classification, polygon classification, rank and weightage assignment to
individual class and feature class respectively, is significant and important. The various
thematic maps, such as geomorphology, soil, slope and land use land cover map, Drainage
density and lineament density have been prepared and duly assigned ranks for individual
class and weightage to each theme depending upon its influence on groundwater occurrence
and movement and also more importantly infiltration and runoff. For example slope plays
prominent role in runoff process; as the slope is steeper more is the runoff. Similar is the case
of geomorphology, which causes more holding capacity for groundwater than other factors
once infiltration takes place. Further identification of groundwater recharge potential zones
has been carried out with the prior knowledge of ranks and weightages assigned to the
various features / themes as explained above. The thematic maps of (i) Slope, (ii)
Geomorphology, (iii) Land Use and Land Cover, (iv) Soil, (v) Drainage density and (vi)
Lineament density, alongwith well locations data obtained through GPS receiver spread over
the study area, have been prepared on the scale 1:50000 using remote sensing data, and field
investigations data, using ArcGIS software. From ASTER DEM 30m, a thematic percent
slope map has been generated. SOI toposheets and IRS P6 LIS-III satellite image has been
used to prepare various thematic maps in ArcGIS environment.
Each theme provides certain clue regarding groundwater occurrence, holding and recharge in
study area, which is evident from the initial readings and study. These thematic layers, such
as geomorphology, soil, land use land cover and slope map, etc., are used for multi-criteria or
weighted overlay analysis by intersecting polygons. Using weighted overlay analysis a new
integrated map indicating groundwater recharge potential zones is generated, which is
integration of various feature classes from different thematic maps and combining all these
features from various thematic maps into one map. Thus final composite map for
groundwater recharge potential zones is obtained showing class wise groundwater recharge
potential for a watershed of the study area. According to their respective influence or
prominence on groundwater recharge, various themes have been considered in assigning the
final weightages to the layers in the form of polygons, during weighted overlay analysis, to
integrate various thematic maps. Weighted overlay analysis is a GIS technique to be applied
for divergent input themes to bring them into the unique convergent output. The groundwater
recharge potential zones map (figure 9) has been generated through this weighted overlay
analysis and has been categorized into three zones viz. poorly suitable, moderately
suitable and most suitable, from groundwater recharge potential point of view. Flowchart
showing methodology adopted for this study is represented as Figure 2.
4. Analysis and discussions
4.1 Slope
The precipitous terrain causes rapid runoff and does not store water easily. Slope of any
terrain is one of the factors allowing the infiltration of groundwater into subsurface or in
other words groundwater recharge. In the gentle slope area, the surface runoff is slow
allowing more time for rainwater to percolate, whereas, steep slope area facilitates high
runoff allowing less residence time for rainwater to percolate and hence comparatively less
infiltration. The slope map of the study area is derived from ASTER DEM 30 m and slope of
the study area is classified into five classes, which is as per figure 3 below.

Figure 2: Methodology Flowchart

Figure 3: Map showing slope (%) features

The ranks are assigned to the individual slope class, according to its respective
influence of
groundwater occurrence, holding and recharge, as per table 1 below.

Table 1: Ranking for % slope

Sr.
No.

Slope
(%)

Description

Ranking (In
word)

Ranking (In
number)

<1

Nearly
levelled

Good

1 to 3

Gently sloping

Good

3 to 5

Moderate
sloping

Moderate

5 to 25

Strongly
sloping

Poor

25 to 80

Steep sloping

Poor

4.2 Geomorphology
The identification and characterisation of various landforms and structural features in the
study area was very important from geomorphological study point of view. Many of these
features are favourable for occurrence and recharge of groundwater and are classified in
terms of groundwater recharge potentiality. Geomorphologic units are delineated based on the
image characteristics such as tone, texture, shape, colour and associations. By overlapping the
base map over the geocoded FCC image, the geomorphologic units and landforms, the
structural information and structural trend lines are incorporated. Structural hills are observed
on southern east part of the study area, which are the linear or acute hills exhibiting definite
trend lines and mostly act as runoff zones due to its sloping topography. This shows poor
potentiality for groundwater occurrence and recharge. Butte is a small portion of land which
has moderate high elevation compared to local surrounding land and having considerable
slope due to which this also acts as runoff zone. This shows poor potential for ground water
occurrence and recharge. Valleys are low lying depressions formed longitudinally along the
streams or amongst the ridge portions, which shows excellent potential for groundwater
occurrence and recharge. Burried pediplain are flat and smooth surface with shallow
overburden and are usually crisscrossed by fractures / lineaments, faults, etc. and are
considered to be good for groundwater occurrence and recharge. Pediplain is a broad gently
sloping or nearly flat erosion surface or plain of low relief, typically developed by running
water; it is considered as moderate for groundwater occurrence and recharge. By extraction of
various classes of geomorphology, a thematic map for geomorphology is generated as per
figure 4 below. The ranks were assigned to the individual landform, according to its
respective influence of groundwater occurrence, holding and recharge, as per table 2 below.
Table 2: Ranking for geomorphological units
Sr. No. Geomorphologic Unit
Ranking (In word)
Ranking (In number)
1

