Groundwater prospecting in a part of Tamirabarani River basin, South India using Remote Sensing and GIS

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1 Indian Journal of Geo-Marine Sciences Vol. 44 (9), September 2015, pp Groundwater prospecting in a part of Tamirabarani River basin, South India using Remote Sensing and GIS Subramani.T 1*, Prabaharan.S 2* & Karunanidhi.D 3* 1 Department of Mining Engineering, CEG, Anna University, Chennai , India 2 Department of Civil Engineering, Paavai Engineering College, Namakkal Department of Civil Engineering, Sri Sakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore *[ geosubramani@annauniv.edu; haripraba@gmail.com, karunasamygis@gmail.com] Received 16 December 2013; revised 18 January 2014 Integrated studies of multi-spectral remote sensing data, GIS and field investigations have been used in delineating groundwater potential zones in a part of Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, India. FCC image of IRS 1D LISS III data and Survey of India toposheets have been used to prepare various thematic maps viz., topography, drainage, geology, geomorphology, lineament, slope, land use map of the study area. The regional slope of the terrain is towards northeast. Groundwater in the area is phreatic conditions in weathered horizons and in alluvial formations. A groundwater potential zonation map has been generated by assigning proper weightages and ranks to various parameters. Flood plains and lineament intersections are possessing high groundwater potential. Pediments, however, possess moderate to poor groundwater potential. The potential map has been verified by ground checks. [Keywords: Groundwater potential zones; Hard rock terrain; Remote Sensing; GIS; Tamirabarani Basin, South India] Introduction Groundwater is referred commonly as the water, which lies below the surface of the earth occupying the interstices and voids in various formations. 1 The occurrence of groundwater in a hard rock terrain is mainly confined to weathered and fractured zones. 2 With the recent advancement in the satellite remote sensing techniques and development of sophisticated tools for analysis of spatial and non-spatial data, our ability to delineate groundwater potential zones has increased tremendously. Remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS) techniques have been applied to delineate groundwater potential zones in hard rock terrains of Mysore district and subwatersheds of north Pennar River basin in Karnataka state, India by considering topography, geology, geomorphology and lineaments. 3,4 Groundwater potential zones were demarcated in fractured crystalline rocks using integrated remote sensing and GIS techniques in a part of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, India. 5,6 Satellite remote sensing survey was carried out in southern part of Tamil Nadu in a part of project work by National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), Department of Space, Government of India 7 and the technical guidelines for integrated mission for sustainable development were also given by NRSA. 8 Groundwater plays an important role for drinking water supply and irrigation in Tirunelvelli district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is being indiscriminately exploited in many areas to meet the demand, because surface water storage in the reservoirs and tanks are not sufficient, resulting in rapid decline in the groundwater head. So the extraction and management of groundwater is emerging as a great public concern in the district. Some of the previous works carried out in this region include groundwater level monitoring, pump-test analysis and major ion groundwater chemistry by the Tamil Nadu Public Works Department. 9 However, detailed study on groundwater occurance was not included. Thus, the present study has been attempted with the main objective of delineating groundwater potential zones using remote sensing and GIS.

2 1402 INDIAN J MAR SCI VOL.44 NO.9, SEPTEMBER 2015 Materials and Methods The study area (Fig. 1) falls between 8 o 37 5 N ~ 8 o 45 N and 77 o E to 77 o 45 E, covering an area of 152km 2 in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu state, India. Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai are the major settlements in this region. The climate of the area is semi-arid and is characterized by hot summer months, low rainfall and pleasant monsoon of winter season. The areas adjacent to Western Ghats in the Tamirabarani basin are of dry to moist sub-humid climatic types. 10 The maximum temperature is around 43 o C during the month of April or May, and the minimum temperature is around 25 o C during the month of November or December. The Survey of India toposheet (SOI) 58H/10 on 1:50000 scale was used to prepare base map, ground elevation contour map and drainage map. The geocoded (1:50,000 scale) IRS 1D LISS III false colour composite imagery of April 1999 was used to prepare thematic maps namely geomorphology, lineament and land use by visual interpretation techniques. Detailed well inventory survey was also carried out and the details such as well depth, well cross sections, subsurface (borehole) lithology and groundwater level fluctuations were collected. Geological Survey of India 11 map was used to get information about the geological formations and structures. Pump-test details such as hydraulic conductivity, transmissivity and yield were collected from the Tamil Nadu Public Works Department. 9 Fig. 1- Base Map of the study area The average annual rainfall at Tirunelveli is 718mm and about 688mm at Palayamkottai. Among these, northeast monsoon from October to December contributes an average of 435mm and 413mm rainfall, and the southwest monsoon from June to September contributes an average of 69mm and 71mm rainfall at the rain gauge stations in Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai respectively. Considerable amount of rain showers are also received during the transitional period. The features in the thematic maps were checked by well inventory and field investigations. The digital elevation model (DEM) was developed from the topographic map. The recent developments in the database creation and mapping have been accelerated all over the world including the developing countries with the change in the trends of mapping. 12 Thus, the prepared maps were scanned and digitized using ArcGIS software, and digital thematic layers were created by combining both spatial and non-spatial data. The Weighted Index Overlay Analysis was performed using GIS in order to obtain groundwater potential zonation map of the study area. This method takes into consideration the relative importance of the parameters and the classes belonging to each parameter. There is no standard scale for a simple weighted overlay method. For this purpose, criteria for the analysis have been assigned and each parameter has been given importance 13 The detailed methodology is illustrated in the (Fig. 2).

