PreprintArticleVersion 2This version is not peer-reviewed
Groundwater Potential Zone Mapping to Understand the Sustainability of Springs in a Micro Watershed of Kosi River, Kumaun Lesser Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India
Version 1
: Received: 16 June 2024 / Approved: 18 June 2024 / Online: 19 June 2024 (04:17:25 CEST)
Version 2
: Received: 13 July 2024 / Approved: 15 July 2024 / Online: 15 July 2024 (19:57:23 CEST)
How to cite:
Nijesh, P.; Dixit, R.; Patel, A.; Singh, A. K.; Gautam, A.; Rai, R.; Singh, S. K.; Pant, N.; Soman, M.; Rai, S. P. Groundwater Potential Zone Mapping to Understand the Sustainability of Springs in a Micro Watershed of Kosi River, Kumaun Lesser Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India. Preprints2024, 2024061256. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202406.1256.v2
Nijesh, P.; Dixit, R.; Patel, A.; Singh, A. K.; Gautam, A.; Rai, R.; Singh, S. K.; Pant, N.; Soman, M.; Rai, S. P. Groundwater Potential Zone Mapping to Understand the Sustainability of Springs in a Micro Watershed of Kosi River, Kumaun Lesser Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India. Preprints 2024, 2024061256. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202406.1256.v2
Nijesh, P.; Dixit, R.; Patel, A.; Singh, A. K.; Gautam, A.; Rai, R.; Singh, S. K.; Pant, N.; Soman, M.; Rai, S. P. Groundwater Potential Zone Mapping to Understand the Sustainability of Springs in a Micro Watershed of Kosi River, Kumaun Lesser Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India. Preprints2024, 2024061256. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202406.1256.v2
APA Style
Nijesh, P., Dixit, R., Patel, A., Singh, A. K., Gautam, A., Rai, R., Singh, S. K., Pant, N., Soman, M., & Rai, S. P. (2024). Groundwater Potential Zone Mapping to Understand the Sustainability of Springs in a Micro Watershed of Kosi River, Kumaun Lesser Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202406.1256.v2
Chicago/Turabian Style
Nijesh, P., Meera Soman and Shive Prakash Rai. 2024 "Groundwater Potential Zone Mapping to Understand the Sustainability of Springs in a Micro Watershed of Kosi River, Kumaun Lesser Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202406.1256.v2
Abstract
Springs play a significant role in maintaining hydrological balance in the mountain ecosystem. The communities living in the mountain tops rely entirely on spring water for their daily needs. In recent decades, spring water discharges have decreased drastically in the Himalayan regions and become seasonal. Remote sensing and geographical information system techniques have proved to be essential for understanding the sustainable development of groundwater, particularly where people rely solely on spring water in the mountainous regions of the Himalayas. This study employs the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to identify groundwater potential zones. It involves overlaying seven thematic layers concerning elements of physical features and land-use/land-cover of the region, using the weighted overlay toolbox in ArcGIS, with each layer being assigned a weight based on its importance. Based on the results, groundwater potential zones have been classified into five categories: poor, fair, good, very good, and excellent. The study found that poor groundwater potential zones cover 1.1% of the area, fair zones cover 27.8%, good zones cover 23.3%, very good zones cover 26.6%, and excellent zones cover 21.2% of the total area. The excellent to very good potential zones are associated with perennial springs that have higher discharge (4.30-30.92 l/m), lineaments, rainfall, forested land, and porous soils, favoring the potentiality of the springs. The fair and poor groundwater potential zones are associated with seasonal flowing springs, consisting of barren land, less rainfall, and low fracture density, which influence the potentiality of groundwater. The validation of the groundwater potential zones indicated an Area Under Curve (AUC) value of 0.88, which shows good agreement with observed spring water locations. The identified groundwater potential zones are valuable for prioritizing the area for the sustainable development of spring water. Particularly, it is helpful for policymakers and government bodies to be involved in developing strategies for sustainable water management at the micro-watershed level and safeguarding spring water resources using integrated watershed management in the headwater region of the Himalayas.
Keywords
Springs; Khulgad Micro watershed; AHP; Lineaments; Groundwater potential zone
Subject
Environmental and Earth Sciences, Remote Sensing
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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