Assessment of groundwater potential zone for sustainable water resource management in south-western part of Birbhum District, West Bengal

Abstract

Water is an indispensable natural resource for survival of any species in the globe. For centuries, civilization has flourished on the bank of river based on the easy availability of water. Groundwater is one of the prime sources of freshwater supply, but, its occurrence and spatial distribution are highly uneven and affected by several surface and subsurface features. Development of several geospatial tool based on the remote sensing and GIS in recent time helps immensely for delineation and management of this precious resource. The present study has been undertaken in south-western part of Birbhum district, West Bengal with an objective to delineate groundwater potential zone using multiple criteria decision analysis and GIS. Seven thematic layers concerning with geology, geomorphology, hydrology, land use land cover and edhaphic factor have been employed in this study with proper weightage depending on their role in groundwater formation to identify the groundwater potential zone. By using analytical hierarchy process, whole study area has been classified into four zones ranging from excellent to poor. Primary field data and secondary data about depth of groundwater have been compared with the result to make it authentic. The result shows that the southern part composed of alluvial plain has the excellent potential compared to the northern lateritic and pediment part where groundwater potential is moderate. Eventually, few recommendation and suggestion have been framed for sustainable water resource management that will help the researchers, planners and other decision-makers for judicious exploration and management of the groundwater resource in the study area.

Adaptive Spatial Division-Guided Resource-Based Economic Transformation with Synergistic Resource, Economic, and Environmental Health

“…Yu et al [ 23 ] and others think that “the practical goal of building socialist ecological civilization is to build a sustainable modern economic model that is coordinated between ecology and economy, which is mainly manifested in developing circular economy, building an eco-safe economy and society, and realizing the development of ecological green civilization” [ 23 ]. The research of Chatterjee and Dutta [ 24 ] explained that the economy is an inevitable product of the development of human society and economy. The process of industrialization and economization in our country is accelerating, and a large number of rural surplus labor are transferred to the economy, which makes the economy quickly gather a large number of people.…”

“…The process of industrialization and economization in our country is accelerating, and a large number of rural surplus labor are transferred to the economy, which makes the economy quickly gather a large number of people. The rapid expansion of the economic scale and the rapid expansion of the population have brought problems such as water and soil resources' shortage and ecological damage [ 24 ]. Babamiri and Marofi [ 25 ] analyzed the country as a whole.…”

Delineation of Groundwater Potential Zones (GWPZs) in a Semi-Arid Basin through Remote Sensing, GIS, and AHP Approaches

“…Currently, global water resources are under stress principally sourced by climatic and anthropogenic factors. The water demand has increased due to population growth, rapid urbanization, industrialization, and agricultural activities [3,4]. The groundwater-associated problems are critical in many regions with high population density and economic development [5].…”

“…Groundwater is a fundamental component of the hydrological system which occurs in the subsurface geological formations (aquifers). According to [2,4,12], the occurrence and availability of groundwater depend on the recharge process controlled by several factors such as physiography, lithological composition, drainage pattern, use and land cover, and climatic factors such as precipitation, temperature, evapotranspiration, etc., and geological setting as fractures and lineament features. Therefore, groundwater potential varies meaningfully in space and time, sometimes by a few meters, even within the same aquifer.…”

“…Nevertheless, these methods are costly, laborious and time-consuming [21][22][23]. Additionally, development in remote sensing (RS) and GIS technology has supported the delineation of groundwater potential zones in big regions quickly [2,4]. These methods have become very useful and cost-effective, mostly in inaccessible locations, through high-resolution satellite images.…”