No abstract

Groundwater modeling is an effective tool for managing the groundwater resource and to predict for the future. There is a need for proper quantification of the scarce water resources that are under threat because of the population explosion, industrialization, urbanization and climate change. More than 60% of India is underlained by hard rock aquifers. The Hiranyakeshi watershed of Ghataprabha sub-basin, chosen for the study is also under hard rock aquifer and faces severe groundwater problems. This is due to majority of the agricultural and industrial activities in the watershed depend on the groundwater. A 3-D groundwater flow model, viz. Visual MODFLOW was used for the study with two conceptual layers. The first layer is a weathered zone which is about 20-30m from the top, followed by a second layerof fractured zone which is about 30-40m from the first. The model was simulated for a period of seven years (2008-2014), under transient case. The results from the modeling shows that for the next 10 years the water table is believed to decrease more than 50m in the study area. To overcome this critical stage, the present draft should be reduced by nearly 50%.