3 T.SUBRAMANI ET AL.: GROUNDWATER PROSPECTING IN A PART OF TAMIRABARANI RIVER BASIN, SOUTH INDIA USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS 1403 Data sources Satellite data IRS-1D LISS III Imageries Thematic Maps 1. Drainage 2. Slope 3. Geology 4. Geomorphology 5. Lineament 6. Land use Visual interpretation Collateral data 1. Rainfall 2. Groundwater level 3. Borehole lithology 4. Pump test details 5. SOI Toposheets DEM with Rainfall runoff Groundwater level variation Ground truth verification Integration and logical analysis using GIS data sources Groundwater Prospect Map Weighted Index Overlay Analysis Fig. 2- Methodology flowchart

4 1404 INDIAN J MAR SCI VOL.44 NO.9, SEPTEMBER 2015 Topography plays a vital role in understanding the slope of the terrain, surface run off and groundwater infiltration and occurrence. The maximum elevation is about 145m at the top of the structural hill situated in the western part, and the minimum elevation is about 36m in the northeastern part of the study area. Ground elevation contour map was prepared from the SOI toposheets. Then the DEM (Fig. 3) was generated from contours of 20m interval and spot heights after creating proper grid file. Filtering techniques were also used to get the best view of the DEM. Low pass filter namely Gaussian (3 3) filter was applied for smoothing the abrupt surface undulations. Drainage pattern is one of the most important indicators of hydrogeological features, because drainage pattern, texture, and density are controlled in a fundamental way by the underlying lithology. 14 In addition, the stream pattern is a reflection of the rate that precipitation infiltrates compared with the surface runoff. The infiltration/runoff relationship is controlled largely by permeability, which is in turn a function of the rock type and fracturing of the underlying rock or surface bedrock. When comparing two terrain types, the one that contains the greatest [15] drainage density is usually less permeable. Dentritic to sub-dentritic drainage patterns were observed in the study area. Fine textured patterns (high drainage density) noticed in the hill slopes indicate high surface runoff and low rainfall infiltration, and the coarser patterns (moderate to low drainage density) in the plains, however, are indicative of moderate to high rainfall infiltration. 3,16 As the rainfall runoff is mainly controlled by the terrain slope, the vector diagram indicating flow direction and magnitude was developed from the topographical grid data. Then the vector diagram was superimposed over the DEM for understanding the surface flow of water (Fig. 3). It is observed that the regional slope and the surface flow are towards northeast in this region. Fig. 3- DEM showing rainfall runoff The study area is mainly of hard rock terrain, predominantly underlined by crystalline rocks comprising quartzite, calc granulite, crystalline limestone, biotite gneiss and charnockite of Archean to Lower Proterozoic age, which are highly heterogeneous in nature. 11,17,18 Quartz veins, pegmatite and pyroxene granulite dykes can be observed in some places. Kankar (lime rich top soil) observed in few places are of recent to sub-recent in age. Quartzite shows NW-SE trend in most of the places with numerous NS minor joints. In some places, it is associated with calc-granulite and crystalline limestone. Calc-granulite and crystalline limestone also show the NW-SE trend. Charnockite appears as medium grey tone and medium to coarse texture in satellite image. The study of structural and tectonic history of this region indicates several episodes of deformation, which caused repeated folds, faults, joints and fracture systems. 19 A thin layer of topsoil overlies the basement rocks in most of the places. The bedrock configuration is one of the important controlling factors as far as the geometry of the aquifer is concern. 20 Hence, it is essential to understand the subsurface lithological variations with respect to depth. The borehole lithology data reveals that the thickness of topsoil ranges from 1 to 1.5m in most of the places. 9 Occurrence of weathered zone in the study area is not uniform in both space and depth. The borehole lithology data indicates that the thickness ranges from 6 to 32m. Intensity of weathering is quite higher in gneissic rocks than in charnockite. Jointed and fissured rocks extend up to a maximum depth of 41m in some well locations.