Valley

Good

Burried Pediplain

Good

Pediplain

Moderate

Butte

Poor

Structural Hill

Poor

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4.3 Soil

Figure 4: Map showing geomorphologic features

The study area is prominently consisting in the basaltic region of Maharashtra and falls partly
in the rocky hills and partly in regur and alluvium soil. Alluvium soil is loose, unconsolidated
soil or sediments, which has been eroded, reshaped by water in some form. These soils are
considered as good for groundwater occurrence, holding and recharge potential. Regur soils
are black in colour and are also known as black cotton soils. They are well-known for their
ability to retain moisture. These soils have moderate effect as a controlling factor for
groundwater occurrence and recharge potential for this study area. Mountain soils are mainly
found in hill slopes. These are mostly less prone to infiltration and subsequently causing poor
in groundwater occurrence and recharge potential. By extraction of various classes of soil
types, a thematic map for soil was generated as per figure 5. The ranks were assigned to the
individual soil type, according to its respective influence of groundwater occurrence, holding
and recharge as per table 3 below.
Table 3: Ranking for soil types
Sr. No. Soil type
Ranking (In word)
Ranking (In number)
1

Alluvium

Good

Regur

Moderate

Mountain

Poor

Figure 5: Map showing soil features

4.4 Land use land cover
Land use land cover features control the occurrence of groundwater and also causes for
infiltration for recharge, with variety of classes among itself. Remote sensing data and GIS
technique provide reliable, accurate baseline information for land use land cover mapping,
which plays vital role in determining land use pattern and changes therein on different times.
The effect of land use land cover is manifested either by reducing runoff and facilitating, or
by trapping water on their leaf. By extraction of various classes of land use land cover, a
thematic map was generated as per figure 6 below.
Sr.
No.

Table 4: Ranking for land use land cover

Land use land
Ranking (In
Ranking (In
cover
word)
number)

Agricultural

Good

Urban Built up

Poor

Scrub Land

Poor

Rural Built up

Moderate

Waste land

Poor

Wet land

Good

Waste land (rocky)

Poor

Figure 6: Map showing land use land cover features

The ranks were assigned to the individual land use land cover type, according to its respective
influence of groundwater occurrence, holding and recharge, as per table 4 below.
4.5 Drainage density
The drainage of the study area is hilly with steep slope on southern part and on northern side
part is plaeuto with gentle slope. The drainage of the area is dominated by the deeply incised,
sand/ clay filled, seasonal streams flowing from south to north towards the Mula-Mutha river,
which is flowing on the northern periphery of the study area. By extraction of drainage
density features, a thematic map generated, classified into four zones according to their
respective drainage density, which is as per figure 7 below.
Sr.
No.

Table 5: Ranking for drainage density

Drainage density Description
Ranking
(in Km/ sq. km.)
(In word)

Ranking
(In number)

0 to 0.5

Low density

Good

0.5 to 1.0

Moderate density

Moderate

1.0 to 1.5

High density

Poor

1.5 to 2.0

Very
density

Poor

high

Figure 7: Map showing drainage density features

The ranks were assigned to the individual slope class, according to its respective influence of
groundwater occurrence, holding and recharge, as per table 7 below.
4.6 Lineament density
Lineaments are linear geomorphic features that are the surface expression of zones of
weakness or structural displacement in the crust of the earth. These are defined as the
significant lines of landscape, which reveals the hidden architecture of the rock basement.
They are the character lines of the earths physiognomy. Such features may represent deep
seated faults, fractures and joints sets, drainage lines and boundary lines of different rock
formations. All these linear features are interpreted from the satellite data and the lineament
map is prepared for the study area. Lineaments are any linear features that can be picked out
as lines in aerial or satellite imagery. From satellite imagery, lineament data is extracted and
then lineament density map is generated, which is as per figure 8 below.
Sr. No.

