Delineation of Groundwater Potential Recharge Zone Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques—A Case Study of Rampur Tehsil, Shimla District, Himachal Pradesh India

Abstract

The study is carried out to assess the potential sites for groundwater recharge in Rampur Tehsil, Shimla district, Himachal Pradesh. The Weighted Overlay Model (WOM) in Geographic Information System (GIS) environment was used to delineate the groundwater potential recharge sites in the study area. Various layers such as soil, geology, geomorphology, land use land cover (LULC), slope, and lineaments have been used as delineating factors. These factors were then assigned individual values based on their degree of association for groundwater occurrence. The output derived is classified into five types, namely, very poor, poor, moderate, good, and very good. The results indicate that most of the areas fall under good conditions for an artificial mode of groundwater recharge (53.29%), and moderate category covers about (39.51%). Nearly 7% of the area comes under very poor conditions. Most of the sites suitable for groundwater recharge present along the forest and agricultural lands. The study opens up new vistas for rapid assessment of potential groundwater recharge sites and serves as the database for decision-making and planning for sustainable water management practices.