5 T.SUBRAMANI ET AL.: GROUNDWATER PROSPECTING IN A PART OF TAMIRABARANI RIVER BASIN, SOUTH INDIA USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS 1405 Groundwater recharge, transmission and discharge of the basin are controlled by the basin geomorphology, geology and structural patterns. 21 It is possible to delineate various hydrogeomorphic units for targeting groundwater from the satellite imageries through visual interpretation. 22 Remote sensing and GIS techniques have been used to study the occurrence of groundwater in various geomorphological units of Pageru River basin, Cuddapah district, Andra Pradesh India. 23 Geomorphological map of the study area (Fig. 4) was prepared from satellite imagery based on specific tone, texture, size, shape and association characteristics. The major geomorphological units demarcated are i) Structural hills, ii) Buried pediment, iii) Shallow pediment and Flood plains. are found as a detached unit throughout the study area. The groundwater potential is good to moderately good in these zones. Lineament patterns reflect orientations of joints and faults in a variety of geological settings. 15,24,25 In general, areas with different lineament intensities have differences in probability of groundwater development potential, especially in the basement complex. [15] For crystalline basement areas, high lineament-length density corresponds to areas of outcropping bedrock and thin regolith, where as low lineament-length density is indicative of buried bedrock and thick regolith. [26] Area underlines by a relatively thick regolith are significant from a hydrological point of view, because this deposit possesses a high degree of water storage capacity. 27,28,29 Thus, lineaments represent the areas and zones of increasing porosity and permeability in hard rock areas. Such zones may have significance in the accumulation and movement of groundwater. Major fracture lineaments were identified with the help of satellite image, where most of the lineaments trend in the NW-SE direction (Fig. 5). These lineaments might have been resulted due to tectonic activity of the region. 19 Fig. 4- Geomorphological map Structural hills are the linear or arcuate hills exhibiting definite trend lines. These hills are structurally controlled with numerous joints/fractures which facilitate some infiltration and mostly act as run-off zones. The trend of the structural hill is NW- SE in the study area. Pediments are mainly due to high weathering of the granitic gneisses under sedmi-arid climatic conditions. It is characteristically defined as a gently sloping topography, when deep, its infiltration is moderately good. The thickness of the weathered zone varies from 10m to 20m and favours a good amount of water to circulate within this zone before reaching the deeper fracture zone. Deep pediments Fig. 5- Groundwater potential zonation map

6 1406 INDIAN J MAR SCI VOL.44 NO.9, SEPTEMBER 2015 Results and Discussion Hydraulic properties in hard rock formations mainly depend on the nature and thickness of weathered and fractured zones, which are more pronounced near the surface. Most of the wells in the study area are partially penetrating because, once a significant depth of water column is achieved, formers stop further deepening of wells. Dug wells are commonly used for drinking and irrigation purposes. Bore wells are also used for irrigation but, exclusively used for drinking purposes. Some of the dug wells constructed in this area go dry in summer. In hard rock terrain, groundwater shows a very high degree of fluctuations leading to the inference in recharge during monsoon and rapid declination during summer partly owing to surface and subsurface groundwater movement controlled by 30 hydraulic gradient and agricultural activities. Groundwater in the study area occurs under water table conditions in weathered crystalline formations as well as in alluvial flood plain deposits. Groundwater is always moving from the higher potentiometric level to the lower potentiometric level. This can be understood only by measuring the groundwater level in wells with respect to MSL, which is commonly referred as head. It is observed that the regional ground water flow is towards east in the study area. In the southeast portion of the area, it is towards northeast. Overall view of groundwater level fluctuation indicate that the groundwater table rises during November and December to reach peak in January and declines from February onwards to reach a low in September or October. Aquifer parameters such as, hydraulic conductivity, transmissivity and yield are given in (Table 1). Computer aided GIS techniques are useful in data integration, data analysis and modeling, correlating the information thus evolved which can be extended to the similar areas to extract the required data and other details. 31,32 Groundwater potential zonation map of the study area (Fig. 5) was prepared by integrating various thematic layers namely topography (slope), drainage, geomorphology and lineament along with well inventory and subsurface lithological details using GIS (Table.2). It is noticed that the drainage density exhibits negative correlation with the groundwater occurrence. 3,33,34 It is also observed that the flood plain deposits are possessing high groundwater potential, and most of the lineament intersections are falling under the category of moderate to high groundwater potential. Distribution of geomorphic units and their groundwater prospects are presented in (Table 3). Groundwater potential zones and their yield ranges are presented in Table 4 after verification in the field. Conclusion The integrated approaches of remote sensing, GIS and field investigations have proved as vital tools in demarcating groundwater potential zones. This method can be applied to the other hard rock areas also. The DEM and vector diagram indicate that the regional slope and the surface runoff are towards northeast. Low runoff zones in the DEM indicate more infiltration and good groundwater occurrence whereas high runoff zones indicate less infiltration and poor groundwater occurrence. Slope and drainage density are showing negative impacts over groundwater occurrence. The groundwater table follows topography and it occurs under water table conditions in weathered formations and in alluvial deposits. Recent alluvial deposits mainly occur as flood plain deposits all along the Tamirabarani River. Groundwater occurrence and movement in this region are directly influenced by topography, drainage density, weathered and fractured zones, intersection of lineaments, type of lithology and surface water bodies. The study concludes that groundwater potential is high in flood plains; moderate to high in lineament intersections; moderate in buried pediments; moderate to poor in shallow pediments and poor in structural hills. Table 1- Aquifer parameters in geological formations Geological formation Hydraulic Conductivity (m/d) Transmissivity (m 2 /d) Yield (lps) Hard rock 0.1 to 22 3 to to 6 Alluvium 4 to to to 30

