Integrated Approach for Groundwater Recharge Assessment—A Review

Abstract

AbstractIn the present century, groundwater recharge is a major issue since there is scarcity of freshwater availability. The excess utilization of groundwater is a hazard to the water quality as well as for water table and makes hydrological imbalance which includes both quality and quantity of the groundwater. Artificial groundwater recharge becomes very essential to enhance the hydrodynamic condition of groundwater. Recharging methods are several, and it depends on the need, possibilities and several factors which will influence the recharging. Geologically, one has to study very systematically to locate groundwater recharge potential zones (GWRPZ). The literature review highlights the various criteria which are considered for GWRPZ. Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) tools have made it easier to find the best locations for groundwater recharge. The RS and GIS techniques commonly consider the various thematic maps like slope, lithology, geomorphology, land use land cover, soil, drainage and lineament maps for integrated overlay analysis. These layers will be integrated in GIS environment, and knowledge-based rankings will be assigned to each part of individual thematic layer based on its significance to derive the GWRPZ. The present paper insights into the review on locating potential groundwater recharge zones by various methods and parameters which are already considered and the new parameters which can be considered to enhance the accuracy level to locate the potential groundwater recharge zones. The importance of vertical electrical sounding (VES) is also highlighted.KeywordsGroundwater rechargeRemote sensingOverlay analysisVESGISDecision support system