Delineation of potential sites for water harvesting structures through remote sensing and GIS techniques: a case study of Kali watershed, Gujarat, India

Abstract

Site suitability studies for check dams, percolation ponds, and subsurface dykes form an integral part of watershed management. This work illustrates the efficacy of remote sensing and GIS tools for identifying suitable sites for these structures. Thematic layers such as land use/land cover, lithology, soils, slope, rainfall and drainage were generated using LISS-III, PAN (IRS-1D), Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and collateral data. Runoff potential for different combinations of land use and hydraulic soil groups was computed and classified into three classes. A potential site suitability map for water harvesting/recharging structures was derived following an analytical hierarchy process. The analytically derived potential site suitability map was validated in the field. The accuracy of prediction was estimated on the basis of proximity between derived and field validated sites. In 75% of cases, the sites derived for check dam, percolation pond and subsurface dyke were accurate.