Identification of specific areas for water conservation measures using Geoinformatics approach

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The accessibility of water resources is depleting everyday on a spatial and temporal scale, while water demand is expanding reliably. With this view, the investigation is an endeavour to identify the best locations appropriate for water conservation measures in West Midnapur, Purulia, and Bankura regions of West Bengal, India, using Geoinformatics approach. In this study, administrative boundaries have been considered to get the best locations for all water conservation measures. Then, these locations are shown district wise by considering administrative boundaries. In India, most of the funds are allocated based on administrative boundaries so it is necessary to suggest water conservation measures based on administrative boundaries. The Digital Elevation Model (DEM), Landsat 7 satellite imagery, and daily precipitation data of the year 2011 were used to get ready layers of the slope, and land use land cover. The runoff and runoff potential zones were determined using the Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) method in the Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. The weights were assigned to thematic layers (slope and runoff coefficient) and ranks were given to these features; then, score was calculated to find out the Water Conservation Potential Index (WCPI). Thematic layers were integrated using ArcGIS software to generate water conservation potential maps for both surface water harvesting structures and groundwater recharge measures. Based on the values of WCPI, zones suitable for surface water harvesting structures and groundwater recharge measures were identified using slope, soil, drainage order, and rainfall as suitability criteria. The outcomes demonstrated that 479, 1884, 1400, 808, and 140 locations in all the three regions were suitable for percolation ponds, farm ponds, check dams, contour bunds, and contour trenching respectively. This research will be useful for policymakers to allocate government funds based on administrative boundaries.