7 T.SUBRAMANI ET AL.: GROUNDWATER PROSPECTING IN A PART OF TAMIRABARANI RIVER BASIN, SOUTH INDIA USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS 1407 Table 2- Rank and weightage of different parameters for groundwater potential zoning Table 4- Rang of yield in different groundwater potential Parameters Weightage Rank Groundwater potential zones Yield (lps) Geomorphology Flood plain, 45 1 Buried pediment Shallow 2 pediment Structural 3 hills Slope 0-20% % 2 >50% 3 Lineament Intersection 30 1 Present 2 Not present 3 Drainage 1 st order nd order 2 3 rd order 3 Table 3- Arial extent of various features and their status of groundwater potential Features Structural hills Shallow pediment Buried pediment Lineament intersections Area (km 2 ) Area (%) Poor Status of groundwater potential Moderate to poor Moderate Moderate to high Flood plains High Water bodies Settlements Poor < 1 Moderate to poor 1-2 Moderate 2-6 Moderate to high 6-10 High > 10 zones References 1 Todd, D.K. (1980). Groundwater Hydrology, 2 nd edition, Wiley Press, New York. 2 A.K. and Choudhary, P.R. (1998). Integrated remote sensing and GIS for ground water exploration and identification of artificial recharge sites. Int. J. Remote Sensing, 19(10): Lokesha, L., Gopalakrishna, G.S., Honne Gowdaand, H. and Gupta, A.K. (2005). Deliniation of ground water potential zones in a hard rock terrain of Mysore districts, Karnataka using IRS data and GIS techniques. J. Indian Soc. Remote Sensing, 33(3): Srinivasa Vittala, S., Govindaiah, S. and Honne Gowda, H. (2005). Evaluation of groundwater potential zones in the subwatersheds of north Pennar River basin around Pavagada, Karnataka, India using remote sensing and GIS techniques. J. Indian Soc. Remote Sensing, 33(4): Basappa Reddy, M. and Gaikwad, R.L. (1985). Use of remote sensing techniques for targeting ground water in fractured crystalline rocks: Two case studies from Karnataka. Proceedings, Sixth Asian Conference on Remote Sensing, Hyderabad, pp (Japan : Asian Association on Remote Sensing). 6 Subha Rao, N. Chakradhar, G.K.J. and Srinivas, V. (2001). Identification of Ground Water Potential Zones Using Remote Sensing Techniques in and around Guntur Town, Andhra Pradesh, India. J. Indian Soc. Remote Sensing, 29(l &2): Anonymous.(1979). Satellite remote sensing survey - southern part of Tamil Nadu. Project Report, Volumes I & Il. Department of Space, National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), Hyderabad, India. 8 NRSA. (1996). Integrated Mission for sustainable development Technical guidelines, National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), Department of Space, Government of India. 9 PWD (2002). Groundwater perspectives: A profile of Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu. Public Works Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, India.

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