Table 6: Ranking for lineament density

Lineament
Ranking (In word) Ranking (In number)
density

High

Good

Moderate

Moderate

Low

Poor

Figure 8: Map showing lineament density features

The ranks were assigned to the individual slope class, according to its respective influence of
groundwater occurrence, holding and recharge, as per table 6 below.
4.7 Overlay analysis
Overlay analysis is a multi-criteria analysis wherein analysis can be carried out with complex
things for finding out certain theme with the help of assignment of rank to the individual class
of feature and then assigning weightage to the individual feature considering its influence
over theme. All the thematic maps were converted into raster format and superimposed by
weighted overlay method, which consists of rank and weightage wise thematic maps and
integration of them through GIS. Integration of thematic maps for carrying out multi-criteria
or overlay analysis in GIS environment was done using ArcGIS software.
Table 7: Ranks and weightages of parameters for groundwater recharge potential zones
Sr.
No.

Groundwater
potential factor

(1)

Slope

(2)

Soil

(3)

Geomorphology

recharge Classes
< 1%
1 to 3 %
3 to 5 %
5 to 25 %
25 to 89 %
Alluvium
Regur
Mountain
Valley
Burried pediplain
Pediplain
Butte

Rank Weightage
(%)
1
1
2
3
3
1
2
3
1
1
2
3

20

20
25

(4)

Land use land cover

(5)

Drainage density

(6)

Lineament density

Structural hill
Agricultural
Wetland
Rural built up
Scrub land
Waste land
Urban built up
Waste land rocky
0 to 0.5 ( Low)
0.5 to 1.0 (Moderate)
1.0 to 1.5 (High)
1.5 to 2.0 (Very high)
Low
Moderate
High

3
1
1
2
3
3
3
3
1
2
3
3
3
2
1

25

4.8 Results
This study analyzed the hydrologic and geographic attributes of the watershed in study area
and identified six major factors influencing groundwater recharge potential, viz. slope(%),
geomorphology, soil, land use land cover, drainage density and lineament density. Each factor
was examined was assigned an appropriate weight. Each recharge potential factor may
influence the groundwater recharge process to a different degree.

Figure 9: Groundwater recharge potential zones map

Overlay analysis is carried out, using weighted overlay analysis tool provided in the ArcGIS
software, to integrate various thematic maps viz. geomorphology map, soil map,
slope(%)

map, land use land cover map, drainage density map and lineament density map, which are
being very informative and plays important role in the study for groundwater recharge
potential zones of study area. The various thematic maps were assigned with different
weightages of numerical value to derive groundwater recharge potential zones. On the basis
of weightage assigned to these maps and bringing them into the function of spatial analyst for
integration of these thematic maps, a map indicating groundwater recharge potential zones is
obtained, which is as per fig. 9 below. This map has been categorized into three zones
viz.
poorly suitable, moderately suitable and most suitable from groundwater recharge
potential point of view. For more realistic evaluation, field investigations were made with
data of dug wells, which satisfy the above analysis.
5. Conclusions
This study produced a groundwater recharge potential amp for study area. The results indicate
that the most effective groundwater recharge potential zone is located on east-north part of
the study area. In this region, the alluvium soil, burried pediplain and agricultural land have
high infiltration ability. Also the concentration of drainage also indicates the ability of stream
flow to recharge the groundwater system. The southern region of study area is least effective
for groundwater recharge, mainly due to its steep sloping topography and mountain soil
spread. The occurrence and recharge of groundwater in the study area is prominently
controlled by the geomorphology, soil type, land use land cover and slope (%) as revealed
from GIS analysis. Remote sensing and GIS technique used to integrate various thematic
maps proves to be very important to map the groundwater occurrence and movement for
recharge potential mapping and management plan on a scientific basis. Overall result
demonstrates that the use of remote sensing and GIS technique provides powerful tool to
study groundwater resources and design a suitable exploration plan for recharge of
groundwater in study area. The integrated groundwater recharge potential zones map for the
study area has been categorized into three zones viz. poorly suitable, moderately suitable
and most suitable, on the basis of the ranks and weightages assigned to different features of
the thematic maps. From this study it is observed that remote sensing and GIS technique can
be used effectively to delineate groundwater recharge potential zones map, which can be used
for improvement in the groundwater recharge and holding for the study area and later on may
be for various purposes like identification of location of structures for artificial recharge,
locations of new tube wells and efficient groundwater management for betterment of the
society.
6. References
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Kumaraswamy
K.,2010, Application of Remote Sensing and GIS for Artificial Recharge Zone in
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Geosciences, 1(1), pp 84-97.
2. Binay Kumar and Uday Kumar, 2011, Groundwater recharge zonation mapping and
modelling using Geomatics techniques, International Journal of Environmental
Sciences, 1(7), pp 1670-1681.
3. Brema J. and Prince Arulraj G., 2012, Identification of sites suitable for artificial
recharging and groundwater flow modeling in Noyyal river basin, Tamilnadu, India.
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4. Chaudhary B. S., Manoj Kumar, Roy A. K. and Ruhal D. S., 1996, Applications of
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