An Integrated Approach to Augment the Depleting Ground Water Resource in Bist-Doab, Region of Punjab, India

Abstract

Water is the most essential component for all the living things. Ground water is commonly used for drinking, domestic purposes, Industrial, irrigation etc. In many parts of the world, ground water is depleting at alarming stage. In recent years modern techniques such as remote sensing, GIS, Isotopes etc., along with conventional hydrological methods are increasingly getting used for ground water resource development and management .In the present study a multi- technique approach is taken up to identify and map ground water vulnerable zones and suitable zones to augment the depleting ground water conditions in Bist – doab (Bist- ‘ Beas– Satluj’ and doab- ‘a Persian i.e. a land mass between two rivers’) region of Punjab, India. Though the study area is covered by two major perennial rivers: Beas and Satluj, yet the long term ground water trend clearly indicate a continuous falling trend in major parts especially, in the central & south- central region. In this paper, conventional data has been compiled to map the changing ground water conditions, modern techniques have been used to generate land –use maps for estimation of spatio – temporal changing water demand, isotopic techniques to identify effectiveness of surface water source in ground water recharges etc. The satellite images of the study area were used as raw data for finding suitable location for constructing the water bodies in the study area. With the help of remote sensing and GIS thematic maps such as land use and land cover map, slope map, and drainage map were generated which are used for the identification of suitable water harvesting structures. The result obtained from the integrated data has been used in developing a working plan to identify suitable sites to increase surface water potential, measures to augment the falling water table and management plan to reduce excess pressure on ground water.