Ground water potential assessment of Haladi River basin in Westernghat of Udupi district, Karnataka, India

Abstract

For a sustainable development of water resources, it is imperative to make a quantitative estimation of the available water resources. It is necessary to maintain the groundwater reservoir in a state of Dynamic equilibrium over a period of time and the water level fluctuations have to be kept within a particular range over the monsoon and non-monsoon seasons. Groundwater is a dynamic system. The total annual replenishable resource is around 43 M ha-m. The development and over-exploitation of groundwater resources have raised the concern and need for judicious and scientific resource management and conservation. Among the two major water resources, surface and ground water, it is the ground water resource, which needs to be managed carefully, especially in drought prone areas. To assess the groundwater potential, a suitable and accurate technique is required for a meaningful and objective analysis. A critical study is carried out on the different methods of estimating the groundwater potential and compared to arrive the most suitable technique for practical utility. In this work, five methods of estimating groundwater recharge were studied viz., 1. Yearly water level fluctuation 2. Ten year average water level fluctuation 3. Fluctuation between the lowest and highest water levels over ten years 4. Relationship between rainfall and recharge Method. The results of this study helps in accurate prediction of groundwater availability, which in turn may avoid groundwater over exploitation and help to restore the eco-systems. 2013 CAFET-INNOVA TECHNICAL SOCIETY.